Sonora brimming with nostalgia

From the Pick and Shovel August/September 2014 issue

By Sarah Reijonen

For the GPAA

In 1851, the Sonoran Herald said the uptick in industry waved over the small village of Columbia like a "magic wand.

A change has come about, the busy hum of industry is heard on every hand, and the once solitary streets and untrodden avenues are now bristling with the thriving population. Houses are being erected in all parts of the camp, and every vacant spot is staked off for building or mining purposes," the Herald reported more than 160 years ago.

Columbia State Historic Park represents the mining town as it was in its heyday, though it's a just a shadow of the 150-plus stores, shops, saloons and other businesses operating in Columbia in 1852.

It all started in 1850 when a group of prospectors discovered gold while passing through the area. While they were caught in a rainstorm, Dr. Thaddeus Hildreth, his brother George, Johnny Walker and a few others set up camp. Walker decided to take a test pan and six weeks later the area nestled in the Sierra foothills was booming. It became known as Hildreth's Diggings.

Growth in Columbia

As California struggles through drought, history echoes the importance of water in all aspects of life, especially in mining. Because Columbia was a dry diggings, miners left with the rains each year — that is, until June 1851 when Tuolumne County Water Company emerged and engineered a system of wooden flumes, pipes and ditches to transport water from the Stanislaus River, which was 20 miles away. But, Tuolumne County Water Company's rates were so high that miners created their own water company — the Columbia and Stanislaus River Company — and built a 60-mile aqueduct. Unfortunately, the channel was not finished until 1858 after all the easy gold was already gone, according to the Columbia Chamber of Commerce website.

The ever-present water increased productivity in gold mining allowing for open pit placer mining and hydraulic mining. The result — more than $100,000 a week, leaving it with the title, "Gem of the Southern Mines." At that time, gold was $12 to $15 per ounce. Altogether, between 1850 and the early 1900s, miners extracted approximately $150 million worth of gold, according to California State Parks.

Columbia peaked in 1853 and became one of the largest cities in California with a population of nearly 30,000, but as the gold began to run dry, so did the town and within just seven years it was nearly a ghost town. During it's prime, Columbia suffered two devastating fires, the first in 1854 and then again in 1857. Each time the town was rebuilt, substituting brick for the lumber previously used.

Once mining came to a halt in the 1860s, Columbia's population dwindled and the town remained dormant until 1945 when restoration began to preserve history. Now the state historic park harbors the "largest single collection of existing Gold Rush era structures," according to California State Parks.

What to do at Columbia State Historic Park

• Catch a show at the Fallon Hotel and Theater.
• Take a ride on the old stagecoach.
• Pan for gold at the Hidden Treasure Gold Mine.
• Belly up to the bar at Bixel Brewery for an ice cold refreshment and peanuts. Go ahead, toss the shells on the floor; you won't hear any hollering from the bartender.
• Visit the museum at the Knapp Store for more gold mining history.
• Make reservations for a free town tour, ghost tour or photography tour. Contact the museum for details.
• Participate in Gold Rush Days, the second Saturday of every month from 1-4 p.m.
  
  

Columbia's neighbor to the south: Sonora

The first influx of miners to scramble to Columbia came from nearby Sonora, which is only four miles away, and Jamestown, which is just three more miles south of Sonora. According to the California State Parks, two-thirds of the miners who came to Columbia were Mexican. In fact, Sonora was established by Mexicans who emigrated from the state of Sonora, Mexico in 1848. Though mining began in 1848 in Sonora, Calif., the first documented discovery of gold was not recorded until March 1849, according to the City of Sonora website.

Despite the large population of both Mexicans and Chinese, foreign-born miners were dissuaded from mining by the 1850 Foreign Miner's Tax, which required the miners to pay a state tax of $20 a month. Friction between Americans and the Mexican miners, known as Sonoranians, also grew as the Mexican-American War came to an end and California was acquired by the United States.

Sonora's Bonanza Mine reaped a rich gold deposit upon its discovery in the early 1850s, but it was not completely developed until 1879. 

