Amador County Archives - RVing with Rex (2024)

The Mokelumne River stretches almost 100 miles from its headwaters in the Sierra as it flows west to merge into the Sacramento Delta just west of Lodi. The river is divided into the Upper Mokelumne River which stretches from the high Sierra to Pardee Reservoir in the foothills and the Lower Mokelumne River, the section of the river below Camanche Dam to the Delta. In its lower section, the Mokelumne is heavily employed for irrigation and water for the east Bay Area through the Mokelumne Aqueduct. The river bisects Amador and Calaveras counties especially beautiful this time of year.

Conveniently located in the heart of Gold Country, we used Jackson Rancheria RV Resort as our home base to explore this part of the Mother Lode. New in 2008, the RV resort is part of a casino complex. Even if you’re not a fan of the casino scene you’ll love this 5-star resort. Big rig friendly 50/30-amp electric service, water, sewer, and cable TV are centrally located. Wide, paved interior roads with wide concrete sites. Back-in sites over 55 feet with pull-through sites in the 70-75 foot range. Reservations over a weekend are required well in advance.

From Jackson Rancheria Casino RV Resort we drove southwest 4.5 miles to Jackson. Jackson is a vibrant old and new town with quaint Main Street preserving gold rush history with a variety of cute shops and eateries.

The early gold rush camp turned city was, like so many other gold rush towns along California Highway 49, destroyed by a raging fire in 1862. The city was rebuilt with as many as forty-two of those Civil War era buildings still standing today on and around Jackson’s Historic Main Street. At the turn of the 19th century Jackson had about 3,000 residents with three churches, three newspapers, four hotels, five boarding houses, two candy factories, cigar and macaroni factories, eight physicians, and two dentists.

Once the richest mining area in the Mother Lode, Jackson also has ties to the lumber industry and wineries of Amador County. The area’s rolling foothills are checkered between tall golden grass, oak trees, and thousands of acres of grapevines, and Plymouth close by is now famous as one of California’s favorite places to go for a wine tasting tour.

In addition to wine tasting, Jackson is full of unique gift shops, antique shops, restaurants, museums, parks, and historical sites like the Kennedy Gold Mine and the former home of Armstead C. Brown, now the Amador County Museum. Stop at the National Hotel at the south end of Main. Built in 1852 and visited by many noteworthy guests over its history, the hotel was extensively renovated a few years ago.

Visit the old Kennedy Mine and the historic Kennedy Mine Tailing Wheel #4 north of town on Highway 49 for a quick dose of early mining history. At 5,912 feet, it is one of the world’s deepest gold mines. The Kennedy has approximately 150 miles of underground tunnels, a great deal of surface equipment which once included the famous Jackson Gate elevator wheels and miles of flumes. The total production was $34,280,000. The Kennedy was closed in 1942 by order of the government while in full production.

From Jackson we followed Highway 49 south for 7.5 winding miles to the wonderful old town of Mokelume Hill. Just outside Jackson, you can detour down Middle Bar Road back to the river to find wildflowers. Just before crossing the Mokelume River you’ll detour east on Electra Road along the river for more wildflower sightings.

Hiding in Calaveras County is a sleepy little Gold Rush town that flies under the radar for most people. Mokelumne Hill is the western-most Gold Rush era town in Calaveras County and boasts a charming, historic Main Street which is accessed off the highway. The village of Mokelumne Hill nestles on a small flat at an elevation of approximately 1,500 feet surrounded by hills and within a few miles of the river. “Moke Hill,” named for the Mokelumne River, sits high above the river with a variety of well-preserved buildings dating to the 1860s.

Few people realize that Mokelumne Hill was actually one of the richest mining towns in the state during the Gold Rush. So much gold was found in the town’s surrounding hills that miners were restricted to claims of just 16 square feet.

Visit the Leger Hotel—a portion of the building served as the Calaveras County Courthouse from 1852 to 1866 but when the courthouse was moved to San Andreas, George Leger made it part of his hotel. Fire damaged the building and it was restored in 1879, renamed the Leger Hotel.

