The Salmon Falls census tract of 1860 was a sprawling 65 square mile township in western El Dorado County. The population for 1860 was recorded at 1,360 individuals with U.S. born residents being the distinct minority. Chinese immigrants accounted for 49 percent of the population. Beyond the demographic statistics, how the census taker recorded individuals illustrates how individual perceptions and biases shaped 19th century census records.
1860 Salmon Falls Township, Population & Occupations
Bisected by the South Fork of the American River, the Salmon Falls township was 13 miles in length and approximately 7 miles in width in the middle of diamond shaped tract. The northwestern edge of the tract was the North Fork of the American River up to 1 mile above Rattlesnake Bar at Manhattan Bar. The eastern boundary captured Pilot Hill and Weber Creek as it entered the South Fork of the American River. The boundary line of the township then cut diagonally down to Sacramento County. The town of Salmon Falls was in the center of the township.
While there were miles of rolling foothills in the southern part of the district, neither farming nor ranching were dominant occupations in the area in 1860. The main industry was gold mining along the north and south forks of the American River and Weber Creek. Many of the residents noted on the 1868 map of the township are included in the 1860 census such as Clark, Hart, Orr, Wolf, Taylor, Holmes, and Rice. The post office and primary trading location for the township was the town of Salmon Falls. Most of the township consists of a topography of foothills and steep ravines. The southern portion of rolling hills was conducive to settlement, but there was no water or significant gold in that part of the township.
U.S. Born Individuals A Minority In Salmon Falls
The total recorded population of 1860 in the Salmon Falls township was 1,360, inhabiting 336 dwellings. There were 173 females accounting for 13 percent of the population. Approximately 30 percent of the population (413) were born in the United States. People from Europe made up 19 percent of the population, and 2 percent came from North America. Chinese immigrants, 664, comprised 49 percent of the population. There are 34 pages of census pages for the township with 40 entries per page. Some pages were entirely comprised of Chinese men. While it can be difficult to know exactly where the census recorder was when he made the entries, he would have entered some stretches of the river where only Chinese men were mining.
The 255 European immigrants came from a variety of countries. England represented the European country with the largest immigration by birth with 47. Ireland was next with 44 people. German immigrants represented 15 percent of Europeans with an equal number from Portugal. France, Scotland, Sweden, Holland, Italy, Austria, Prussia, Spain, and Wales were also the countries of birth for less than half of the Europeans.
All California Born Individuals Under 11 Years of Age
For residents born in the United States, California represented the largest percentage of individuals residing in the Salmon Fall township in 1860. Of the 417 U.S. born residents, 25 percent or 106 individuals were born in California. All the 106 children were under the age of 11. This means that there were only 311 U.S. adults in the Salmon Falls township. New York represented the next largest state population with 78 individuals. Maine and Massachusetts accounted for the third and fourth state birth contributors to the township.
Black, Mulatto, Mongolian, White Colors Listed In 1860 Census
The Salmon Falls census tract included the region known as Negro Hill. However, there were very few men or women of color recorded by the census taker in 1860. I’ve transcribed the census pages for 6 other townships in Sacramento and Placer counties for 1860 and this is the first instance I’ve come across where the census recorder listed a person’s color as mulatto. Clearly, the mulatto color designation is subjective relative to the census recorder. In the Salmon Falls census there are 19 persons listed as Black and 12 as mulatto. Of the mulatto individuals, 6 were children all under the age of 6, all born in California. Of the Black men in the census, 6 were born in the West Indies and 1 listed Africa as their origin of birth. The designation of Mongolian was used for people from China. Observed white individuals made up slightly less than 50 percent of the population.
Miner Was Largest Occupation Listed
Within the census pages, 1,105 individuals listed an occupation in the Salmon Falls township. Miner was the overwhelming occupation of 81 percent of the residents. Farmer/Gardener and Laborer came in a distant second at 40 individuals each. Within the Salmon Falls township there were water ditches along the north and south forks of the American River. The water was primarily used for mining. The large range land in the south of the township had very little access to imported surface water in 1860, limiting agriculture. Within the township, 8 men listed their occupation as Ditch Agent, most likely for either the Natoma Ditch – which originated above the town of Salmon Falls – or the smaller ditch on the north side of the South Fork of the American River that ran down to Negro Hill and Massachusetts Flat.
The occupation of Grocer was listed by 29 people. There were no merchants listed. This is perhaps another instance of the census recorder’s own perceptions and definitions. The term Grocer was not used by other census takers that I have reviewed in the area for 1860. Of the Grocers, 18 were Chinese men. The steep terrain of the area and small town of Salmon Falls limited large scale mercantile operations found at other locations such as Folsom, Carrolton, and Rattlesnake Bar. Grocer may have been an apt description of a vendor who mostly traded in food stuffs.
The township had 4 physicians, 2 of whom were listed as Chinese. The 3 Barbers were all Chinese. There was one Druggist, who was also Chinese. A surprise occupation was that of Ambrotypist, an early form of photography. The Ambrotypist was Jacob Bower, age 37, from Wurtenburg. Finally, the only Saloon Keeper listed was that of George Mato, age 23, from England. One might deduce that Salmon Falls was a relatively dry township from the lack of drinking establishments. Of course, the Chinese men did not frequent saloons and the dispersed nature of the mining population over difficult terrain limited easy access to entertainment venues such as a saloon.
Chinese Men Were Majority of Miners in Salmon Falls
Placer gold mining was the industry that drove the economy within the township. There were 890 men who listed their occupation as miner. Relatively few miners, 121, were U.S. born. Europeans accounted for 16 percent of the miners. Chinese immigrants comprised 68 percent of the miners along the river and in the foothills. Since the mining activity was centered along the river banks, that is most likely were most of the Chinese and other miners lived.
A few years after 1860, construction of the Central Pacific Railroad over the Sierras would attract many Chinese men from the mining operations along the rivers. However, in 1860, if you traveled up either the North Fork or South Fork of the American River in El Dorado County, you would have encountered numerous Chinese men toiling away along the river’s edge mining for gold.
Census Recorder Discretion On Many Entries
For me, analyzing the Salmon Falls census compared to the others that I have reviewed reveals how some of the recorded data was left at the discretion of the census taker. The census taker for Salmon Falls rarely identified Chinese men with a first and last name. It was usually only one name for the individual. The census recorder seemed to use different terms for some of the occupations from other census takers, making comparison with other townships problematic. Was a grocer the same as a merchant? The Salmon Falls census recorder also apparently believed he knew who was Black or Mulatto based on undefined characteristics of the individual.
A big note of appreciation to Rodi Lee for locating a high-quality map of the Salmon Falls township.
