“In the days of old, in the days of gold, in the days of ‘49”
California State Highway 49, the “Mother Lode Highway,” can truly take you back to the days of ’49. The road connects gold rush mining camps, ghost towns and historic sites from Oakhurst in the south, to Sierra City in the north. It’s three hundred miles of beautiful country along the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. Twisting mountain roads, sheer granite walls, precipitous drops to swiftly moving rivers. Old buildings, gold mines, forgotten cemeteries. Let’s go see what we can find.
It was inevitable, thousands and thousands of pioneers came to California to search for gold. They staked claims, fought bandits and the elements, built crude cabins, mining camps and towns. Businesses, schools, stores of every kind, restaurants, jails, gold mines and churches. They lived and they died.
Read MoreAfter the hardships and trials of crossing the Sierra Nevada, the weary emigrants following the Carson Trail no doubt welcomed a day or two of rest at the group of springs located here, sweet springs which provided cool, beautifully clear water. And once the travelers had rested and the stock had been watered, they would move on. No one could afford to stay for any length of time, they were bound for Coloma or the Southern Mines; the gold was waiting.
Read MoreA cluster of cool, clear springs surrounded by oaks and sugar pines made this spot a natural stopping point for emigrants traveling along the Carson Emigrant Trail. One such traveler was David B. Scott, who left Monroe, Michigan in 1849 to cross the plains and come to California. He was so impressed with this area that when his party disbanded in Sutterville, he returned here with a group of men in 1850 and erected a shingle machine near the springs, from whence the town took its name.
Read MoreA fanciful tale is told regarding the naming of Fiddletown. As the story goes, the camp was first settled by a group of prospectors from Missouri in 1849. When it came time to name the place, one of the elder Missourians complained of the younger men: “They are always fiddlin,’ call it Fiddletown.” Another story gives credit to German fiddle players, while Edwin A. Sherman relates in his reminiscences of an old lady who claimed her family were the first settlers at “Violin City,” so-called because her husband, daughter, and two sons all played the violin. It’s probably safe to say that some early settler in Fiddletown was partial to playing the fiddle.
Read MoreThe first settlement in the area was called Pokerville, and was located about a mile or so downstream of the present town on Little Indian Creek. The camp was established around 1852, and as water was scarce and the placers stingy, the camp kind of faded away as the miners drifted upstream to a new site, a site which became known as Puckerville in 1855.
Read MoreMining for gold began here in the spring of 1848 when Mexican, Indian, and American miners searched for gold in the rich gravels along Dry Creek. The town which grew up around the creek was called Drytown and it is the oldest town in Amador County. Although the creek may have run dry during the summer months, legend has it the town never did, as an old story claims some twenty-six saloons wet the miners’ whiskers during the early 1850’s.
Read MoreThe town takes its name from the creek; the creek takes its name from John A. Sutter. Unable to stop the tide of gold-seekers flowing over and destroying his lands, Sutter decided to follow the call of gold, trying in vain to recoup what the Gold Rush had taken. He arrived here in 1848 with a band of Kanakas and Indians, and upon finding a likely spot began mining along the creek.
Read MoreThe creek, the town, and the county all take their name from the same man, Jose Maria Amador, Indian fighter, rancher, miner. On August 17 of 1835, Amador was granted an immense 16,517 acre tract of land known as the Rancho San Ramon, where he settled down and built one of the few two-story adobes in California. Amador began producing leather, soap, saddles, blankets, shoes, and wagons using Indians from mission San Jose, and was soon one of the wealthiest rancheros in the province.
Read MoreWho the first men were to mine this region is not known for certain, but legend has it that among the earliest were members of Stevenson’s Regiment who chanced upon the diggings in 1848. They found the placers exceedingly rich, averaging $100 a day per man, with some spots yielding up to $500. The claims in Soldiers Gulch were paying so well that no one took the time off from mining to build any kind of permanent shelter. So when the first snows began to fly, most of the men packed up their gear and headed for friendlier climes.