TheHotel Léger is one of only two continuously operating Gold Rush era hotels in Calaveras County. Atthe heart of the town’s cultureitserves as friendly, local gathering place and watering hole, restaurant, hotel and event-center, and most-famous haunted building on the west side of the county. Those with the interest and courage are encouraged to pick up a ghost-hunting kit from the front desk foran impromptu ghost-hunt. The Whitewater Grill and Saloon is the premiere restaurant and saloon in town and well-worth a visit for surprisingly inexpensive fine-dining.

Mokelumne Hill was known as one of the most violent, bawdy towns in the Mother Lode. As the gold played out, Mokelumne Hill shrunk from a wild and woolly 15,000 to a quiet historic village. Take the time to walk the historic blocks of Moke Hill and you will feel the ghosts of gold rush days.

Tourism has become a new industry to the town. Many of the early homes on the hillsides and the historic buildings downtown have withstood the boom and bust economy of the gold regions of the west.

Worth Pondering…

There are not many places in the world where you can get to the beach in an hour, the desert in two hours, and snowboarding or skiing in three hours. You can do all that in California.

—Alex Pettyfer

We remain optimistic about this year’s RV travel season despite its rough start due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We’re cautiously hoping that as this starts to pass, there’ll be enough cabin-fever to make people want to pack up the RV and head out on a road trip.

Stretching from El Dorado County south to Mariposa County, the Mother Lode is a continuous 120 mile long zone of hard rock gold deposits.Although most of the mining camps faded after the mines closed, tourism has brought some of them back to life.

Nestled between 1,200 and 1,600 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevadafoothills in the“Heart of the Mother Lode” is the historic town of Jackson. The city that produced more than half the gold pulled from the Mother Lode, Jackson is home to the deepest mines on the continent, the Argonaut and the Kennedy both in excess of 5,000 feet deep.

The Argonaut operated until 1942, reaching a vertical depth of 5,570 feet via a sixty-three degree shaft and produced more than $25 million in gold.

The Kennedy has approximately 150 miles of underground tunnels, a great deal of surface equipment, which once included the famous Jackson Gate elevator wheels, and miles of flumes. The total production was $34,280,000. The Kennedy was closed in 1942 by order of the government while in full production.

Today, where gold once reigned, some forty wineries produce a new treasure: superb wines which have earned Amador County international acclaim. The area’s rolling foothills are checkeredbetween tall golden grass, oak trees, and thousands of acres of vineyards. The sun-drenched hillsides, warm daytime temperatures, and volcanic, decomposed granite soils are ideal conditions for producing top-quality wine grapes.

The town originally bore the name Bottileas given by the Mexican and Chilean miners who were, as the story goes, impressed by the number of bottles dropped at a spring that served as a watering hole for passing miners. The site of the original well is memorialized with a bronze plaque behind the National Hotel at the foot of Main Street.

It wasn’t Bottileas for long. Sometime before the fall of ’49, Bottileas became Jackson’s Creek. Maybe it was named after New York native Alden Appolas Moore Jackson or Andrew Jackson.

The early gold rush camp turned city was, like so many other gold rush towns along California Highway 49, destroyed by a raging fire in 1862. The city was rebuilt with as many as forty-two of those Civil War era buildings still standing today on and around Jackson’s Historic Main Street.

At the turn of the 19th century Jackson had about 3,000 residents with three churches, three newspapers, four hotels, five boarding houses, two candy factories, cigar and macaroni factories, eight physicians, and two dentists.

Visitors can explore these historic buildings and artifacts among the many shops, restaurants, and lodging facilities that include the iconic National Hotel.

Two and one-half mile east of the historic district off State Route 88, the Jackson Rancheria RV Resort makes a great home base to explore the Heart of the Mother Lode.

New in 2008, Jackson Rancheria RV Resort is part of a casino complex. Big rig friendly 50/30-amp electric service, water, sewer, and cable TV are centrally located. Wide, paved interior roads with wide concrete sites. Back-in sites over 55 feet with pull-through sites in the 70-75 foot range. A 5-star resort. Reservations over a weekend are required well in advance.

