John Studebaker
You have found the medallion for John Studebaker. He came overland to Placerville in 1853. He arrived with only fifty cents in his pocket but quickly got a job making wheelbarrows at A. L. Hinds blacksmith shop on Main Street. By 1855, John sold his wheelbarrows for $10 each and had saved $3,000. He was working and living on Main St in Placerville, near where his medallion lies, when the town burned twice in 1856.
By continuing to work at making wheelbarrows, by 1858 John’s savings had increased to $7,000. He returned to South Bend, Indiana and joined the family wagon business. In 1868, the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company was organized, and by 1875, it was the largest wagon builder in the world, with over $1,000,000 in sales.
The Studebaker Corporation produced an electric horseless carriage in 1902, followed by the manufacture of a gasoline-powered automobile in 1904. At the head of the corporation was J.M Studebaker, formerly known as “Wheelbarrow Johnny.”
To find the next miner from John Studebaker’s medallion . . .
Continue on Main Street and make your way past the courthouse. Like a clock keeps time, this miner kept order. As the Sheriff of El Dorado County, he enforced the laws. His medallion lies on a historic item meant to keep time.
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