Columbia
California the golden town
Locals dress in period costume
Well summer weather is coming and
going at the moment. However, sooner
than later our golden California
sunshine will be back. And what better
way to celebrate this than to take the
125 mile or about 2:24 drive to the old
gold town of Columbia, California. It is
a living part of history set in the
scenic Tuolumne County and framed by the
Stanislaus River.
A rough mining town sprang up shortly
after the discovery of gold, in this
magnificent part of the Sierra
Foothills. By 1852, there were eight
hotels, four banks, seventeen general
stores, two firehouses, two bookstores,
one newspaper, three churches, and over
forty drinking/gambling establishments.
Miners eagerly removed, between 1850 and
the early 1900s, $150 million in gold
from the surrounding hills. This drove
the boom of Columbia.
$150 million in gold
Ravaged by fires several times
throughout its history the town managed
to survive and remained independent
until in 1945 when California created
the Columbia State Historic Park from
the remaining historical buildings. The
town's claim to fame is that it never
became a ghost town.
If you like early California history;
then you will find walking through this
living monument to it a real treat.
Locals dress in period costume and help
bring this long ago world back to life.
Make the effort and experience this
semblance of California's past today.