Emerged from submerged: Gold Rush ruins surface at Folsom Lake

While extremely low water levels continue to raise concerns, that's not all that is rising at Folsom Lake. Remnants of a town that was submerged some 65 years ago have surfaced once again, providing new generations and old with a glimpse of local history. Mormon Island was known as a booming town in the Gold Rush era. Long after it was deserted and leveled, its remains went deep below the waters as the creation of Folsom Lake consumed the land it was built on located in the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area. Today, the outskirts of the town are visible near the southeastern shores of the lake, between Folsom Point and Brown's Ravine. Those willing to take a hike along the parched lake bed will begin to see a number of artifacts, footprints of structures, remnants of foundations and more. In recent days, many have made the trek to view the emerged remains, an area that has been declared an archeological resource site that is protected by federal and California state laws. Such a declaration doesn't mean one cannot enter the area. However, it does mean visitors are not to disturb or remove artifacts. As State Park official Richard Preston-LeMay explained, visitors should take only photographs from the site and nothing more. Those words Preston-May has recited over and over are more than just advice; ignoring them could be very costly. One can face fines of up to $250,000 and/or jail time for removing artifacts or disrupting the sites. "Take photographs, take some memories but please leave the artifacts where they lay," Preston-LeMay said. "If people take them and move them, we're taking away that opportunity for our future generations to enjoy those things." Preston-LeMay has shared the story of how Mormon Island became submerged with many visitors to the area and media members alike through the years. It's pretty simple: Prior to the dam being built, the south fork and north fork of the American River flowed through the area, which made it a prime area for gold mining (see related story). This isn't the first time the remains have surfaced. In previous drought years, they became visible. However, this time around, the extreme conditions have brought them to the surface much earlier in the year and more could become visible in the months ahead, according to park officials. "During the 2014 and 2015 droughts, we saw the really low water levels really late in the year," Preston-LeMay said. "It was November, December, January, when we started seeing these levels but now we're seeing them in June and July." While signage warns visitors to only look and not touch, through the previous droughts, it is apparent many of the artifacts have been moved a bit. Various old tools, portions of ceramics, bricks, plumbing and hardware are consolidated together in groupings. Some are stacked on large walks, the tops of walls or stumps and foundation pillars. State Parks officials don't want people being discouraged from visiting the site but do want visitors to leave all of the artifacts as they are and remind everyone that moving them in any way is considered to be the illegal collection of artifacts. With the remnants of the town surfacing once again, State Parks officials explained that archaeologists and historians will continue to study these areas while they are visible to help continue to paint the picture of Mormon Island, its residents and more. On Sunday afternoon, Jake Banning was strolling the area with his wife, Marjorie, and their two sons, Jacob, 8, and Wilson, 11. The El Dorado County residents who normally are boating, skiing and tubing this time of year have shifted to learning at the lake. "This isn't a good year when you own a boat near Folsom Lake," mused Banning. "It's been tough for a couple of years but this year is one of the lowest. But we're still out here making a visit and it's great for the boys to see some actual local history. You can read about it, but being able to actually see it is great for them. They were pretty excited when we walked up and they saw the first set of old walls over there." Mormon Island is recognized with a monument plaque near the picnic area of Folsom Point. Folsom Point and Browns Ravine are access points to make the hike to the site. Both are state park facilities and require admission fees.