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Mother Lode: California's gold
Mother Lode: California's Heart of Gold
By JANET K. KEELER
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
last updated: September 25, 2007 05:51:42 AM
MURPHYS -- Fiddletown. Angels Camp. Copperopolis. Jackass Hill. Railroad Flat.
The names of California's historic Gold Rush towns paint pictures of daring and true grit.
Imagine the bawdy goings-on at the saloon in Angels Camp. What sort of dirty deals were struck at Fiddletown? And how it must have looked, all those pack mules tied up at Jackass Hill and their masters zonked out for the night, dreaming of tomorrow's discovery.
The Gold Rush that started the state on its way to prosperity in 1848 didn't last long, but the imprint of those heady times remains strong. Thank the dusty prospectors every time you button your Levi 501 jeans. Or when a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate melts in your mouth.
Levi Strauss & Co. and Ghi- rardelli Chocolate Co., plus Wells Fargo and Bank of America, are all San Francisco-born, financed with gold pulled from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
Indeed, San Francisco itself was built by miners' hard work and good fortunes. Gutsy types from all over the world landed there first and bought mining supplies before heading to parts unknown.
In typical San Francisco style, much of the riches found in the hills came back to the city and were spent on a good time.
Today, visitors can experience the miner's life by panning for gold in ice-cold streams. Guides are well-versed in the history, some of it not so pretty (Hangtown?), which they dispense readily along with instructions. ("Shake, shake, shake and let the shiny bits settle at the bottom of the pan.")
Tourists are drawn to the foothills by more than history. There are quaint hotels and B&Bs up and down Highway 49 plus unique shops, golf courses, Indian gambling halls and wineries. Copperopolis, which for most of the past 100 years hasn't deserved more than a passing glance, is now a hot spot for artisan olive oil.
Outdoor activities, including whitewater rafting and kayaking, lure Northern Californians by the SUV-load in the summer and on weekends.
Both visitors and transplants are wowed by the flat-out gorgeous scenery. From the vast valleys below, the terrain gracefully rises in waves, dipping and climbing to about 3,000 feet, where redwoods grow. In spring and summer, the roads are buffeted by meadows of wildflowers. In autumn, poplars, maples and aspens show their colors. And always, the rivers and streams run fast, cold and clear.
Bring your shovel
The Mother Lode is a nickname for the entire region but it is actually a 100-mile-long vein of gold and quartz deep in the Sierra Nevada. The vein and its potential riches still exists and that draws dreamers.
People buy property with water running through it, hoping to dig out big nuggets or make money off others who want to try. There are many gold-panning tours.
Donald and Shirley Wildes of Okeechobee, Fla., were on a guided hunt for gold in Jamestown's Woods Creek this summer. They are rockhounds, spending a lot of their vacations looking for precious gems around the country.
The guide passed out the picks and shovels. The biggest haul recently from the creek was a nugget worth $6,000. On this day, eight would-be miners collectively netted about $300 worth of flakes and tiny nuggets during the five-hour adventure.
Historic Highway 49
Though gold was first unearthed in 1848, the rush began the following year. The prospectors that flocked to the hills were called 49ers. It's a name used by a lot of businesses here and most famously by one professional football team. It's also the name of the state highway that runs 325 miles north and south through the region. Nearly all the historic towns sit along Highway 49 or are a few well-marked miles off of it.
We traveled the southern mines section of the road, starting in Jamestown and moving north to Auburn, just a few miles from Coloma, where gold was first discovered.
Auburn, on Interstate between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, has a well-preserved downtown with a hip vibe. The recently opened Auburn Ale House honors history by brewing Fool's Gold Ale, Gold Digger IPA and Old Prospector Barleywine. Across the street, the classic neon of the California bar promises a somewhat darker, more aged experience.
Highway 49 is a mostly two-lane, winding road that you'll have to share with truckers, tour buses and locals. You can see a lot of places in one day but we recommend taking two or three days, spending the nights in historic hotels. The Murphys Hotel, built in 1856, was good enough for writer Mark Twain. Even Ulysses S. Grant, who would become a Civil War hero and United States president, slept here.
