Pauline Larsen Blair

Born in 1855 to Norwegian pioneers in the Utah territory, Pauline Larsen Blair traveled with her family by wagon to El Dorado County at just 5 years of age. During the journey across Nevada, their wagon train was attacked by Indians, but Pauline and her family survived. Upon settling in El Dorado County, the Larsens established orchards. Her father, Nels Theodore Emil Larsen, was the first to plant pears east of Placerville. In 1876, Pauline was wed to Matthew Blair, Jr. They went on to have eight children, whom she raised to be proud and responsible citizens of El Dorado County. In her later years, Pauline insisted she be allowed to drive the latest automobile contraption. She began driving at the young age of 70 years old and found the new pastime to be absolutely exhilarating. It is impossible to overstate the influence that Pauline’s family – the Larsens and Blairs – have played in El Dorado County’s agricultural industry over the last 170+ years.