Shaw's Flat, California

Last updated
Shaw's Flat, California
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Shaw's Flat, California in California
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shaw's Flat, California (the United States)
LocationShaw's Flat Rd and Mt. Brow Rd, Columbia, California.
Coordinates 38°00′13″N120°24′05″W / 38.00369°N 120.40143°W / 38.00369; -120.40143
Built1850, 175 years ago
Architectural style(s) mining town
DesignatedMarch 8, 1948
Reference no.395

Shaw's Flat is a historical ghost town and mining town in Columbia, California in Tuolumne County, California. The site of the Shaw's Flat is a California Historical Landmark No. 395 listed on March 8, 1948. Shaw's Flat was 49 California Gold Rush town founded in 1850. [1] The town is named after it first settler, Mandeville Shaw. In November 1849, Shaw started an orchard on the eastern slope of Table Mountain. The California Gold Rush started shortly after Shaw's. Nearby Tarleton Caldwell, started Caldwell's Gardens by growing black walnut. Caldwell found gold on his land. James G. Fair found Gold and went on to be a United States senator. [2] [3]

The California Historical Marker at the site reads: [4]

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. The Mississippi House, built in 1850, contains many relics including the original bar and post office with its grill and mailboxes. On a nearby hill stands the old bell, given by miners, which summoned men to work and announced the convening of various courts. According to tradition, a local bartender added to his income by panning the gold dust dropped on his muddy boots as he served customers.

A historical Shaw's Flat marker is at the Southeast corner of Shaw's Flat Road and Mt. Brow Road. The marker was placed there by Historic Landmark Committee and Tuolumne Parlor No. 144, Native Sons of the Golden West in 1947. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Porte, California</span> Census-designated place in California, United States

La Porte is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plumas County, California, United States. The population was 65 at the 2020 census. The town was first known as Rabbit Creek until 1857.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Camp, California</span> Census-designated place in California, United States

Chinese Camp is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tuolumne County, California, United States. The population was 126 at the 2010 census, down from 146 at the 2000 census. It lies in the grassy foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the southern end of California's Gold Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 120</span> Highway in California

State Route 120 is a state highway in the central part of California, connecting the San Joaquin Valley with the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park, and the Mono Lake area. Its western terminus is at Interstate 5 in Lathrop, and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 6 in Benton. While the route is signed as a contiguous route through Yosemite, the portion inside the park is federally maintained and is not included in the state route logs. The portion at Tioga Pass at Yosemite's eastern boundary is the highest paved through road in the California State Route system. This part is not maintained in the winter and is usually closed during the winter season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 49</span> Highway in California

State Route 49 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush and it is known as the Golden Chain Highway. The highway's creation was lobbied by the Mother Lode Highway Association, a group of locals and historians seeking a single highway to connect many relevant locations along the Gold Rush to honor the 49ers. One of the bridges along SR 49 is named for the leader of the association, Archie Stevenot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog Town, California</span> Ghost town in California, United States

Dog Town is a gold rush era ghost town in Mono County, California. It is located at 38°10′13″N119°11′51″W, on Dog Creek, near the junction of Clearwater and Virginia Creeks, about 6 miles (10 km) south-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 7057 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garlock, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Garlock is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States. It is located 6.25 miles (10 km) east-southeast of Saltdale, at an elevation of 2,169 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park</span> State park in California

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is a state park of California, United States, marking the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1848, sparking the California Gold Rush. The park grounds include much of the historic town of Coloma, California, which is now considered a ghost town as well as a National Historic Landmark District. The park contains the California Historical Landmarks: a monument to commemorate James Marshall (#143), the actual spot where he first discovered gold in 1848 (#530). Established in 1942, and Coloma Road (#748),. The park now comprises 576 acres (233 ha) in El Dorado County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon Island, California</span> Historic site under Folsom Lake in California

Mormon Island was once a mining town, which had an abundance of Mormon immigrants seeking gold in the American River during the California Gold Rush. Its site is in present-day Sacramento County, California.

Condemned Bar is a former settlement, in El Dorado County, California. It is in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The former town is now under Folsom Lake. A Historical Landmark marker was built at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area. The former mining town of the California Gold Rush is registered as California Historical Landmark #572.

North Columbia was a California Gold Rush town on the San Juan Ridge in Nevada County, California. Originally known as Columbia, Columbia Hill, or The Hill because of its proximity to Columbia Hill, it started as a gold miners' camp around 1851. When a Post Office was established on May 29, 1860, the word "North" was added in order to differentiate the settlement from Columbia, California, another gold rush town in Tuolumne County, California.

Gold Hill in Grass Valley, California, was the site of one of the first discoveries of quartz gold in California. While quartz gold was also found in other areas of Nevada County, California during the same time, it is this find near Wolf Creek that led to quartz-mining frenzy and subsequent creation of the Gold Country quartz-mining industry. The location is honored as a California Historical Landmark.

Springfield is an unincorporated community located in Tuolumne County, California. It is a former California Gold Rush boomtown in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and is now designated as a California Historical Landmark. Springfield is located 1.1 mi SW of Columbia another gold rush boomtown.

Second Garrotte is a ghost town located near Groveland in Tuolumne County, California originally settled during the California Gold Rush. The site of Second Garrote is a California Historical Landmark, No. 460 listed on May 9, 1950. It lies at an elevation of 2,894 feet in Second Garrotte Basin.