Stores with lovely home furnishings, funky baby clothes and trendy food lure the Williams-Sonoma crowd to Murphys. If only the miners had olive tapenade and Ironstone old vine Zinfandel to get them through the day.
Murphys calls itself the "Queen of the Sierra" and it is one of the region's prettiest places. Progressive, too. Not many small towns in America have a restaurant like Mineral, which specializes in upscale vegetarian cuisine with sake pairings.
Not far from Murphys, Columbia State Historic Park provides a peek back in time. The park is a preserved Gold Rush town and a rarity in the foothills because the elements have reclaimed most original buildings.
At Columbia, visitors can take a stagecoach ride, pan for gold, watch the blacksmith work and buy giant jawbreakers and sassafras candy at the Old Tyme Candy Shoppe. The City Hotel offers fine dining and an antique-laden place to lay your head.
From Columbia, we drove north to the towns of Jackson and Sutter Creek. Both are loaded with Old West flavor and antique shops. Our favorite is Water Street in Sutter Creek, which has a warehouse in nearby Jackson. Tattered tin signs and framed paintings look down on rows and rows of pie safes, tables, trunks and armoires. Dozens of wooden baking paddles lean on the wall outside.
In Sutter Creek, meander on the elevated wooden walkways that buffer the street from the stores. Is that Black Bart coming your way? Maybe. The Wild West villain staged his last robbery in Sutter Creek and this year a new festival celebrated his dastardly deeds.
Highway 49 is the sort of road that leads you from one historic marker to the next. That's how you'll find the spot where James Marshall struck gold on the south fork of the American River at Coloma.
Marshall, a Jersey boy, is credited with starting the pandemonium known as the Gold Rush. Walk along the river. It's mostly serene now, save for the occasional bus of excited and loud schoolchildren.
The possibility of gold still has the power to work up a crowd.
kenb
Mother Lode: California's Heart of Gold
By JANET K. KEELER
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
last updated: September 25, 2007 05:51:42 AM
MURPHYS -- Fiddletown. Angels Camp. Copperopolis. Jackass Hill. Railroad Flat.
The names of California's historic Gold Rush towns paint pictures of daring and true grit.
Imagine the bawdy goings-on at the saloon in Angels Camp. What sort of dirty deals were struck at Fiddletown? And how it must have looked, all those pack mules tied up at Jackass Hill and their masters zonked out for the night, dreaming of tomorrow's discovery.
The Gold Rush that started the state on its way to prosperity in 1848 didn't last long, but the imprint of those heady times remains strong. Thank the dusty prospectors every time you button your Levi 501 jeans. Or when a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate melts in your mouth.
Levi Strauss & Co. and Ghi- rardelli Chocolate Co., plus Wells Fargo and Bank of America, are all San Francisco-born, financed with gold pulled from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
Indeed, San Francisco itself was built by miners' hard work and good fortunes. Gutsy types from all over the world landed there first and bought mining supplies before heading to parts unknown.
In typical San Francisco style, much of the riches found in the hills came back to the city and were spent on a good time.
Today, visitors can experience the miner's life by panning for gold in ice-cold streams. Guides are well-versed in the history, some of it not so pretty (Hangtown?), which they dispense readily along with instructions. ("Shake, shake, shake and let the shiny bits settle at the bottom of the pan.")
Tourists are drawn to the foothills by more than history. There are quaint hotels and B&Bs up and down Highway 49 plus unique shops, golf courses, Indian gambling halls and wineries. Copperopolis, which for most of the past 100 years hasn't deserved more than a passing glance, is now a hot spot for artisan olive oil.
Outdoor activities, including whitewater rafting and kayaking, lure Northern Californians by the SUV-load in the summer and on weekends.
