Sixty five miles from where I live is Columbia. Columbia is a town located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in Tuolumne County. It became a boomtown in 1850 when gold was found in the vicinity, and was known as the Gem of the Southern Mines. The towns historic central district is within the Columbia State Historic Park, which preserves the 19th century mining town features. The U.S. historic district is a National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. Within weeks of finding gold in the vicinity of Columbia, thousands of people arrived and the population climbed to 5,000. By 1852, there were 8 hotels, 4 banks, 17 general stores, 2 firehouses, 2 bookstores, 1 newspaper, 3 churches, and over 40 drinking/gambling establishments. Between 1850 and the early 1900s, $150 million in gold was removed from the surrounding hills. In 1851, the local community brass band, a popular institution, greeted the arrival of the first white woman in town. Columbia had five cemeteries, including a Boot Hill, where burials were made without markers. By 1860, the gold mined in Columbia was diminishing rapidly. The only land left to mine was in the city itself. Miners dug under buildings and tore down houses to get at the gold beneath the city. Columbia never became a ghost town. In 1945, California created Columbia State Historic Park from the remains of the historical buildings of the city. Columbias main street in the historic district and is closed to automobile traffic except for horses, carriages, bicycles and walk in pedestrians. 1st pic: the stage in Columbia. 2nd & 3rd: Main St 5th picture: Main St and the town folk.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 12:48:53 +0000
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