In addition to wine tasting, Jackson is full of unique gift shops, antique shops, restaurants, museums, parks, and historical sites like the Kennedy Gold Mine and the former home of Armstead C. Brown. Constructed in 1854, this 15-room classic Greek Revival dwelling now houses the Amador County Museum. Exhibits feature a fascinating array of artifacts and items from the county’s early mining days.

These scenic “Civil War” era buildings have been well preserved and are a photographic opportunity as well as being an incredible wealth of historic information. The sidewalks on Main Street have many bronze plaques laid into them with historic references to buildings and activities of days gone by.
Jackson at the heart of the Mother Lode will be one of your favorite stops, one you will return to again and again.

Worth Pondering…

There are not many places in the world where you can get to the beach in an hour, the desert in two hours, and snowboarding or skiing in three hours. You can do all that in California.

—Alex Pettyfer

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has impacted RV travel right now. As RVers, travel is our way of life and, if you’re like us, you’re feeling the frustration of being limited to one location without the freedom to travel. 2020 is certainly presenting new challenges and now, more than ever, we realize that the freedom to travel is something we can’t take for granted. Now is a great time to start thinking of places you’d like to go—especially bucket-list destinations.

Travel back to the Gold Rush era on Highway 49 where charming mining towns dot the route, surrounded by the panoramic vistas and bubbling streams of the western Sierra Nevada foothills

The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 changed the course of California’s and the nation’shistory. Although most of the mining camps faded after the mines closed, tourism has brought some of them back to life.

Amador City

One of California’s smallest incorporated cities, with a population of just over 200 residents, Amador Cityis a little city with a lot to offer.

The original mining-era buildings are now home to unique shops including Victorian clothing, custom quilts, local handmade gifts, a kitchen store, shops offering unique house and garden items, garden art, and antiques and books from the Gold Rush Era.You will also find wine tasting, an old fashioned soda fountain and lunch counter, an artisan bakery, and gourmet lunches and dinners.

The Imperial Hotel (from 1878) affords visitors an opportunity to stay the night and enjoy Amador City’s Gold Country small town way of life.

It all started several hundred yards upstream from today’s town site.Jose Marie Amador, a wealthy California rancher, mined along this nameless creek in 1848-1849.There, gold outcroppings were discovered on both sides of the creek.The Original or Little Amador Mine and the Spring Hill Mine were probably the county’s first gold mines.Soon, the creek, the town, and a new county carried Amador’s name.

As the “easy” gold was mined out on the upper part of the creek, mining and encampments gradually moved to South Amadore where French Gulch flows into the creek.This is the current site of Amador City.Founded in 1853, the Keystone Mine was the city’s most famous gold mine and a major reason for the town’s growth.It reached a depth of 2,680 feet and before closing in 1942 produced an estimated $24 million in gold.

Keystone’s early years were plagued with production and ownership problems; luckily, a rich new vein was discovered in 1866, enabling the mine to yield a monthly gold production average of $40,000, making the Keystone one of the most lucrative California mines. In those days there were an estimated four to six thousand residents in Amador City.

Amador City’s oldest structure, built around 1855, is the center portion of the Amador Hotel.Up Main Street is the stone Fleehart Building (now the Whitney Museum) was the Wells Fargo Building and dates from the 1860s.

Sutter Creek

The town takes its name from the creek, and the creek takes its name from John A. Sutter. Sutter owned the saw mill in Coloma where the first Mother Lode gold was found in 1848.Unable to stop the tide of gold-seekers flowing over and destroying his lands, Sutter decided to follow the call of gold, trying in vain to recoup what the Gold Rush had taken from him. He arrived where Sutter Creek is currently located in 1848, and upon finding a likely spot, began mining along the creek.

A small settlement began to grow, centered around a cloth tent where the miners met on rainy Sundays. The place eventually took the name of its most prominent citizen, and was called Sutter’s Creek, Sutter, Sutterville, and finally, plain old Sutter Creek.

But Sutter wasn’t a miner, and many of the other miners in the area didn’t much approve of his using servants to dig for gold. He left the area a short while later, returning with his men to Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento. Sutter would never mine again.