At that time, long after the California Gold Rush, the mine produced an estimated $250,000 worth of gold, earning it the reputation as "one of the Mother Lode's richest pocket mines," according to the Tuolumne County Historical Society website.

Both Columbia and Sonora remain rich historical footprints that trace the path of gold through California's Mother Lode. Overall, the area stretching from Georgetown south to Mariposa produced the majority of the $2 billion dollars of precious metal mined in the Gold Rush, according to the History Channel website. In the first five years alone, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that miners unearthed more than 12 million ounces of gold.

Lodging

Sonora Bridge Campground 
(Reservations not accepted)
From Highway 395 south in Bridgeport, drive approximately 17 miles to Highway 108, Sonora Junction. Turn left on Highway 108 and go approximately one mile. The campground is on left side of road.

River Ranch Campground
20900 Fish Hatchery Rd.
Tuolumne, CA 95379
209-928-3708

49er RV Ranch
23223 Italian Bar Rd.
Columbia, CA 95310

The Sonora Inn (Historic)
160 S Washington St.
Sonora, CA 95370
209-532-2400

Gunn House Hotel (Historic)
286 S Washington St.
Sonora, CA 95370
209-532-3421

 

49er Mining Supplies
11940 Yankee Hill Road
Columbia, CA 95310
209-588-1635

 

Recreation

Tuttletown Recreation Area
Reynolds Ferry Rd. 
Angel's Camp, CA 95370
209-536-9094

Glory Hole Recreation Area
Glory Hole Rd.
Angels Camp, CA 95222
209-536-9094

 

Museums/Historical Points of Interest/Entertainment

Veterans Memorial Military Museum
(Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday)
9 N. Washington Street
Sonora, CA 95370
209-533-0923

St. James Episcopal Church (The Red Church)
42 Snell St.
Sonora, CA 95370
209-532-1580

Black Oak Casino
19400 Tuolumne Rd. N
Tuolumne, CA 95379
209-928-9300

Sonora Fire Museum & Senior Lounge 
(Open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
125 N. Washington St.
Sonora, CA 95370
209-532-7890

Mark Twain's Cabin
Jackass Hill Road
(Look for the E. Clamper Vitus marking along Highway 49 near Lake Molones)

Going to the Expo?

Are you planning to attend the GPAA Sonora Gold & Treasure Expo Aug. 23-24? Here is the perfect three-day travel itinerary for Sonora and the surrounding Gold Country:
Friday, Aug. 22

• Soak up some sun at the Glory Hole and Tuttletown Recreation Parks on your way into town then swing by and check out Mark Twain's Cabin, which is just off of Highway 49 on Jackass Hill Road.
• Show your patriotism and appreciation with a visit to the Military Museum in downtown Sonora (see above for hours).
• Sit down for a tasty meal at Diamondback Grill. Check the chalkboard for nightly specials and wine pairings.
• If you're still going strong, why not test your luck at the Black Oak Casino?

Saturday, Aug. 23

• Check out the Farmer's Market, which runs from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. every Saturday through Oct. 18. It is set up parallel to Washington Street at the intersection of Theall and Stewart streets.
• Load the wife up with cash and set her free among the many antique shops in downtown Sonora.
• Head out to the GPAA's Sonora Gold & Treasure Expo at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds.
• Keep the prospecting and historical theme going and visit Columbia State Park.
• Shimmy up to the bar at the Sportsman. You'll need a drink after you find out how much the little lady spent on an antique rocking horse.
• Finish the evening with dinner at Talulah's, which serves up local cuisine.
  

Sunday, Aug. 24

• Grab a bottle of Indigeny Hard Cider to bring home as a liquid souvenir.
• Still have time on your road trip? Swing through one of the many gold mining towns along Highway 49, such as Jamestown, Angel's Camp or Murphys, which boasts a lane of 25 wine tasting rooms as well as the world's largest crystalline gold nugget. The nugget is on display at Ironstone Vineyards and Winery.