Editor’s Note
This article highlights the family-friendly appeal of California’s Gold Country, with a special focus on the preserved 1850s town of Columbia. It serves as a perfect starting point for planning your own historical adventure.
One of our favorite destinations for a quick family getaway is California’s Gold Country in the Sierra Foothills. It’s a relatively short three-hour drive from the Bay Area, and there are plenty of things for families to do. You can visit historic mining towns, pan for gold, explore caves, go wine tasting (for mom and dad, of course), take a ride on a steam train, hike, fish, and more.
The highlight of our visits to the Gold Country is always Columbia State Historic Park in the Tuolumne County town of Columbia. In fact, much of the town of Columbia is the park itself. While most of the small Mother Lode towns along Highway 49 are filled with California history, Columbia takes this to an extreme — its downtown has been preserved to represent its mid-19th-century heyday; in fact it’s the best preserved Gold Rush town in California.
Columbia is kind of like California’s answer to Colonial Williamsburg, but on a smaller scale. It’s a fantastic place for families with children since there’s so much to do and see. The downtown state park part of Columbia is also closed to vehicular traffic for much of the year (stagecoaches excepted), so it’s safe for pedestrians and families literally have the run of the place.
Columbia, founded in 1850 as “Hildreth’s Diggings,” is so authentic that it’s been used as the backdrop for numerous Hollywood westerns, including classics like *High Noon* (1952) and *Pale Rider* (1985). The downtown streets are lined with classic brick buildings with iron shutters, a typical kind of architectural style here in the Mother Lode, one that many towns turned to after fire kept burning down the wooden structures! The buildings in Columbia house a museum and historical displays that include two fire houses, the Wells Fargo Express office, a Chinese shop, an assay office, and more.
What makes Columbia unique is that a number of the shops are occupied by actual businesses that cater to visitors to the park. Stroll along Main Street and you’ll find, among other things, saloons, two authentic 19th-century hotels, a working blacksmith shop selling ornamental iron items, a book store, gift shops, a fabric and clothing store, an ice cream parlor, a theater, and an old-timey photography studio.
A must-see (and must-taste) highlight in town is Nelson’s Columbia Candy Kitchen, a candy shop that’s been crafting old fashioned sweets since the 1800s. Watch the candy makers at work as they create confections using original old-fashioned kettles and equipment, and then pick out a treat in the shop, which is stocked with delicious sweet treats of every description.
You can also ride a real stagecoach through town, which is a lot of fun. Buy tickets at the Quartz Mountain Stage Line office next to the Wells Fargo office, then take your seat — you can even ride shotgun! (Make sure you watch out for the masked bandit lurking somewhere on the route). Other activities include panning for gold at Matelot Gulch Mining Co. (our kids love to do this and are always thrilled to actually find a few flakes), candle-dipping, and listening to live music.
Make sure you check out the Columbia museum and visitor center, too. You can view an interesting selection of Gold Rush-era artifacts and photographs, and there’s even an area where the kids can dress up in period clothing. Hour-long walking tours of the town meet outside the museum. They’re free and they’re really worthwhile, providing insight into the unique history of the town.
Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the old 1860s Columbia Schoolhouse, located just outside of downtown up a hill. You can walk there on a well marked trail, or drive and park in the small lot next to the school. Adjacent to the school grounds is the Columbia Cemetery, which is worth a stroll to see the resting places of many of the town’s Gold Rush era inhabitants. It’s quiet and peaceful and kind of a nice change from the bustling downtown.
If you want a really special experience, try to time your visit to coincide with one of Columbia’s many special events.
Gold Rush Days, held from 1–4 pm of the second Saturday of every month, feature costumed docents staffing a variety of different venues in the town, including the firehouse, the schoolhouse, the Wells Fargo office, and the ten-pin bowling saloon. Play 19th-century children’s games, ring the bell on an 1859 hand-pumped fire engine, and more!
Each May you’ll find Columbia Diggins 1852, the yearly recreation of the tent town from Columbia’s 1850s mining camp heyday. The recreated tent town is historically accurate and extremely authentic and you even have to exchange your 21st-century money for brass “eagle” coins if you want to purchase anything in the town. The town is populated by docents and re-enactors in period dress going about their day-to-day lives in the 1850s.
Other great happenings include the Glorious 4th of July Celebration, with a colorful parade, old-fashioned games, and entertainment; a Big Band Street Dance; a fiddle and “bango” contest; ghost tours; Halloween and Christmas events and more. Note that some events may be postponed, canceled, or rescheduled due to COVID.
We enjoy taking a break at the family-friendly Jack Douglass Saloon.