Read MoreEmpty bottles left alongside a year-round spring located on the trail between Drytown and Mokelumne Hill gave rise to the site’s first name, Bottilleas, most likely an American corruption of the Spanish word for bottle, Botella. That name didn’t last long; however, as by 1849 the small settlement was known as Jacksons Creek, or more simply, Jackson. The camp was probably named in honor of Andrew Jackson, although some claim it was so-called for Colonel Alden Appolas Moore Jackson who may have mined here briefly in 1849, before moving on to the Tuolumne River where he established the mining camp of Jacksonville.
Read MoreAt one time the most important camp on the Mokelumne River, Big Bar quickly disappeared when the gold played out and the miners left for the richer diggings of Mokelumne Hill. The spot was first mined during 1848, at which time it was almost impossible to cross the wild Mokelumne River. To remedy this situation, a whaleboat ferry was established in 1849, which operated until 1852 when it was swept away in a flood. A toll bridge was built to replace the ferry and it did a booming business until it was swept away by the flood of 1862. Following that disaster, a somewhat higher bridge was built which served the area for many years after.
Read MoreThe Great Seal of the State of California was first adopted in 1849, at the California State Constitutional Convention. It's undergone some minor changes over the years, but remains very similar to its original design.
Read MoreThe quiet, pastoral appearance of Chili Gulch today belies its early day reputation as the richest and most-worked gulch in the county. As early as 1848, three camps were located along the gulch, mostly populated by Chilean miners. It was near this site in 1849 that the Chilean War occurred.
Read MoreThis old mining town, located on the banks of the Calaveras River, started out as a rich camp back in the early 1850’s. The river received its name from Gabriel Moraga who visited the region in 1806. Believed to be the first white man to enter what is now Calaveras County, he found many skulls along the banks of the river below San Andreas, prompting him to call it Calaveras, meaning “skulls” in Spanish. The river was rich and was widely worked during the Gold Rush. Placering, hydraulic mining, and dredging all took place in this area.
Read MoreA shallow basin rich in gold was discovered in 1850, about one and a half miles south of Jackson. Miners flocked to the area and for a very brief time the town known as The Bute, Butte City, and Greaserville rivaled neighboring Jackson in size and importance By 1851, several hundred inhabitants called Butte City home. Numerous buildings once lined the town’s main street, housing the merchants, businessmen and miners during the camp’s brief existence, brief because the gold gave out early and the town was abandoned almost faster than it was built.
Read MoreGold was first discovered in the area in late 1848 or early ’49. Located in the Sierra Nevada east gold belt district, the neighboring areas of Skull Flat, Bummerville, Pioneer Station, and Buckhorn were also extensively mined during the Gold Rush.
Read MoreThe place was settled in 1849, and proved to be a rich placer and quartz mining area for a short while. During its popularity, the town had a three-story hotel, seven saloons, several stores, a school, butcher shop, shoe maker, restaurant, and numerous homes scattered about the hillsides.
Read MoreA group of prospectors from Oregon are credited with discovering the rich placers here along the Mokelumne River. It happened in October of 1848, a little way below the town’s present site, and the diggings were rich; so rich that even with their provisions almost gone, the men chose to risk starvation rather than abandon their claim to make the long trip to Stockton for supplies. A man named Syree was finally persuaded to go and when he returned, he set up a trading post atop a hill near the scene of operations. In a canvas tent he sold food, tools, and supplies at a price that more than made up for any mining he had missed.
Read MoreWith the large number of prospectors, gamblers, storekeepers and settlers pouring into California during the early years of the Gold Rush, coins were in scarce supply. A small number of firms began striking private issue Gold coins to solve the problem. Of course, some of those coins didn’t contain the amount of gold they were supposed to, but that’s another story.
Read MoreForty different nationalities were represented among the miners of Campo Seco during the early years, making it perhaps the most cosmopolitan of all the mining camps in the Gold Country. The area was first prospected by Mexican miners in 1849, and by the following year quite a camp had grown up around them. It was due to the severe scarcity of water that the place got its name, Campo Seco, meaning "dry camp" in Spanish.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
