By Don Chaddock -- Clarksville, the little ghost town just off White Rock Road near El Dorado Hills, marks the third such town Philip Wood, our photographer, and I have explored since I assumed the editor post of the Telegraph back in September of last year.

As I wrote in the story, the town is to be developed into a commercial center. With the traffic noise of Highway 50 buzzing nearby, it only makes sense. Read about the town and its history by clicking here.

Back in October, we explored the ruins of Red Bank. I spent hours in the research library of the Folsom Historical Society (located above the Folsom History Museum), interviewed folks who once lived in Red Bank (often referred to as Mormon Island, which it isn’t), and Wood and I took three excursions to Folsom Lake to find the ruins.

The place was flooded when Folsom Dam was constructed in the 1950s and now, due to the drought, the ruins are coming to the surface. Red Bank was a mine during the Gold Rush but after the gold petered out, it became a winery (those ruins are from 1872) and later a dairy (run by Bud and Artie Davies). You can read that story by clicking here.

As part of that history series we called “From the depths,” we explored the ruins of Salmon Falls. A bridge, foundations, stairs and more are now visible because the lake is so low. Read part three of “From the depths” by clicking here.

It was while researching Salmon Falls that I came across the Clarksville Historical Society and Betty January. Clarksville has about a dozen structures still standing if you include the woodshed, outhouse, garages and storage sheds. There are three houses that once belonged to the Tong family, the old schoolhouse that now serves as a barn, two older houses – Griggs and Kyburz. The crumbling brick walls of the Wells Fargo building sit across the street from the town's one modern house. The Pony Express also ran through here on its was to nearby Mormon Tavern (a re-mount station).

The town is also unique in that the paved main street in 1913 was designated as part of the nation’s first coast-to-coast highway -- the Lincoln Highway -- and is reported to be one of the longest stretches of the roadway still in existence. The developer plans to preserve part of the road.

Clarksville is not open to the public (but will be on May 9 with Clarksville Day, read the story for more information), and we had been given special permission to explore the place with the historical society. Philip and I were there to document the town as it is now, before it’s cleaned up and sanitized for public viewing this spring.

It’s the last time official photographers could capture what the town is like now before the grass is mowed, brush removed, and yellow caution tape is wrapped around anything that may be perceived as dangerous. Between the two of us, we took more than 300 photographs (I’ve included some of those I snapped in this blog). To check out Philip Wood's blog on the subject, click here.

So, the question is, where do we go next? What’s the next ghost town we explore for our readers? We’re looking for suggestions, so contact us if you know of such a place that’s within an hour’s drive of Folsom or El Dorado Hills. E-mail me at donc@goldcountrymedia.com.

Inside the Telegraph is a staff blog that rotates between Editor Don Chaddock, Photographer Philip Wood and Sports Editor Matt Long. It publishes online every Sunday.