HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Amateur Astronimical Observatory Marker
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 715
ADDRESS: ?
TOWN: Volcano
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"On the knoll behind this marker George Madeira built the first amateur
astronomical observatory of record in California. It was there that he discovered
the Great Comet of 1861 with a three-inch refractor telescope."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "?" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Argonaut and Kennedy Mines
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 786
ADDRESS: Roadside rest, State Hwy 49
TOWN: 1.6 mile north of Jackson
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"Argonaut Mine, discovered 1850, and Kennedy Mine, discovered 1856, played
dramatic roles in the economic development of California, producing $105,268,760
in gold. Kennedy Mine has a vertical shaft of 5,912 feet, the deepest in the
United States. The Argonaut was the scene of the Mother Lode's most tragic
mine disaster-on August 27, 1922, 48 miners were trapped in a fire at the
3,500-foot level - few survived. Both mines closed in 1942."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Argonaut Mine" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Big Bar
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 41
ADDRESS: State Hwy 49 at county line
TOWN: 4 miles south of Jackson
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
The Mokelumne River was mined at this point in 1848. Established in 1849, the
Whale Boat Ferry operated until the first bridge was built, about 1852.
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Butte Store
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 39
ADDRESS: State Highway 49
TOWN: 2.6 miles south of Jackson
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
This is the only structure remaining of Butte City, prosperous mining town of
the 1850s. As early as 1854 Xavier Benoist was conducting a store and bakery in
this building. Later Ginocchio had a merchandise business here.
RESOURCES:
-
WikiMedia Commons "Butte Store" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Chaw Se' Roundhouse
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 1001
VENUE: Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
ADDRESS: 14881 Pine Grove-Volcano Road
TOWN: Near Pine Grove and Jackson
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"In a village, the roundhouse served as the center of ceremonial and social life.
Constructed in 1974, the Chaw se' roundhouse continues this tradition. With its door
facing the east, towards the rising sun, four large oaks are the focal point of this
sixty-foot-in-diameter structure. Today ceremonial roundhouses are the most
significant architectural manifestation of the continuing Miwok spiritual heritage."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Chaw'se Regional Indian Museum" Paragraph
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Clinton
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 37
ADDRESS: Intersection of East Clinton Road and Clinton Road
TOWN: 3.2 miles southwest of Pine Grove
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
Clinton was the center of a placer mining community during the 1850s and of quartz
mining as late as the 1880s. This town once decided Amador County elections as its
votes were always counted last.
RESOURCES:
-
California for Visitors "Clinton" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Community Methodist Church of Ione
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 506
ADDRESS: 150 West Marlette
TOWN: Ione
NOTE: Also designated National Historic Place #77000287
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
The cornerstone was laid in 1862 and the church, constructed of locally fired brick,
was completed in 1866. Dedicated as the Ione City Centenary Church and later popularly
known as the Cathedral of the Mother Lode, this church was the first to serve the
people in the area.
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Community Methodist Church of Ione" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: D'Agostini Winery
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 762
ADDRESS: Plymouth-Shenandoah Road
TOWN: 7.2 miles northeast of Plymout6h
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"D'Agostini Winery was started in 1856 by Adam Uhlinger, a Swiss immigrant.
The original wine cellar, with walls made from rock quarried from nearby hills,
hand-hewn beams, and oak casks, is part of the present winery - some of its original
vines are still in production."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "D'Agostini Winery" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: D. Stewart Company Store
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 788
ADDRESS: 18 East Main Street
TOWN: Ione
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"This general merchandise store built by Daniel Stewart in 1856 was the
first building erected in lone Valley from nearby Muletown brick. Once
known as 'Bed-Bug' and 'Freeze Out,' Ione was an important supply center
on the main road to the Mother Lode and Southern Mines."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "D. Stewart Company Store" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Drytown
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 31
ADDRESS: State Highway 49
TOWN: 0.2 miles north of Drytown
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
Founded in 1848, this is the oldest town and first in which gold was
discovered in Amador County. Its venerable town hall and other picturesque
structures remain. The town was not 'dry,' as the name implies-it once
contained 26 saloons.
