James Hall

James W. Hall, his wife Sarah, sons John, Henry, Thomas, and William, and daughter Anne traveled west from McHenry County, Illinois, to Hangtown, now Placerville, with the Upper Mississippi Ox Company. After traveling over 2000 miles, they arrived around September 9, 1850, the day California was admitted to the Union. From Hangtown, the Hall family chose to settle fifteen miles below the city of Sacramento, where they built a tavern and named it Elk Grove House, which became a stage stop between Sutter’s Fort and Monterey. On May 13, 1854, James Hall was appointed postmaster of the Elk Grove post office. Like many pioneers who came to California seeking gold, he and his family helped the infant state of California develop and prosper.

Elk Grove, California · United States