BURSON, CA – July 21, 2012 – The second installment of the “Historic Dozen,” ranking the most significant pre-1900 structures or ruins in West Calaveras, in order of historic importance, has been announced by the Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History (SPWCH). In 2011, the nonprofit organization ranked the first dozen, marking the first systemic listing of local historic places. 

13) Rosenberg Store Ruins (Jenny Lind 1864)
Crumbling stone walls are all that remain of the store of Louis Rosenberg, a pioneering Jewish merchant of the Mother Lode. [11780 Main St.]

14) Schwoerer House (Valley Springs 1889)
Built by the Methodist Episcopal Church, the building served as a parsonage until 1950 and was later sold to George (“Dutch”) Schwoerer and his wife Lucy as a residence. [169 Daphne]

15) Wallace School (Wallace 1886)
School was held in the upstairs room of a store until this building was constructed on land donated by the San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada Railroad. [8021 Wards Ave.]

16) Burson School (Burson 1894)
Originally located on Burson Rd., half-a-mile south of Hwy. 12, the school building was later moved to the grounds of Valley Springs Elementary. [240 Pine St., Valley Springs]

17) Paloma School (Paloma 1888)
George Markwood donated the land for the school that would be the last one-room schoolhouse in the county when it was closed in 1963 and later became a private residence. [6285 Main St.]

18) Evergreen School (Burson 1894)
The second Evergreen schoolhouse was built on land deeded by James Tallmadge.  The building has been a private residence since the 1960s. [6359 Evergreen Rd.]

19) March House (Burson 1887)
Built by George Lafayette Benedict, the house was purchased in 1895 by Dr. William Bright March, who remained the area’s country doctor into the 1930s. [3805 Hwy. 12]

20) O’Neal House (Valley Springs 1887)
The oldest remaining building in the original townsite was built by widow Mary O’Neal and her daughter Amy, who became Valley Springs’ first schoolteacher. [215 Daphne]

21) Lost City (Salt Spring Valley 1870s)
One of the most picturesque spots in Calaveras County includes the stone ruins of buildings constructed by French immigrants. [Location Private]

22) Valley Inn (Valley Springs 1897-1898)
The Purdy (later Nelson) Hotel was located at the corner of Laurel and Daphne until the early 1950s when it was moved to where the Valley Springs Hotel had burned down. [28 California St.]

23) Maher House (Campo Seco 1891)
Built by Confederate veteran Julius Tift, the house was later occupied for many decades by the family of Edward Maher, whose wife Mamie was the daughter of Union Capt. Hiram Messenger. [4129 Campo Seco Rd.]

24) Higginbotham Cabin (Burson 1882)
Built by Robert Scott Higginbotham, this cabin remained in the family until the death of Ruth Hood in 2012. [Location Private]

The first “Historic Dozen” were:

1) Valley Springs Train Depot (Valley Springs)

2) Late House (Valley Springs)

3) Wildermuth House (Campo Seco)

4) Catts Camp Ruins (Wallace)

5) Casa Blanca (Paloma)

6) Gwin Mine Ruins (Paloma)

7) Wheat House (Double Springs)

8) Adams & Co. Ruins (Campo Seco)

9) DeMartini House (Valley Springs)

10) Calaveras Lunch Ranch House (Valley Springs)

11) Cutler-Dennis House (Jenny Lind)

12) Masonic Hall (Milton)