Hi Particia and Listers, A quick check of Rensch's 'Historic Spots in California' yields: A few miles east of Plymouth is the picturesque settlement of Fiddletown, immortalized by Bret Harte's story "An Episode of Fiddletown." It was first settled by in 1848 by a party of Missourians. "They are always fiddeling," said an old Missouri partiarch; "call it Fiddletown." And Fiddletown it was until 1878 when the name was changed to Oleta. The change was made by the state legislature, at the insistance, it is said, of Judge Purinton, a prominent citizen who on frequent business trips to Sacramento and San Francisco had been greatly embarrassed as being known as "the man from Fiddletown." Through the efforts of the Committee of Historic Landmarks of the California Historical Society, the old name of Fiddletown was restored in 1932. In the 1850s and early 1860's Fiddletown was the trading center for a number of rich mining camps--American Flat and American Hill, French Flat, Loafer Flat, Lone Hill and others. The entire region, now including the ridge between Suckertown (now Brdgeport) and State Creek, forms a part of extensive river deposits. The author goes on the cite the rich farming lands and thriving agticulture and farming of the area...many descendants of the originl pioneer settlers still live there on the old homesteads. I have a small book on the history of Fiddletown and will try to answer questions about the town and its history...just send a post. It's cooler today in scenic Studio City, Nancy Howard == Nancy Doyle Howard; "Let us, before we die, gather up our heritage and offer it to our children." Will Durant Perkins VA>KY>TN>MO> Visalia CA Doyle VA>KY>TN>MO> Fresno CA Howard ME>NY>OR> Fresno CA _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com