Fountain-Tallman Soda Works

The Fountain-Tallman Soda Works is a historic building in Placerville, El Dorado County, California. It currently houses the Fountain & Tallman Museum, which is owned and operated by the El Dorado County Historical Society. The rustic vernacular Victorian stone and brick building, of the Gold Country, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1984.

The two-story masonry structure was built as a soda water factory by John Fountain & Benjamin Tallman in 1852. The stone walls of the building are more than 2 feet (0.61 m) thick so ice and soda supplies could be kept cool. These construction materials also have protected it from fires that destroyed surrounding buildings (3 fires occurred in 1856 alone), and as a result it is one of the oldest buildings in Placerville. Water was pulled through a small wood framed hole in the wall from a spring out back in the hillside. An odd-looking contraption (a small pressure vessel) housed inside the building, added carbon dioxide (CO2) to the water. A replica is currently on display. Bottles were then filled and pressure caps added with wire twists to hold the caps in place.