Surrounded on all sides by "lofty mountains," Coloma was the first mining town to emerge in the central mining region. By the summer of 1848, the town had a wood-frame hotel, 300 buildings under construction, and a population approaching 2,000. By 1850, Coloma served a surrounding population of as many as 6,000, and tens of thousands more passed through. Today, Coloma has a population of only 170, mostly commuters or senior citizens. Seventy percent of the town is included in Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.
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1 Site where James Marshall discovered gold
Jan. 24, 1848
2 Marshall's first cabin
3 Site of Sutter's mill
4 River course, 1847
5 Replica of Sutter's mill
6 A bridge is constructed across the American River in late spring of 1849, becoming the first bridge across a river in California, or west of the Mississippi River.
7 James Marshall monument and gravesite
8 Marshall's cabin
| List of Buildings | ||
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Mormon Cabin reconstruction Wah Hop Store Man Lee Store Coloma Grays Armory Former Post Office Weller House Seeley's Jewelry Store Winters' and Miners' Hotel The Virginia Saloon, Fruit, and Confectionary Nichol's Hotel/Coloma Post Office J. Broderick House A. Borland House Wintermantel's
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Miners' Hotel Miner's cabin Old Jail ruins Thomas House Vernon House Vernon Barn Bekeart's Store Hook and Ladder House No. 1 Miner's Drug Store Adams and Co. Express Office Howard Residence U.S. Post Office Pearley Monroe's House Merrill Meat Market
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Blacksmith Shop Coloma Livery Stable Wells Fargo Express Office Chalmer's Sierra Nevada Hotel Bell Store ruins New York Bakery Holmes' People's Cash Store Eldorado Bath House and Shaving Saloon The American House Odd Fellows Hall St. John's Catholic Church Emmanuel Episcopal Church Pioneer Cemetery
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Source: California Department of Parks and Recreation; California State Parks. Bee staff research by Melissa O'Meara and Nam Nguyen
Bee graphic: Nam Nguyen