California Gold Country

Travel America, Sept, 2000 by Nancy Hoyt Belcher

Tourists strike it rich in historic mining towns along the 49er Trail

TOUR OF THE MONTH

One hundred and fifty years ago, when California became a state, most of the people didn't live in San Francisco or Los Angeles, but in tiny mining towns hastily built in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

In 1847 the population of California was 14,000; by 1850 more than 100,000 dreamers and adventurers had arrived from all over the world--all because James Marshall had picked up a couple of small golden flakes from the tailrace on the American River near John Sutter's sawmill in 1848. Mexican miners called the major gold veins La Veta Madre (The Mother Lode) and the name stuck.

Camps and towns (historians claim there were 546) sprang up wherever gold was found, then were abandoned when it ran out. Today almost 300 have vanished or are ghost towns in arrested decay. Many that remain are just a quick pit stop at a picturesque name: Rough and Ready, Fiddletown, Cool, Chinese Camp, Drytown (where there were once 26 saloons).

The route of the 49ers, State Highway 49, about 150 miles east of San Francisco, stretches 321 miles through nine small counties (Mariposa County doesn't even have a stop sign).

Today's treasure hunters will find other rewards in the still-flourishing small towns clustered throughout the area--handsomely restored Victorians housing restaurants, boutiques, antique shops, and art galleries; charming 19th century inns; historic museums, many specializing in Mother Lode memorabilia; award-winning wineries (grapes, not gold, now glitters in "them thar hills"). Many towns offer walking tours, steam train excursions, and horse carriage rides.

You'll discover even more wealth when you meander onto a scenic back road--a richness of lakes and rivers (some of the West's best for whitewater rafting); giant sequoias, pines, cottonwoods, and oaks dotting the landscape; abandoned rusted machinery, weathered wooden buildings, and tailings sprawling across fields; emerald green hillsides with wildflowers in the spring--or a sea of gold on Daffodil Hill in Amador County when 40,000 daffodils bloom.

Dozens of historic markers along the route beckon you to stop and learn about the era. Near Angels Camp you can read about Mark Twain's cabin (and drive to a replica), where he wrote his first published story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. The town parties every May during its Jumping Frog Jubilee.

You can still pan for flecks of gold at many sites along the way, including where it all began, at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma. The park, which sprawls along both sides of Highway 49, features mining exhibits, a restored Main Street, a replica of Sutter's sawmill (with some of the original hand-carved timbers on display), and a marker for the actual discovery site in a remnant of the original tailrace.

One of the best preserved historical districts in the Gold Country can be found in Nevada City. Neon signs aren't allowed; gaslit lamps line the main streets; even board sidewalks remain.

The town, well known for its great shopping and restaurants, is a favorite weekend getaway for San Francisco Bay Area residents. The still-operating Nevada Theatre, the state's oldest theater, once hosted Mark Twain and Jack London on stage. Silver ore from the legendary Comstock Mine came to Ott's Assay office, and the Miners Foundry looks much as it did when it was manufacturing mining equipment and the Pelton Water Wheel. Today it's a cultural center and hosts dozens of events throughout the year, including an International Teddy Bear Convention.

Placerville (once Hangtown and the first major Gold Rush town) is the starting point for a popular farm trails driving tour. A saunter down Main Street offers a glimpse into the past, including the oldest continuously operating hardware store west of the Mississippi River and the Cary House Hotel, once a Wells Fargo statecoach stop.

It seems as if every town has preserved an old locomotive. In Coulterville, it's Whistling Billy on display under the Hangman's Tree. Billy's entire life in the late 1880s was a four-mile run from the Mary Harrison Mine to a stamp mill.

But railroad buffs shouldn't miss Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown. The former headquarters of the Sierra Railway, which hauled freight and passengers into the Mother Lode, now houses an impressive collection of locomotives, passenger coaches, cabooses, and track cars. Original buildings include an enormous roundhouse.

There also are plenty of old mining buildings left to explore; most are open to visitors. Near Sierra City you can tour the restored Kentucky Mine (now a museum), while Sutter Creek showcases the Knight Foundry, one of the few water-powered foundries left in the country. Jackson's Kentucky Mine once laid claim to being the deepest mine in North America. Malakoff Diggins (a state historic park) near Nevada City still shows the ecological damage done by what was once the world's largest hydraulic gold mine.