Placerville (/ˈplæsərvɪl/, PLASS-ər-vil; placer, Spanish for "sand deposit", representing the placer mining that was predominant in the town's development, and ville, French for "town") is a city in and the county seat of El Dorado County, California, United States.

[11] Of the five immigrants, two Frenchmen and one Chilean were known wanted men, and they were not given any trial, instead they were hanged on an oak tree on Main Street by a mob.

[10] In 1871, the Placerville Union Cemetery was founded by a group of fraternal organizations, and it holds the graves of many of the city founders.

[16] The town had many services, including transportation (of people and goods), lodging, banking, and had a market and general store.

The track right-of-way is now a 37-mile hiking and biking path that connects the city of Folsom, California to the town of Camino with plans to extend the trail across the entire El Dorado county and eventually to Lake Tahoe.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.8 square miles (15 km2), over 99% of it land.

Placerville has cool, frequently wet winters and hot, dry summers, creating a typically Californian Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa).

[28] The region east of Placerville, popularly known as Apple Hill and Pleasant Valley, is becoming a center for wine production.

The region is "renown[ed] for making vibrantly flavorful, distinctly delicious wines, grown in the dramatic elevations of the Sierra Nevada.

Formerly known as Anderson Field, the arena and main grandstand that is now known as Placerville Speedway was originally built by the El Dorado County Fair during the winter months of 1956.

Constructing a clay racing surface around the perimeter of the football field, Warren Jewitt and Bruno Romani created what was originally known as "Hangtown Speedway".

The track was cut out of a hillside, giving it higher banking, and covered with a dark red clay racing surface.

[30] Placerville is home to the Mountain Democrat, the oldest continuously published newspaper in California, and Marshall Medical Center.

California State Route 49 runs north and south, connecting the city with the other major communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Amtrak Thruway 20C provides a daily connection to Sacramento Valley Station to the west, and South Lake Tahoe to the east, with a few stops in between.

[33] A "Good Neighbor" airport (one that takes measures for noise abatement), it has a 4,200-foot-long (1,300 m) runway,[34] but is not currently served by any commercial air transport.

[35] A walk down Main Street also reveals many historical markers, signifying spots of certain events or persons of importance during this period.

Placerville was also on the line of the Pony Express, a short-lived mail carrier service that connected California to the Midwest and East (basically from Sacramento to St. Joseph, Missouri).

Main Street Placerville features a large stone column holding a glass and metal "torch" known as "The Druid Monument", commemorating the Order's inception there 1860.

[41][42] The City of Placerville is currently attempting to repave the roundabout containing the monument, possibly removing it permanently in the process—a proposal that has divided the community.