Tuolumne County, California Points of Interest

The seventh parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church in California, St. James is the oldest Episcopal Church building in the state. The first service... [click for more]

First called Savage Diggins after the man who discovered gold here in 1848, the town was renamed Big Oak Flat about 1850 after the giant oak tree that... [click for more]

Gold was discovered here in 1853 by the Scott brothers, descendants of Cherokee Indians. Scars of placer 'diggins' in every little arroyo in Cherokee ... [click for more]

Reportedly founded about 1849 by a group of Englishmen who employed Chinese as miners, Chinese Camp was headquarters for stagelines in early 1850s and... [click for more]

Columbia, the 'Gem of the Southern Mines,' became a town of 4,000 to 5,000 in the 1850s, following the discovery of gold here by the Hildreth party Ma... [click for more]

Formerly called 'First Garrote' because of the hanging of a Mexican for stealing a horse, Groveland was built in 1849 as shown by dated adobe brick ta... [click for more]

Near this site stood the historic town of Jacksonville, now inundated by the waters of Don Pedro Reservoir. The town was settled by Julian Smart, who ... [click for more]

James Woods first discovered gold in Tuolumne County west of this point, on Woods Creek, shortly before the town was founded by Colonel George James o... [click for more]

This is a replica of Mark Twain's cabin, with original chimney and fireplace. Here on Jackass Hill, young Mark Twain, while guest of the Gillis Brothe... [click for more]

First record of Montezuma was June 1850 when partners Solomon Miller and Peter K. Aurand, proprietors of the 'Montezuma Tent,' were attacked and Auran... [click for more]

This is the site of the ferry crossing established in 1860 by Thomas H. Parrott that connected the mining towns of Tuttletown and Vallecito. The ferry... [click for more]

Its name derived from two sawmills erected here to supply mining timbers in the early 1850s, Sawmill Flat was rich in pocket gold in its heyday, popul... [click for more]

A sizable settlement was established at this rich placer location in 1849 by miners spreading east from Big Oak Flat and Groveland. The famous hangman... [click for more]

In 1850 this community was alive with gold miners. James D. Fair, after whom the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco is named, was one of the most notable... [click for more]

Jedediah Smith is reputed to have been the first white man to cross over or near Sonora Pass in 1827. A portion of the road was built by Tuolumne Coun... [click for more]

Site of the famous Soulsby Mine (discovered by Benjamin Soulsby), Soulsbyville is the first community in Tuolumne County to be founded (1855) entirely... [click for more]

Springfield received its name from the abundant springs gushing from limestone boulders. The town with its stores, shops, and hotel built around a pla... [click for more]

The area's first non-Indian settlers, the Franklin Summers family, arrived in 1854 and built a log cabin a half mile west of this spot, the geographic... [click for more]

This early-day stopping place for men and mounts was named for Judge Anson A. H. Tuttle, who built the first log cabin here in 1848. Stones used in th... [click for more]

This building, erected in 1849 by the Walkerly brothers, was subsequently owned by the Morris brothers. It housed a general merchandise store in conne... [click for more]