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State Historic Park Coloma, California
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If you ride through the foothills on Highway 49, you will ride right through Coloma. Essentially the entire town is a state park. There are still about 200 people that live around the town year round. And the nearby hillsides are slowly gaining more and more homesteads as Sacramento creeps into the foothills. Auburn is a mere 16 miles to the north, Placerville 8 miles to the south. In a partnership with John Sutter of Sutters Fort, James Marshall built his saw mill along the South Fork of the American River. Much by accident, or more so fate, he discovered gold flakes in the stream he was using as a source of power. His discovery soon spurned the gold rush. His mill closed in 1850, mere months after it was completed. The last thing on people's mind in 1850 was working in a sawmill. By 1856, the mill was torn down. |
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There is an excellent museum here entailing the details of the gold rush and the life of James Marshall. And his comrade in arms - John Sutter. (Don't miss Sutters Fort in downtown Sacramento.) Not left out are the roll of Chinese miners in the gold fields. One of the historic brick buildings has even been preserved (located centrally within the park) dedicated to the role the Chinese miners played in the gold rush. Numerous other memorabilia abound in a small outdoor museum. |
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Every January near the end of the month, the park celebrates its anniversary
of this discovery. The year 2006 will mark the 156th anniversary. This annual event features living history displays.
Period actors bring their wagons, musical instruments, dress, and the
general way of life is recreated. Authors, speakers, and docents all
contribute toward educating you and and I about the discovery and the
results.
In February, the month's last weekend is dedicated to the woman's role in the expansion west. Speakers speak, demonstrators demonstrate. Quilting, spinning, and other textile arts are the focus of the weekend. If you miss this one, the park holds this event almost every month, usually the last weekend of the month. Blacksmithing, gold panning, even spinning and weaving, rope-making, basketry and whatever else they can think of. There is a small restaurant to get a sandwich also. The park does collect a nominal fee (there are signs everywhere) and if you get anywhere near the museum you'll sense the suckage on your pocket book increasing. It is for a good cause. |
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Usually during the second weekend of December, the park ramps up with an 1850's Christmas- complete with historic trade demonstrations, plays, wreath making and marauding carolers with big grins on their faces. The usual vendors plying their wares are present along with plenty of food to aid you in gaining the holiday poundage you say your gonna loose come January 1st. The great thing about this park is there are almost every weekend, docent tours taking place with the well-versed park ranger or volunteer narrating the events that took place in Coloma. |
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Much of the town's original building have been destroyed or even dismantled. Compared to well-preserved towns like Columbia or Sonora, one glimpses the sheer magnitude and grandeur the town must have once held. When the town's gold subsided, they even tore down the buildings they resided in and mined the ground underneath the buildings. This was also done in Columbia. |
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Interest in the saw mill was rekindled in 1924 when foundation timbers were found in the river bed and a large saw blade was unearthed. From original plans, photos, and drawings, a full size working replica of the saw mill was built based off the Marshall's original drawings. There are plans to tear down the mill and build a new one in the coming years.. So I would get out there while its hot and still standing. |
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The mill is sixty feet long, 20 feet wide, and 39 feet high using 30,000 board feet of lumber. Not a single nail was used, and keeping with the times, only wooden pegs were used to recreate the replica. The original constructions methods were used to build the mill even to the point where each beam was adzed by hand. |
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| Above the town (and an easily missed sight) is a massive monument erected in James Marshall honor. Complete with a larger than life statue of Marshall adorns its top. Marshall's cabin is here, as is the site of hit grave. There are also two churches within the park that you can peer into, and the requisite pioneer graveyard. |
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Many motorcyclists pass through here as Hwy 49 is surrounded by amazing
roads.
Mosquito Ridge to the northeast, Salmon Falls to the west and Newton Road & Cedar Ravine Rd(s) to the south are my closest recommendations. Rock Creek Road up to Mosquito is due east of here a few miles away via Highway 193. Return to Placerville on Mosquito Road. |
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Telephone: 530-622-3470 Operating Hours: More Pics of Marshall Gold Discovery SHP |
Museum and Building
Hours: Christmas in Coloma - mid-December |
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