Sutter Creek achieved prominence as the supply center for the many mines that circled the town. It was hard rock mining more than placer mining that helped the town to boom.Mines owned by Alvinza Hayward (the Gold Country’s first millionaire), Hetty Green (at one time the country’s richest woman), and Leland Stanford (at one time California’s governor and the founder of Stanford University) included the Union Mine (later renamed the Lincoln Mine) and the Old Eureka Mine. Sutter Creek remained a full- fledged mining town, boasting some of the best producing deep rock mines in the Mother Lode.

Today, the town’s locals mine the visitors who come from around the world, drawn by both history and small town hospitality.

Worth Pondering…

There are not many places in the world where you can get to the beach in an hour, the desert in two hours, and snowboarding or skiing in three hours. You can do all that in California.

—Alex Pettyfer

As the world comes to a standstill as we try to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), we encourage all of you to hunker down right now, too. In the meantime, we’ll keep posting articles to help you navigate the state of RV travel as well as stories about places for you to put on your bucket list once it’s safe to get back on the road again.

California is called the Golden State possibly for many reasons, among which, and in addition to its abundant sunshine, is the Gold Rush with its exciting and colorful history.

“Boys, by God, I believe I’ve found a gold mine,”said James W. Marshall to his mill workers on January 24, 1848 after he discovered shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he and John Sutter were constructing on the South Fork of the American River.

Gold! The cry went up from Sutter’s Milland brought a mass migration of people into California from the four corners of the world. This discovery in 1848 changed the course of California’s and the nation’shistory.This event led to a mass movement of people and was the spark that ignited a spectacular growth of the West during the decades to follow.

By August, the hills above the river were strewn with wood huts and tents as the first wave of miners lured by the gold discovery scrambled to strike it rich. Prospectors from the East sailed around Cape Horn. Some hiked across the Isthmus of Panama, and by 1849, about 40,000 came to San Francisco by sea alone.

Most of the 49ers never intended to remain in California permanently. Most meant to seek their fortune and return to wherever they called home. But many sent for their families and stayed, causing a culturally diverse population to grow rapidly. Between 1848 and 1852, four short years, California’s population grew from 14,000 to 223,000.

The Gold Rush expended 125 million troy ounces of gold, worth more than $50 billion by today’s standards. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of the gold in the Mother Lode is still in the ground.

These 49ers established hundreds of instant mining towns along the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Most mining camps were nothing more than temporary encampments established where a section of a river was panned or sluiced until the gold ran out.Permanent towns developed in areas where more extensive operations spent decades tunneling deep into the hills.

Many of these historic and picturesque towns still exist, linked by California Highway 49, the Gold Rush Trail.

The original mining-era buildings in these towns are now home to unique shops—but my interest lay elsewhere, in the gold mining history of these towns.

Using Far Horizon 49er Village RV Resort in Plymouth (see above) and Jackson Rancheria RV Resort (see below) in Jackson as our home bases, we explored parts of El Dorado, Amador, and Calaveras counties along State Highway 49.

Throughout its length, the Gold Rush Trail winds through many of the towns that sprung up during the Gold Rush as it twists and climbs past panoramic vistas. Rocky meadows, oaks, and white pines accent the hills while tall firs, ponderosa pine, and redwoods stud higher slopes. Dozens of lakes, rivers, and streams compliment the stunning background of rolling hills.

We made stops in many old mining townsalong the Trail. They retain their early architecture and charm—living reminders of the rich history of the Mother Lode. Placerville, Amador City, Sutter Creek, Jackson, Mokelumne Hill (Moke Hill), San Andreas, Angels Camp, and Murphys all retain their 1850’s flavor.

The historic town of Placerville is just minutes from over 50 farms and ranches of the Apple Hill area as well as award-winning wineries.

Today, where gold once reigned, some forty family owned wineries and vineyards dot the winding roads of the fertile Shenandoah Valley in northern Amador County. The valley offers unique tasting rooms and outdoor event venues, bed and breakfast inns, and relaxing environments for locals and visitors.

Interesting places to stop are never far apart, and the drama of living history appeals to all ages. There’s no end to the nuggets you’ll discover in California’s Mother Lode Country.

