The California Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited is a
combination history/travel guide/coffee table picture book
devoted entirely to the old mining camps located on or
nearabouts California State Highway 49. It is an oversized book,
approximately 240 pages long, and available in a softcover and a
hardcover version. It begins with an introduction relating
Marshall’s discovery of gold on the South Fork of the American
River, the manner in which the news spread across the continent,
and the results of that news.
The book then focuses on the surviving Gold Rush mining
camps that still contain historical sites; old buildings, mining
artifacts, monuments, markers &c. The history of these towns is
given, including information on how the camps were founded,
their early citizens, who built what, where, and when. But the
most important part of the book concerns the remaining artifacts
and buildings left for visitors to tour today.
Some 266 full color, up-to-date color photographs of the
historical buildings and mining sites are provided, with directions
on how to find them. Many times you’ll see a picture in an old
book of a particular building, but when you try to find that site,
it’s gone. Each of the sites noted in this book are still there, many
looking much the same as they did when first built.
Also included are many old photographs from the days of
gold, which provide us with an interesting window to times long
past. These black and white photographs are presented through
the courtesy of the many fine museums and historical societies
located about the Mother Lode. Be sure to check our listing of
museums, and to visit them when you get the chance.