The site of the Old Mining Camp of Brownsville is a California Historical Landmark on Pennsylvania Gulch Road east of the town of Murphys, California in Calaveras County. The Mining Camp of Brownsville was a California Gold Rush camp in Pennsylvania Gulch in from 1850 to 1870. The camp is named after Alfred Brown, who was the former owner of the Table Mountain Ranch. There were many rich mines in the area and Brownsville Mining Camp supported this activity. So rich was the area, the Brownsville Mining District limited the size of mines in the District. Each miner could claim and own only one wet and one dry site, no larger than 150 square feet each. Brownsville Mining District was in the area of Pennsylvania Gulches and Missouri Gulches 2 miles from Murphys. There are no remains of the camp, but nearby is the Brownsville Mining District Cemetery. A plaque monument was dedicated on July 19, 1953, by California State Park Commission with the monument base built by Christa Parlor No. 137 and Ruby Parlor No. 49 of the Native Daughters of the Golden West.

Coloma Road in Rescue, California is a historical road in El Dorado County, California. A Historical Landmark was built at 4222 Green Valley Road in Rescue, California at the Rescue Junction General Store. The old Coloma Road opened in 1847, it ran from Sutter's Fort to the city of Coloma. James W. Marshall traveled the road to tell of his gold find to Captain John A. Sutter. During the 49ers miners gold rush thousands of miners traveled the road heading out to look for gold and claims. California's first stage line, California Stage Company, traveled the road starting in 1849, the line was founded by James E. Birch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading's Bar</span> Historical place in Shasta County, United States

Reading's Bar is a historical site in Redding, California in Shasta County. Reading's Bar is a California Historical Landmark No. 32 listed on August 1, 1932. Reading's Bar was named after Major Pierson Barton Reading, who discovered gold on the Clear Creek bar in May 1848, starting a California Gold Rush in the surrounding area. Later he found gold on a sandbar on the Trinity River that started the Trinity Alps Gold Rush. Reading's gold discovery was a major part of the California Gold Rush and news of the find created a rush of gold prospecting in Northern California, well north of the better-known gold fields of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherokee, Tuolumne County, California</span> Historical place in Tuolumne County, United States

Cherokee, California is a historical mining town site in Tuolumne, California in Tuolumne County, California. The site of the Cherokee, California is a California Historical Landmark No. 410 listed on December 11, 1949. The Scott brothers, descendants of the Cherokee Tribe, discovered gold in 1853 in Tuolumne County. Soon many placer mines started in the valley of Cherokee and the town of Cherokee was founded. When the placer gold panning (diggins) ran out, some quartz mines opened around Cherokee. Cherokee was the first mining town in the East Best of the California Mother Lode. Cherokee supported the other nearby mining camp of Independence, Little Jessie, Mary Ellen, Plowboy and Excelsior. At its peak Cherokee had a population of 700 in 1856. After the gold ran out the Scanvino brothers, Domingo and Ciovanni, from Italy, started a family farm that replaced Cherokee. Cherokee is now a neighborhood of Tuolumne City. A marker at the site was place there by the California Centennials Commission on December 11, 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville, California</span> Historical place in Tuolumne County, United States

Jacksonville, California is a historical farming town site in Chinese Camp, California in Tuolumne County, California. The site of the Jacksonville, California is a California Historical Landmark No. 419 listed on February 28, 1949. The town is now under the Don Pedro Reservoir formed in 1924. Jacksonville was founded by farmer Julian Smart along the Tuolumne River at an elevation of 800 feet. In spring 1849, Smart planted a garden and an orchard. Smart named the town Jacksonville after Colonel A. M. Jackson. The Tuolumne River provided water not only for the farms but the many 49 California Gold Rush mining operations in the region. In 1852 a US post office opened with a population of 252. The largest mine in the region was the Eagle-Shawmut mine.

Sonora Mono Toll Road is a historical road in Tuolumne County, California. The Sonora-Mono Road is a California Historical Landmark No. 422 listed on March 4, 1949. Sonora-Mono Road was 49 California Gold Rush road founded in 1852. The Tuolumne County Water Company started the road in 1852. On the road in Sugar Pine, California toll gate, hotel, and stables were built. The road to Bridgeport in Mono County was started in 1860 and completed in 1864. To complete a round trip on the road from Sonora and Bridgeport for a six-horse covered wagon took three weeks. for the round trip between Sonora and Bridgeport. Part of the road uses the Sonora Pass, that explorer Jedediah Smith in 1827.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wells Fargo Express Company Building (Chinese Camp, California)</span> Historical place in Tuolumne County, United States

Tuolumne Wells Fargo Express Company Building is a historical building in Chinese Camp, California Tuolumne County, California. The Tuolumne Wells Fargo Express Company Building is a California Historical Landmark No. 140 listed on June 6, 1934. The Tuolumne Wells Fargo Express Company Building was built in 1849. Contrustion was done by the Walkerly brothers. After the Wells Fargo Express moved out the Morris brothers took ownership of the building and it became a general store. Morris brothers also worked with the Adams Express Company. The original express agents were Sol Miller, C. W. H. Solinsky, and the Morris brothers.

References

  1. "Shaw's Flat #395". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  2. "Shaw's Flat (No. 395 California Historical Landmark) | Sierra Nevada Geotourism". sierranevadageotourism.org.
  3. Shaw's Flat, California History youtube.com
  4. "CHL # 460 Second Garrote Tuolumne". www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com.
  5. "Shaw's Flat Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.