RESOURCES:
-
California for Visitors "Drytown`" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Irishtown
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 38
ADDRESS: State Highway 88 at Pine Grove Wieland Road
TOWN: 2.2 miles southwest of Pine Grove
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
This was an important stopping place for emigrants on their way to the southern
mines. The first white settlers on this spot found it a 'city of wigwams,' and
hundreds of mortars in the rocks testify that this was a favorite Indian camping ground.
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Irishtown, California" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Jackson Gate
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 118
ADDRESS: On North Main Street
TOWN: 1.3 miles northeast of Jackson
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
Jackson Gate, on the north fork of Jackson Creek, takes its name from a fissure in
a reef of rock that crosses the creek. In 1850 about 500 miners worked here and the
first mining ditch in the county was dug here - its water sold for $1 per inch.
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Jackson's Pioneer Jewish Synagogue Site
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 865
ADDRESS: Southeast corner of Church Street and Main Street
TOWN: Jackson
NOTE: Razed in 1948
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"On September 18, 1857, Congregation B'nai Israel of Jackson dedicated on
this site the first synagogue in the Mother Lode. High holy day worship
continued until 1869 when the larger Masonic Hall was used to accommodate
the congregation. The wooden structure then served as a schoolhouse until
1888. Relocated onto a nearby lot, it became a private dwelling."
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Kennedy Mine
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 786
ADDRESS: ?
TOWN: Jackson
NOTE: Shares Entry tith Argonaut mine. Natl His Place #81000146
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Kirkwood Inn and Saloon" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Kirkwood's
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 40
ADDRESS: State Highway 88
TOWN: Kirkwood
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
Kirkwood's Resort, stage station, and post office were originally built by Zack Kirkwood in
1864. When Alpine County was formed from Amador County, the division left the barn
and milkhouse in Alpine, while the Alpine-El Dorado line went directly through the
barroom of the inn.
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Kirkwood Inn and Saloon" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Knights Foundry
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 1007
ADDRESS: 81 Eureka Street
TOWN: Sutter Creek
NOTE: Also designated National Historic Place #75000423
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"Knight Foundry was established in 1873 to supply heavy equipment and repair
facilities to the gold mines and timber industry of the Mother Lode. Samuel N.
Knight developed a high speed, cast iron water wheel which was a forerunner of
the Pelton Wheel design. Knight Wheels were used in some of the first
hydroelectric plants in California, Utah, and Oregon. This site is the last water
powered foundry and machine shop in California. A 42-inch Knight Wheel drives
the main line shaft, with smaller water motors powering other machines."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Knight Foundry" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Lancha Plana
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 30
ADDRESS: ?
TOWN: ?
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"Lancha Plana (Flat Boat) was well settled by 1850 due to the hydraulic mining
operations in the extensive gravel beds along the Mokelumne River. The Amador
Dispatch newspaper was born here in 1856. Poverty Bar, Camp Opra, Copper Center,
and Put's Bar were 'suburbs' of the larger town.
Location: North shore of Camanche Reservoir, 1 mi W of County Line Bridge on
Lancha Plana Buena Vista Rd, 6.0 mi S of Buena Vista
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Lancha Plana, California" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Maiden's Grave
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 28
ADDRESS: State Highway 88
TOWN: 10.5 miles west of Kirkwood
NOTE: Shares an entry with the Kennedy Mine
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"It is said that in 1850 a young girl, Rachel Melton, native of Iowa, was
accompanying her parents on a journey West via covered wagon train when she
became violently ill. Camp was made and every effort was made to cure her,
as she was the joy of the party, but she passed away and was buried on this spot."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Mainden's Grae" Paragraph
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Middle Bar
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 36
ADDRESS: Middle Bar Road, 2.8 mi S of Hwy 49 at Mokelumne River
TOWN: 4.5 miles south of Jackson
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
Site of gold rush town on the Mokelumne River, now inundated by Pardee Reservoir at
certain times of the year.
