Graham'sPear Shed
by Waldith Graham
This is the story I got from the Veerkamps ...
"The old shed was built about 1912 as a pear packing shed. It was built for William Veerkamp, one of the sons of the original family that settled at Gold Hill in 1850. The original homestead is down Cold Springs Road toward Gold Trail School.
William bought 320 acres including Gold Hill where the Graham house sits now. The old Victorian house across the street was built and the shed across the driveway - the driveway is now Cold Springs Road.
The Veerkamps had many acres of pears, peaches, plums and garden vegetables which they sold to the miners and later took wagons full of produce to other areas to sell.
William had a son, Lee Veerkamp, he and his wife Gladys, had no children. Lee bought the place from his parents and continued farming here. Gladys was a school teacher in Placerville for many years. Lee died and Gladys sold the property to Bill and Alma Graham in 1976.
Bill took out the pear trees as there was no market for them. Bill planted oranges and cherries. About 1999 the cherry trees died from a virus. Bill had a few mandarin trees around the top of the hill where the Graham house is now. The mandarins did quit well so he planted about 1, 000 mandarin trees -- mandarins are now sold at the Graham's Pear Shed when they are in season.
In 1991 my dream home was built on Gold Hill. Gold Hill was named by the miners of the area so I was told ...
Now you know the story. "
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Source:
Waldith Graham