El Dorado, meaning 'The Gilded One,' was first known as Mud Springs from the boggy quagmire the cattle and horses made of a nearby watering place.

Originally an important camp on the old Carson Emigrant Trail, by 1849-50 it had become the center of a mining district and the crossroads for freight and stage lines. At the height of the rush its large gold production supported a population of several thousand.

Historical Landmark No. 486

California State Park Commission
Monument base erected by the Mother Lode Lions Club of Diamond Springs an El Dorado