Historic Towns

Columbia

Columbia is located just off Highway 49 on Parrotts Ferry Road . Columbia is well known for the part of town known as Columbia State Historic Park . This was the center of Columbia during the Gold Rush. In 1945 the State Legislature recognized an opportunity to preserve a typical Gold Rush town as an example of California 's most colorful era in American History.

Jamestown

Jamestown is located on the Highway 108/49 corridor and is the first town you encounter entering Tuolumne County from the west. The population is approximately 2,300 and its elevation is 1,405 feet. This is the spot where gold was first discovered in Tuolumne County . The town is well known for its antique shops and is the location of Railtown 1897 State Historic Park .

Several of its buildings date back to the 1870s and 1880s. Most of these balconied buildings are occupied by various businesses including an abundance of antique shops.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park contains the workshops, roundhouse, and steam locomotives and cars of the Sierra Railway, which arrived in Jamestown in 1897. 

Groveland

 At one time, Groveland and nearby Big Oak Flat were both called Savage's Diggings. James Savage discovered gold there in late 1848. Savage's Diggins became Garrotte in 1850, named for the area's swift and harsh justice from a large Oak tree in what is now Big Oak Flat.

Soon Garrotte was a boomtown. But by the 1870's, the easy pickings were gone and Garrotte was transformed from dozens of bars and bordellos to a quiet community catering to cattle ranches and a trickle of tourists taking the new Big Oak Flat Road to Yosemite Valley .

In 1875, citizens changed the name of Garrotte to Groveland.

Sonora
Sonora , the County Seat, is located just 3 miles from Jamestown on Highway 49. At an elevation of 1,825 feet, Sonora is a colorful, bustling little city and is the market center for a large area. Many relics from its flamboyant past remain, including a large collection of Victorian homes, many of which are now bed and breakfasts.

The St. James Episcopal Church was built in 1860 and is said to be the second oldest Episcopal church of frame construction in California . Many of the businesses are housed in buildings over 100 years old.

Chinese Camp
Reportedly founded about 1849 by a group of Englishmen who employed Chinese as miners, Chinese Camp was headquarters for stage lines in the early 1850s and for several California Chinese mining companies. Much surface gold was found on hills and flats. The first Chinese tong war in the state was fought near here between the Sam Yap and Yan Woo Tongs. Stone and brick post office, built in 1854, is still in use. The St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church was built in 1855.