By Cris Alarcon | News In El Dorado County Publisher
Published: October 8, 2025
EL DORADO, Calif. — Ed Hagen, the soft-spoken logger, rancher, builder, and community benefactor whose hands shaped the “El Dorado Station” and whose generosity helped keep local history on track, died Tuesday, October 7, 2025, after a long battle with health complications. He was widely known for his commitment to preserving the county’s rail and ranching heritage and for leasing the station he built to El Dorado County for $1 a year — a gesture of civic pride that captured the spirit of a man who lived to give back.
Born and raised in El Dorado County, Hagen spent much of his life working with his hands and heart — ranching, restoring equipment, and volunteering alongside museum and railway foundation staff.
The legendary life of Ed Hagen: rancher, rescuer and steward of El Dorado’s past
For more than half a century, Ed Hagen has been a familiar face on Hagen Ranch and in downtown Placerville parades, a man whose work — from logging and mail runs by horseback to quiet acts of generosity — helped stitch the county’s history to its present-day community life.
Hagen’s contributions run from the hands-on to the civic. In 2010 he built the temporary “El Dorado Station,” a small building that the county later leased for a nominal $1 per year to serve as a ticketing point, tourist information kiosk and small exhibit space for the county’s railroad park. The structure is documented in the county’s Railroad History Center and Park master plan. El Dorado County
A native of the area and a graduate of El Dorado High School’s class of 1961, Hagen — a U.S. Marine veteran — has long been a behind-the-scenes helper in the community: removing hazardous trees, clearing log jams on local rivers, rescuing animals and hosting traditions on his property. The family has opened the ranch for an annual Easter-egg hunt for decades and he’s known locally for driving vintage rigs in community parades. Inedc
“He’s always been one to help — help the underdog,”
his wife, Sheryl Hagen, told a local reporter when Ed was named Grand Marshal of the 2023 Hangtown Christmas Parade. “He’s quietly helped so many people over the years.” Inedc
Timeline & civic ties
• 1961: Graduated El Dorado High School (Placerville). Inedc
• U.S. Marine service: Reported in local profile. Inedc
• 2010: Built the temporary “El Dorado Station,” later leased to El Dorado County for $1 a year to support the fledgling Railroad History Center and Park. El Dorado County
• 2011 onward: The county’s railroad excursion / volunteer program used the station for boarding, ticketing and displays as the Railroad Park concept matured. El Dorado County+1
Hagen’s mix of private effort and public-spirited giving is an example of the kinds of local partnerships that built the railroad-park project. His station provided a low-cost, immediate solution for visitor services while county planners and volunteers worked toward a permanent depot and broader park development. The master plan lists the station as part of Phase 1 infrastructure — an early and practical contribution to a cultural project that depends on volunteers, donors and small-scale civic cooperation. El Dorado County
Portrait of a life in the community
Beyond a few civic acts, neighbors remember Hagen for personal gestures: lending help to young people who’d wandered off the right path, appearing at community events with a smile and a story, and opening his land to people and programs that benefit children. He and Sheryl raised six children; they are grandparents and great-grandparents, according to local coverage. Such long-running family ties help explain why locals named him a “Hometown Hero” and chose him as 2023 parade Grand Marshal.
In 2010, he designed and constructed the El Dorado Station, a modest but vital structure still used for ticketing, visitor information, and railroad displays. County records and museum plans confirm Hagen’s donation and continued involvement through the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation and the County Museum’s volunteer network.
“He’s always been one to help … He’s quietly helped so many people over the years,”
— Sheryl Hagen, quoted in the Placerville NewsWire/InEDC profile when Ed was named Grand Marshal for the Hangtown Christmas Parade.
Hagen hosts the “Cowboy Church” on his ranch.
Hagen’s contributions stretched beyond the rail line. Friends recall him welding parade floats, tuning up engines, and showing up to fix things that no one else knew how to fix. The El Dorado County Railroad Park Development Plan lists Hagen’s name among early contributors who envisioned a living history railroad. Even as his health declined, he continued attending local events, greeting visitors with a nod and a smile that spoke louder than words.
A private memorial service is expected to be held later this month, with a public remembrance tentatively planned at the El Dorado Station. County museum volunteers are preparing a temporary display honoring Hagen’s life and his enduring impact on El Dorado’s heritage rail.
For a man who once gave the county a station for a dollar, his true gift was priceless — a reminder that community is built not by wealth, but by hands willing to serve.
Whether he was driving a Model T down Main Street, clearing a dangerous tree from a county road or quietly offering a hand to a neighbor, Ed Hagen’s life was stitched into the county’s social fabric. For small communities, such hands-on stewardship — not the headlines, but the everyday labor of care — often becomes the most durable legacy.
