Greenwood 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 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Georgetown

Georgetown, California

Georgetown is a census-designated place in El Dorado County, California. It is the northeastern-most town in the Californian Mother Lode. The population was 2,367 at the 2010 census, up from 962 at the 2000 census...

, at an elevation of 1608 feet (490 m).

The place was originally called Long Valley, then Green Valley, then Lewisville, and finally Greenwood, in honor of John Greenwood who set up a trading post there in 1848. The Louisville post office operatd from 1851 to 1852, when it was moved and renamed to Greenwood. Lewisville and Louisville were names in honor of Lewis B. Meyer, father of the first child born there.