This small museum is stuffed with artifacts and information about the California gold rush and all of the people who participated or were affected – Native Americans, Chinese miners, shop keepers, Americans hoping for a rich strike, and adventurers from around the world. One of the largest exhibits is Gagliardo General Store which includes the counters, displays cases, and all of the merchandise that didn’t sell over the years but was squirreled away in storage rooms. The store operated from 1854 to 1958 so there’s a lot of stuff. Another display features
John Fremont, explorer and trailblazer, who bought seventy square miles of land a year before gold was discovered. Fremont's $3,000 investment was suddenly worth millions.
Old mining equipment is arranged on the grounds surrounding the museum. There are four buildings on the south end of the museum property – an 1870s house, a newspaper building, a blacksmith shop and a broom shop. We didn't know about the buildings so we missed seeing them but I think they’re only opened for school tours and special events.
The entrance has a short ramp and a door that opens out so entering is a bit difficult. The museum interior is accessible. A sidewalk allows viewing of most of the mining equipment.
RVs can be parked across from the museum or in the long spaces in the rest area adjacent to the museum.
Museum 37.48894, -119.97098
A broom shop? I never thought of one of those...
ReplyDeleteWe've seen broom shops at a few historic villages. They grew a type of sorghum specifically for making brooms. I guess brooms were pretty important when there weren't any vacuum cleaners or dust busters. :-D
ReplyDeleteI guess I always took brooms for granted...
DeleteMalakoff Diggins north of Nevada City is a (mostly) ghost town, with shops and artifacts like the place you describe. Full of fascinating history from the gold mining era.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a place we'd like!
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