Argonaut and Kennedy MinesArgonaut Mine, discovered 1850, and Kennedy Mine, discovered 1856, played dramatic roles in the economic development of California, producing $105,268... [click for more]
Big BarThe Mokelumne River was mined at this point in 1848. Established in 1849, the Whale Boat Ferry operated until the first bridge was built, about 1852.... [click for more]
Butte StoreThis is the only structure remaining of Butte City, prosperous mining town of the 1850s. As early as 1854 Xavier Benoist was conducting a store and ba... [click for more]
ClintonClinton was the center of a placer mining community during the 1850s and of quartz mining as late as the 1880s. This town once decided Amador County e... [click for more]
D’Agostini WineryD'Agostini Winery was started in 1856 by Adam Uhlinger, a Swiss immigrant. The original wine cellar, with walls made from rock quarried from nearby hi... [click for more]
D. Stewart Co. StoreThis general merchandise store built by Daniel Stewart in 1856 was the first building erected in lone Valley from nearby Muletown brick. Once known as... [click for more]
DrytownFounded in 1848, this is the oldest town and first in which gold was discovered in Amador County. Its venerable town hall and other picturesque struct... [click for more]
IrishtownThis was an important stopping place for emigrants on their way to the southern mines. The first white settlers on this spot found it a 'city of wigwa... [click for more]
Jackson GateJackson Gate, on the north fork of Jackson Creek, takes its name from a fissure in a reef of rock that crosses the creek. In 1850 about 500 miners wor... [click for more]
Kirkwood’sResort, stage station, and post office were originally built by Zack Kirkwood in 1864. When Alpine County was formed from Amador County, the division ... [click for more]
Knight FoundryKnight Foundry was established in 1873 to supply heavy equipment and repair facilities to the gold mines and timber industry of the Mother Lode. Samue... [click for more]
Lancha PlanaLancha Plana (Flat Boat) was well settled by 1850 due to the hydraulic mining operations in the extensive gravel beds along the Mokelumne River. The A... [click for more]
Maiden’s GraveIt is said that in 1850 a young girl, Rachel Melton, native of Iowa, was accompanying her parents on a journey West via covered wagon train when she b... [click for more]
Middle BarSite of gold rush town on the Mokelumne River, now inundated by Pardee Reservoir at certain times of the year.... [click for more]
Old Emigrant RoadHere the Old Emigrant Road began a long loop around the Silver Lake basin, reaching an elevation of 9,640 feet at one place. This difficult portion of... [click for more]
Oleta (Old Fiddletown)Settled by Missourians in 1849, Fiddletown was a trading center for American, Loafer, and French Flats, Lone Hill, and other rich mining camps. Called... [click for more]
Pioneer HallThe Order of Native Daughters of the Golden West was organized on these premises, the site of the Pioneer Hall, on September 11, 1886.... [click for more]
Plymouth Trading PostThis building, constructed entirely of brick, was built by Joe Williams in 1857. In 1873 the many small mines of the area were combined to become Plym... [click for more]
Preston CastleThe 'Castle,' built in 1890-1894, is the most significant example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the Mother Lode. It was built to house the Pre... [click for more]
Site of First Amateur Astronomical Observatory of Record In CaliforniaOn the knoll behind this marker George Madeira built the first amateur astronomical observatory of record in California. It was there that he discover... [click for more]
Sutter CreekThis town was named after John A. Sutter, who came to the region in 1846, and was the first to mine the locality in 1848. There was little activity at... [click for more]
VolcanoThe spot was discovered in 1848 by Colonel Stevenson's men, who mined Soldiers Gulch in 1849. By 1853 the flats and gulches swarmed with men who named... [click for more]