Worth Pondering…

There are not many places in the world where you can get to the beach in an hour, the desert in two hours, and snowboarding or skiing in three hours. You can do all that in California.

—Alex Pettyfer

Nestled against the western slope of the Sierra Nevada thefoothills offer outdoor adventure, farm-fresh produce, and relaxed wineries.

On January24, 1848, James W. Marshall, acarpenter from New Jersey, picked up a few shining flecks of gold in thetailrace of the sawmill he and John Sutter were constructing on the South Forkof the American River in the valley the Nisenan Indians knew as Cullumah.

James Marshallwas building the sawmill to supply lumber for Sutter’s Fort in the SacramentoValley. John Sutter had ambitious dreams of creating an empire—the New Helvetia in the Sacramento Valley.

The gold discovery site and several historic buildings inpresent day Coloma became part of California’s state park system in1927.Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Parkfeatures a statueof James Marshallpointing at his gold discovery site, full-size replicaof the original sawmill, over 20 historic buildings (many original andrestored), living history demonstrations, video presentations, and costumedvolunteers. Visitors can try their luck panning for gold and enjoy hikes andpicnics under the riparian oak woodlands.

The discovery of gold was truly “dumb luck.” John Sutter andJames Marshall started out as partners in the lumber business. In the fall of1847, construction began on a sawmill, and by early 1848, it was ready to betested. However, the tailrace, which carried water away from the mill was tooshallow, and had to be deepened so the water would not back up and prevent themill wheel from turning. It was during his inspection of the watercourse thatMarshall found the shiny flecks. Four days later, the sample was confirmed tobe real gold.

By May 1848, San Francisco was reported to be “half empty”as every able-bodied man—doctors, lawyers, gamblers, merchants, miner, andmore—headed for Coloma. A great number of Oregon Trail pioneers now had a goodreason to head south. News also spread around the world. Many Chinese workerswere lured to California, too, by the promise of gold.

The “easy” placer gold at Coloma played out within the first10 years, sending prospectors into the surrounding hills where many hard rockmines were established.

Soon after the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill sparkedtheCalifornia Gold Rush, the small town of Old Dry Diggings sprangup.Later in 1849, the town earned its most common historical name,Hangtown. The name was changed in 1854 when the City of Placerville was incorporated.Placerville was named after the placer deposits found in the river bed.

Other towns followed. One of California’s smallest incorporated cities, with a population of just over 200 residents, Amador City is a little city with a lot to offer. It all started when Jose Marie Amador, a wealthy California rancher found gold outcroppings were discovered on both sides of the creek.

As the “easy” gold was mined out on the upper part of the creek, mining explorations gradually moved. Founded in 1853, the Keystone Mine was the city’s most famous gold mine and a major reason for the town’s growth. It reached a depth of 2,680 feet and before closing in 1942 produced an estimated $24 million in gold.

Jackson, the city that produced more than half the goldpulled from the Mother Lode, home to the deepest mines on the continent, theArgonaut and the Kennedy both in excess of 5,000 feet deep, is the largest cityin the historically rich and beautiful wine country of Amador County.

Once the richest mining area in the Mother Lode, todayJackson’s main industry is tourism.

Founded in 1848, Moke Hill, as the locals called MokelumneHill, was among the richest of the digs. Claims in some areas were confined tosixteen square feet and many fortunes were made. It was the county seat in theearly days and, although it held no exclusive rights, it was known as one ofthe most violent, bawdy towns in the Mother Lode.

Several good strikes were made by early miners at Angels Camp.The source of gold played out quickly but hard rock mining kept the goldindustry flourishing in Angels until recently. The town is honeycombed withtunnels from the many successful mines.

Most of the 49ers never intended to remain in Californiapermanently. Most meant to seek their fortune and return to wherever theycalled home. But many sent for their families and stayed, causing a culturallydiverse population to grow rapidly between 1848 and 1852.

Over the next 50 years, roughly 125 million ounces of goldwas taken from the hills in the California Gold Country.

Worth Pondering…

There are not many places in the world where you can get tothe beach in an hour, the desert in two hours, and snowboarding or skiing inthree hours. You can do all that in California.

—Alex Pettyfer