Lotus, California

38°48′06″N 120°54′31″W

Lotus
Unincorporated community
Lotus Location in California Show map of California Lotus Lotus (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°48′06″N 120°54′31″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	El Dorado County
Elevation [1]	722 ft (220 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	238
ZIP code	95651[2]
Area code	530

Lotus (formerly, Marshall and Uniontown) is an unincorporated community in El Dorado County, California, United States.[1] It is located 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Coloma,[3] at an elevation of 722 feet (220 m).[1]

The settlement was established in 1849 and named for James W. Marshall, discoverer of gold.[3] In 1850, the name was changed to Uniontown to commemorate California's admission to the Union.[3] The name was changed to Lotus with the arrival of the post office in 1881.[3] Lotus once had a store, dance hall, and a large Chinese population, including a Chinese cemetery. At its peak, the town was estimated to have 8,000 to 10,000 residents; now it is overshadowed by its neighbor Coloma.[4]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lotus, California
2. "Lotus ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
3. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 517. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
4. Anderson, Jim (February 12, 1978). "Lotus: A famous neighbor can give a whole town a complex". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, CA. Retrieved December 26, 2023.