Calaveras County Historic Mining Towns

The foothills of the Sierra Nevadas were sprinkled with remains of towns that bustled with thousands of people during the go-go heyday of the California gold rush in the 1800s, only now to have perhaps a hundred or so residents and no visible signs of the original towns. Some towns, however, continued on in a smaller fashion. They retained some of their more interesting historical buildings (especially those built of stone, brick, and steel roofs to resist wild fires), and catered to interested visitors plus the growing wineries of the region.

The towns of Amador City and Sutter Creek were near each other on old highway 49.Amador City had some nice funky ambiance, and didn’t have the tourist facilities of some other towns but that helped keep it quieter and more authentic. It did offer a very interesting small volunteer run museum and a self-guided walking tour of the town.

Sutter Creek was larger and more refined, with good lodging, restaurants, galleries, and shops intermixed.

Sheep Ranch was a very small town (entrance sign says “Population 32”), once the home of over 10,000 people during the heyday of the Gold Rush. Now it is mostly comprised of remote ranches, timber land, and the remnants of shacks and barns from the past.

Murphys was known as a fun place to catch free wine tasting from the many local vineyards, live music, interesting galleries, small town events, and a bit o’ history. One evening we caught live music at the town square park bandstand, on the bank of the creek.

The California Fireman’s Muster Association had its annual Fireman’s Muster in Murphys. A bunch of men and women got together to play with old fire trucks, hand-pushed hose carts, and pumper carts in low key competitions. Fun stuff, and they gave out free ice cream!