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Empire Mine is located at the intersections of highways 20 and 49 northeast of Sacramento. Empire Mine was one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California. The grounds include the owner's home and gardens, original mine buildings and equipment and a museum. The 3 dimensional model of the 367 miles of shafts below the surface is impressive. Be sure to go out back and look down the shaft that miners used to be catapulted into.
TIP: An underground tour is set to open sometime in 2006.
Empire Mine
10791 East Empire Street
Grass Valley, CA 95959
(530) 273-8522
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Placer County Museum is located on Maple Street off Interstate 80, east of Sacramento. Housed in the original courthouse building, this historic 1889 building features colonial architecture with a bell tower, dome and classic columns. The original jail, treasurers office and courthouse are now museum displays of the county's gold mining history, indian artifacts, an original stagecoach and gift shop.
Placer County Museum
101 Maple Street
Auburn, CA 95603
(530) 889-6500
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Marshall Gold Discovery Museum is located on Highway 49 between Placerville and Auburn in Coloma. This is where the 1849 gold rush all began. This is the site of Sutter's sawmill where in 1848, James W. Marshall found a gold at the bottom of his sawmill. A reproduction of the original sawmill stands at the original location along the river. Many original structures still stand throughout the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park. A museum displays items from the gold rush era including weapons, tools, a stagecoach and indian artifacts.
Marshall Gold Discovery Museum
310 Back Street
Coloma, California 95613
(530) 622-3470
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El Dorado County Historical Museum is located on Placerville Drive off Highway 50, east of Sacramento. Many indian artifacts are on display from the Maidu, Miwok and Washoe tribes of the region. This was the county where gold was originally discovered at Sutter's Mill and many gold rush era artifacts are on display. Some of these include wagons, stage coaches, stamp mills and even a general store.
El Dorado County Historical Museum
104 Placerville Drive
Placerville, CA 95667
(530) 621-5865
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Chaw-Se Indian Museum is located off Highway 88 southeast of Sacramento. The museum is part of Indian Grinding Rocks State Park which features hundreds of mortar holes formed from indians grinding acorns into flour. This is the largest collection of indian mortars found anywhere in North America. The museum displays Miwok artifacts and dipictions of daily life long before the gold rush. The Miwok tribe continue to hold gatherings at the Roundhouse on the property.
Chaw-Se Indian Museum
Indian Grinding Rocks State Park
14881 Pine Grove-Volcano Road
Pine Grove, California 95665
(209) 296-7488
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Calaveras County Museum is located off Highway 49 on Main Street in San Andreas. The museum is contained within the historic Calaveras County Courthouse. The grounds include a jail yard where prisoners were housed, hung and buried. The courthouse is still in operation and houses many artifacts from the gold rush era. Other artifacts include those left by Chinese immigrants and those of local indian tribes. The Camanche Catholic Church was moved here when the Camanche Reservoir was filled in with water.
Calaveras County Museum
30 North Main Street
San Andreas, California 95249
(209)754-4658
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Ironstone Vineyards Museum is located off Highway 4 just outside of the historic town of Murphys. This museum features a 44-pound gold nugget that was discovered by the local Sonora Mining Company on Christmas Day, in 1992. The grounds at Ironstone Vineyards are a beautiful place to visit and should not be missed. A restaurant, tasting room, amphitheatre and more are open to the public. Gold panning with lessons is offered at the creek that runs through the property.
Ironstone Vineyards
1894 Six Mile Road
Murphys, CA 95247
(209) 728-1251
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Columbia State Historic Park is located 3 miles north of Sonora on Highway 49. This is a well preserved gold mining town with historic buildings, live entertainment, stagecoach rides and workers dress in era clothing. The museum houses gold rush era artifacts including tools and equipment used by early fire departments.
Columbia State Historic Park
22708 Broadway
Columbia, California 95310
(209) 532-0150
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Railtown 1897 is located in Jamestown off highway 49 at 5th Avenue and Reservoir Road. This is an operational railroad museum and train depot. Featured attraction is a short, historic, steam locomotive ride through gold country and back. The grounds include several historic trains, some of which were used in movies, a roundhouse, blacksmith shop and gift shop.
Railtown 1897
18115 5th Avenue
Jamestown, California 95327
(209) 984-3953
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