I am sometimes asked by friends and family which is the proper name for our community: Grizzly Flat or Grizzly Flats. I usually reply "It depends". Because of the often interchangability of these two versions of our town name, the Grizzly Flat Gazette can be reached at either www.grizzlyflatgazette.com or www.grizzlyflatsgazette.com

The publication "Post offices of El Dorado County " by Doug Noble has the following to say about the name of our community.

GRIZZLY FLATS: This post office was established on Aug. 31, 1855 and took its colorful name from a legend of an encounter between an early prospector's pack mule and a California Grizzly Bear on a flat area eleven miles east of Somerset. James Burgess was named to serve as the first postmaster. Although the post office is officially named Grizzly Flats, the town more often shows up on early maps as Grizzly Flat, without the added "s". Unlike the California Grizzly Bear, which is now extinct, the post office is still in operation.

Some of the various signage for Grizzly Flat or Flats

Editorial Information

Reporter: Eric Paulsen Connection:

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