Two Gold Rush-era buildings, including the former site of the Hangman's Tree bar, are proposed for demolition on Placerville's Main Street, but local historians are determined to rescue key historical elements, if not the buildings themselves.

Henry Saunders of the Sacramento-based Saunders Co. said his firm made a loan on the buildings and acquired them through foreclosure. Although the company applied for a demolition permit, he said no decision has been made whether to tear down the buildings or try to restore them.

"We don't want to screw up the city of Placerville," Saunders said.

But the city has declared the buildings unsafe to occupy, and in the current economy, Saunders said, the company can't afford to renovate or undertake new construction at the site.

Members of the Heritage Association of El Dorado County take issue with architects' conclusions that the Herrick Building, constructed in 1853 at the northeast corner of Main and Center streets, and the adjoining Hangman's Tree building are notable only for their age.

Despite rundown facades, "the buildings are significant to the Main Street landscape," said Mary Cory, a Heritage Association member and administrator of the El Dorado County Historical Museum.

"It's not a fancy building," Marilyn Ferguson said of the Herrick building. "But in 1853, there were no fancy buildings (in Placerville.)"

Ferguson, a Heritage Association member, has spent years documenting Placerville history.

The Hangman's Tree bar, with its controversial hanging dummy out front, was for many residents and visitors the symbol of historic Old Hangtown, as Placerville was known in its rowdy youth.

The bar moved to Smith Flat Road more than a year ago, and the two buildings, which share a wall, are vacant.

The stump of the hanging tree is said to be in the basement of the former bar. The site was declared a state historical landmark in 1934.

The Planning Commission postponed a hearing on the demolition request Tuesday after the owner agreed to allow a Heritage Association committee to inspect the buildings and document their historical features.

City officials had asked the association to submit a report on the buildings. The owner agreed this week to grant access after liability issues were resolved, said Steve Calfee, community development director.

Ferguson said the committee will look for features that attest to the buildings' history.

Bruce Herrick, who built the two-story structure at Main and Center streets, owned a brickyard on Oregon Ravine, current site of the city Aquatics Center.

"It's logical to assume he used his own bricks in the building," Ferguson said.

The Herrick building, home to a series of markets and restaurants during the last century, features a tin ceiling, likely installed in the early 1860s, she said.

The committee also will take detailed photographs of murals in the Hangman's Tree building with an eye toward removing and preserving them.

"The historical elements belong to the owner of the buildings. We would encourage the owner to reuse them" if the structures are demolished, Cory said.

If the owner wished to donate them, she said, the artifacts likely could find a home at the county Historical Museum.

"We hope an angel will come in and want to work with us," owner Saunders said. "We're wide open (to proposals)."

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.