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Photo Credits This Page Top:
Terri Metz, Groveland Hotel, Historic Morgan Mansion, Terri Metz, Railtown |
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Columbia State Historic Park " Diggins 1852"
6/3/2010 - 6/6/2010
Hours: 10 a m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $3 Adults - $1 Children over 5 yrs
Location: Columbia State Historic Park
Main St.
Columbia, CA 95310
(209) 588-9128
http://www.columbiacalifornia.com
During the early days of the California Gold Rush, as miners streamed through the undeveloped hills of the Mother Lode, tent and shanty towns sprung up overnight. Saloons, boarding houses, restaurants, laundries, express offices, and tent stores offered the homesick miner many goods, services and diversions, and the laws of supply and demand ruled the land. It didn’t take long for enterprising Argonauts to realize that mining the pockets of the miners was an easier way to get their gold.
At Columbia State Historic Park in late May or early June of each year docents and staff recreate an early tent town to demonstrate the daily life of the young state. “It was really an active merchant economy” said Steve Bechtold, the park’s interpreter who coordinates the event. “There were a lot of opportunities for people who knew how to provide a service, or were willing to bring in goods that were in high demand, such as liquor, dry goods, and provisions. And miners were willing to hand over their newly acquired riches for a few luxuries.”
Bechtold and a crew of dedicated volunteers spend hours painstakingly researching the details of daily life of the early tent towns. “We’ll never know exactly how life was like for those early visitors, but we spend a lot of time reading their journals, newspapers, and studying archeological remains” to cobble together a story of enterprising adventurers, looking to get rich, as well as to have a good time.
At Columbia Diggins visitors get a chance to wander through the early Tent Town, enjoy entertainment at the theatre, step into the Saloon and order a Sarsaparilla, or browse in the authentically recreated Browns Mercantile. Bakers produce bread out of a recreated stone and brick oven, and you can observe costumed docents demonstrating a variety of early mining techniques, and even get muddy yourself, if you choose.
Discover first hand what the life of a miner in early Columbia may have been like, with a chance at riches and a world of hard work to be had in the southern mines.
Parking is free. See www.columbiacalifornia.com for further information.
Directions:
Columbia State Historic Park is 4 miles north of Sonora just off Highway 49. Parking is free.
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Columbia Diggins
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