Comparing old pictures of what life was like back then to what is today.
Located in the heart of the California Mother Lode, Columbia State Historic Park is a living gold rush town featuring the largest single collection of existing gold rush-era structures in the state. Visiting Columbia is like traveling back in time to the sights, smells, and sounds of a nineteenth century mining town-merchants dressed in 1850’s attire, a whiff of coal smoke from the blacksmith shop, and the rumble of a stagecoach pulling into town! Spend the day enjoying fun activities for the whole family. Pan for gold, explore exhibits, ride the stagecoach, discover unique shops, and learn about the rich history of the California gold rush on a guided town tour.Columbia’s streets are lined with a variety of shops and boutiques with many specializing in nineteenth century goods. Restaurants, ice cream parlors, candy stores, saloons, and a tea house stand ready to quench your thirst, satisfy a sweet tooth, and fill your appetite. Be sure to enjoy a cold bottle of locally made Sarsaparilla to get a taste of the old west and then head over to the portrait studio and dress up for an old-time photo. Visit a working blacksmith shop where you can watch iron being skillfully forged into finished goods through fire, water, and shaping on an anvil. You can also buy a personalized horseshoe souvenir! Conveniently located off of Highway 49, Columbia is an easy and scenic drive that neighbors other historic towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills including Sonora, Jamestown, and Angels Camp making it a popular destination for day-trippers and weekenders alike. Columbia is also easy on the budget with free admission, free parking, and free guided tours of the town by docents. You can even bowl for free in an antique bowling alley next to the museum! With so much to see and do in the area, why not plan an overnight stay for a relaxing and unhurried visit? Several affordable lodging options are available in town including hotels, cottages, cabins, and campgrounds for RV’s and tents.Come discover Columbia, “Gem of the Southern Mines”, and explore the rich history of this charming California Gold Rush town. Between the 1850s and 1870s over one billion dollars in gold (at today's value) was mined in the area. For a time, Columbia was the second largest city in California. Unlike many other settlements that disappeared due to fire, vandalism and time, Columbia survived. It was never completely deserted. In 1945 the State Legislature made the site a State Historic Park in order to preserve a typical Gold Rush town, an example of one of the most colorful eras in American history. Today visitors can take a step back in time to experience life in Gold Rush era of the 1850's and 60's in California.
In March of 1850, Dr. Thaddeus Hildreth led a prospecting party that discovered gold at this location. When word of the discovery spread, hundreds of miners started arriving at the scene. "Hildreth's Diggings" was the name of the original camp, and by mid-year thousands of miners were working the gold placers here.The easily accessible gold was largely worked out in the first year, and a source of water was needed to drive the mines deeper into the ancient river gravels. During this time the original settlement was almost completely abandoned. The first ditches and flumes were built in 1851, the mines were once again active, and miners flocked back to the area. By 1852 Columbia had 8 hotels, 4 banks, 17 general stores, 2 firehouses, 2 bookstores, 1 newspaper, 3 churches, and over 40 saloons and gambling halls. In 1854 a major fire destroyed 6 city blocks. The town was rebuilt, this time with "fireproof" buildings constructed of brick and iron. In 1857, another fire burned down much of the town, but most of the newer brick buildings survived.In 1854 the Columbia and Stanislaus River Water Company was formed to build a new 60 mile aqueduct to supply water for the mines. The project was not completed until 1858. While the aquaduct was not a financial success for the company that built it, it did allow for more extensive mining that kept Columbia active into the 1860s. In 1859 Columbia was California's third largest city. Today Columbia is one of the most remarkable and well-preserved examples of a gold rush town in America.
www.visitcolumbiacalifornia.com
www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=552
#californiahistory #historicallandmarks #historicalplaces #columbia #gold #goldrush #thenandnow
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