“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.
The 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 MoreThis is a colorful card manufactured by the Pacific Novelty Co. of San Francisco & Los Angeles. It's entitled "Placer Mining Scars at Dutch Flat, California." Hydraulic Mining is what caused those "scars." The areas surrounding Dutch Flat were heavily mined during the Gold Rush with hydraulic methods.
Read MoreThis one looks like it might be a scene from Malakoff Diggins, or somewhere around Dutch Flat. I'm wondering if all those monitors were turned on at the same time for the photographer who took this picture. My guess would be yes.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