Both visitors and transplants are wowed by the flat-out gorgeous scenery. From the vast valleys below, the terrain gracefully rises in waves, dipping and climbing to about 3,000 feet, where redwoods grow. In spring and summer, the roads are buffeted by meadows of wildflowers. In autumn, poplars, maples and aspens show their colors. And always, the rivers and streams run fast, cold and clear.
Bring your shovel
The Mother Lode is a nickname for the entire region but it is actually a 100-mile-long vein of gold and quartz deep in the Sierra Nevada. The vein and its potential riches still exists and that draws dreamers.
People buy property with water running through it, hoping to dig out big nuggets or make money off others who want to try. There are many gold-panning tours.
Donald and Shirley Wildes of Okeechobee, Fla., were on a guided hunt for gold in Jamestown's Woods Creek this summer. They are rockhounds, spending a lot of their vacations looking for precious gems around the country.
The guide passed out the picks and shovels. The biggest haul recently from the creek was a nugget worth $6,000. On this day, eight would-be miners collectively netted about $300 worth of flakes and tiny nuggets during the five-hour adventure.
Historic Highway 49
Though gold was first unearthed in 1848, the rush began the following year. The prospectors that flocked to the hills were called 49ers. It's a name used by a lot of businesses here and most famously by one professional football team. It's also the name of the state highway that runs 325 miles north and south through the region. Nearly all the historic towns sit along Highway 49 or are a few well-marked miles off of it.
We traveled the southern mines section of the road, starting in Jamestown and moving north to Auburn, just a few miles from Coloma, where gold was first discovered.
Auburn, on Interstate between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, has a well-preserved downtown with a hip vibe. The recently opened Auburn Ale House honors history by brewing Fool's Gold Ale, Gold Digger IPA and Old Prospector Barleywine. Across the street, the classic neon of the California bar promises a somewhat darker, more aged experience.
Highway 49 is a mostly two-lane, winding road that you'll have to share with truckers, tour buses and locals. You can see a lot of places in one day but we recommend taking two or three days, spending the nights in historic hotels. The Murphys Hotel, built in 1856, was good enough for writer Mark Twain. Even Ulysses S. Grant, who would become a Civil War hero and United States president, slept here.
Stores with lovely home furnishings, funky baby clothes and trendy food lure the Williams-Sonoma crowd to Murphys. If only the miners had olive tapenade and Ironstone old vine Zinfandel to get them through the day.
Murphys calls itself the "Queen of the Sierra" and it is one of the region's prettiest places. Progressive, too. Not many small towns in America have a restaurant like Mineral, which specializes in upscale vegetarian cuisine with sake pairings.
Not far from Murphys, Columbia State Historic Park provides a peek back in time. The park is a preserved Gold Rush town and a rarity in the foothills because the elements have reclaimed most original buildings.
At Columbia, visitors can take a stagecoach ride, pan for gold, watch the blacksmith work and buy giant jawbreakers and sassafras candy at the Old Tyme Candy Shoppe. The City Hotel offers fine dining and an antique-laden place to lay your head.
From Columbia, we drove north to the towns of Jackson and Sutter Creek. Both are loaded with Old West flavor and antique shops. Our favorite is Water Street in Sutter Creek, which has a warehouse in nearby Jackson. Tattered tin signs and framed paintings look down on rows and rows of pie safes, tables, trunks and armoires. Dozens of wooden baking paddles lean on the wall outside.
In Sutter Creek, meander on the elevated wooden walkways that buffer the street from the stores. Is that Black Bart coming your way? Maybe. The Wild West villain staged his last robbery in Sutter Creek and this year a new festival celebrated his dastardly deeds.
Highway 49 is the sort of road that leads you from one historic marker to the next. That's how you'll find the spot where James Marshall struck gold on the south fork of the American River at Coloma.
Marshall, a Jersey boy, is credited with starting the pandemonium known as the Gold Rush. Walk along the river. It's mostly serene now, save for the occasional bus of excited and loud schoolchildren.
The possibility of gold still has the power to work up a crowd.
kenb
