Latrobe is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in El Dorado County

El Dorado County, California

El Dorado County is a county located in the historic Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills of the U.S. state of California. The 2010 population was 181,058. The El Dorado county seat is in Placerville....

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Placerville

Placerville, California

Placerville is the county seat of El Dorado County, California. The population was 10,389 at the 2010 census, up from 9,610 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, at an elevation of 761 feet (232 m).

Latrobe was the terminus of the Placerville and Sacramento Rail Road. The name, bestowed by F.A. Bishop, chief engineer of the railroad, was in honor of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II

Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II

Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II was an American civil engineer, best known for his railway bridges.He was the son of Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the United States Capitol and the Basilica of the Assumption. The junior Latrobe was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was educated in Baltimore,...

, chief engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

, America's first railroad. A post office operated at Latrobe from 1864 to 1921.