Welcome

The Rescue Historical Society is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to sharing information about the founders, history, and events in the Rescue, California and surrounding area. Our motto is to Preserving the past … for the future!

One of the first buildings to be constructed in the place now called Rescue was the Kelley Creek Store. It was built in 1849 or 1850 at the current intersection of Green Valley Road and the eastern end of Deer Valley Road.

The Rescue Post Office in 1916
The Rescue Store and Post Office was a daily meeting place for the community. It was a place to pick up supplies, purchase gasoline, and get your mail. This picture was taken in 1916. Left to right: Mary Jane (Turnboo) Carpenter, Helen Carpenter, Hugh Turnboo, and William H. Carpenter.

The community that is now called Rescue was officially recognized June 12, 1895, with the establishment of the post office. The first postmaster, Dr. Merritt Hunter, was the great-grandfather of our historian, Francis “Carp” Carpenter. Prior to this time, Rescue had been an area of intense gold mining activity with businesses supporting the mining interests.

Green Valley Road, originally called the Old Coloma Road, was the first road between Coloma and Sutter’s Fort, and a major thoroughfare during Gold Rush times. In the 1860s it was the Pony Express Route, and in the early 1910s it was, for a time, part of the Lincoln Highway, the first road that linked the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The Kelley Creek Store before 1890
The Kelley Creek Store was one of the older buildings in the area. It served many purposes over the years: home, hotel and bar, assay office, and store. The store was built in 1848/9. This picture was taken before 1890. The horses and wagon are on Deer Valley Road. The two people just in front of the horses are Mary J. (Reimer) Brandon and her half-brother August Baring. The Kelley Creek Store was torn down in 1966 by the Carpenter family.

New members are welcome and encouraged. Everyone is invited to share the information we have gathered. We are eager to learn new things and solicit any information, photographs, or documents people might share with us. Write Ask@RescueHistorical.org with questions, comments, and requests.

History is a treasure. The history of Rescue, California, is a gold mine!