ABOUT

Weimar (formerly, New England Mills and Weimer) is an unincorporated community in Placer County, California, located in the Sacramento area. Weimar is located 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south-southwest of Colfax. By car, Weimar is about one hour from Reno, Nevada and about one hour northeast of Sacramento, California on east I-80. It is directly adjacent to Interstate 80. Amtrak stops at Colfax, California which is about 3 miles east on I-80 past Weimar. Weimar, California was originally named New England Mills. 

History

There has been much historic amnesia about the origin of the name "Weimar". Unquestionably, the area was named for a prominent Nisenan chief, who was a signator to the Treaty of Fort Union in 1851 and later moved to the Round Valley Reservation. He became unhappy, as did other Nisenan and returned to his original homeland in 1860 and died in 1881. There is much evidence to substantiate this claim, including California Place Names by Erwin Gustav Gudde. Another explanation comes from the Geisendorfer family; descendants of George Geisendorfer, founder of the town. George Geisendorfer was born in the area of Weimar, Germany. Many of the original inhabitants of Weimar (New England Mills) were also of German descent. Members of the town, and the Geisendorfer family, have testified that George Geisendorfer himself decided to rename the town “Weimar” when the post office rejected the original name of New England Mills.