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Middle Bar" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Old Emigrant Road
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 662
ADDRESS: On State Hwy 88 at Mud Lake Road 8
TOWN: 7 miles west of Kirkwood
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
Here the Old Emigrant Road began a long loop around the Silver Lake basin, reaching
an elevation of 9,640 feet at one place. This difficult portion of the road
was used by thousands of vehicles from 1848 to 1863, when it was superseded
by a route approximating the present highway.
RESOURCES:
-
State of California "Old Immigrant Road" Article
-
Sierra Nevada Geotourism "Old Immigrant Road" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Oleta (Old Fiddletown)
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 35
ADDRESS: South side of street from Dr. Yee's Chinese Herb Shop
TOWN: Fiddletown
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
Settled by Missourians in 1849, Fiddletown was a
trading center for American, Loafer, and French Flats, Lone Hill, and other rich
mining camps. Called Fiddletown because residents "were always fiddling," the
settlement became Oleta in 1878 but the original name was later restored. Bret
Harte added to the community's fame in An Episode of Fiddletown.
RESOURCES:
-
California for Visitors "Fiddletown" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Pioneer Hall
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 34
ADDRESS: 113 Main Street
TOWN: Jackson
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
The Order of Native Daughters of the Golden West was organized on these premises,
the site of the Pioneer Hall, on September 11, 1886.
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Founding at Pioneer Hall" Paragraph
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Plymouth Trading Post
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 470
ADDRESS: Main Street between Mill and Mineral Streets next to Wells Fargo Bank
TOWN: Plymouth
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
This building, constructed entirely of brick, was built by Joe Williams in 1857. In
1873 the many small mines of the area were combined to become Plymouth Consolidated,
and this building became the new company's office and commissary.
RESOURCES:
-
Sierra Nevada Geotourism "Plymouth Trading Post" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Preston Castle
ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS: Preston School of Industry
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 867
BUILDING ADDRESS: ?
PLAQUE ADDRESS: 0.9 miles north of the building on state highway 104
TOWN: North of Ione
NOTE: Also designated National Historic Place #75000422
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"The 'Castle,' built in 1890-1894, is the most significant example of Romanesque
Revival architecture in the Mother Lode. It was built to house the Preston School
of Industry, established by the State Legislature as a progressive action toward
rehabilitating, rather than simply imprisoning, juvenile offenders. Doors of
the 120-room 'Castle' closed in 1960 after new facilities were completed."
RESOURCES:
-
Wikipedia "Preston School of Industry" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Sutter Creek
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 322
VENUE: Veteran's Memorial hall
ADDRESS: Main Street and Badger Street
TOWN: Sutter Creek
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"This town was named after John A. Sutter, who came to the region in 1846, and was
the first to mine the locality in 1848. There was little activity at Sutter Creek
until 1851, when quartz gold was discovered. In 1932 the Central Eureka mine,
discovered in 1869, had reached the 2,300-foot level. By 1939, it was the
best-paying mine at Sutter Creek.
RESOURCES:
-
California for Visitors "Sutter Creek" Article
HISTORIC LANDMARK NAME: Volcano
HISTORIC LANDMARK NUMBER: 29
ADDRESS: Intersection of Main Street and Consolation Street
TOWN: Volcano
STATE OF CALIFORNIA DESCRIPTION:
"The spot was discovered in 1848 by Colonel Stevenson's men, who mined Soldiers Gulch
in 1849. By 1853 the flats and gulches swarmed with men who named them picturesquely.
Hydraulic operations, begun in 1855, brought thousands of fortune seekers to form a
town of 17 hotels, a library, a theater, and courts of quick justice. During the
Civil War, Volcano's gold served the Union - Volcano Blues smuggled the cannon
'Old Abe' in by hearse to quell rebels."
RESOURCES:
-
California for Visitors "Volcano" Article
Resources
State of California "Historic Landmarks" List
State Historic Landmarks in Amador County
Includes officially designated California state historical landmarks in Amador County.
Includes historic sites in Buena Vista, Clinton, Drytown, Fiddletown, Ione, Jackson,
Kirkwood, Pine Grove, Plymouth, Sutter Creek, and Volcano.
Other Attractions in Amador County
Amador County Travel Guide
Gold Country of California
|
High Sierras of California
California for Visitors
