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| | California | Gold Country | |||
| Columbia State Historic Park | |||
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Columbia started as a tent-and-shanty town in 1850. At one time, it was the second largest city in California, but today it's one of the best preserved Gold Rush towns. Wander around Columbia, the "Gem of the Southern Mines." It's pedestrian-only, except for the stagecoach stop, and you might see kids in pioneer clothing, rolling wooden hoops down the street. |
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Dentist Office – Kids will be impressed with the consequences of bad oral hygiene – boxes of false teeth and scary looking tools for extracting teeth. |
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Drug Store – The drug store isn't quite like your local pharmacy, with row after row of bottles with strange-sounding labels – Arsenicum, Caryoph, Calamus – and bright blue poison bottles. | ||
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Parrotts Blacksmith's shop – The blacksmith's shop was essential in a frontier town to make horseshoes, carriage parts, wagon wheels, shovels, axes, hammers and nails. At the blacksmith shop, watch demonstrations of the fired forge and work on the anvil. | ||
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Chinese temple and apothecary shop – Chinese immigrants came to the gold towns to mine or open up businesses. The Chinese apothecary stocked all kinds of herbal ingredients used in Chinese medicine. | ||
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Jail – The Columbia jail is quite compact. Try it out for size. |
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Schoolhouse – The two story brick school house was quite something when it was built in 1860. Inside, the benches were lined in neat rows, with the teacher's desk and a "dunce" stool at the front of the classroom. Don't miss the red outhouse outside – two-seaters in a row. | |
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Cemetery – The Columbia Cemetery has been in use since 1863. Stroll around graves with marble tombstones of immigrants who came to Columbia from far and wide. |
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Nature Trail – Walk this lovely nature trail, a one mile loop through oak trees, grassy meadows, past a little creek, with views of the surrounding hills. It's an easy trail, and along the way there are benches where you can stop to rest, and a picnic table or two in the shade of the oak trees. There is poison oak close to the trail, so if you're wearing shorts and sandals, don't brush up against it. | |
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Stagecoach ride – Take a ride in a replica of an 1856 stagecoach (weekends only). Ride inside, on the roof, or next to the driver,but keep your eyes peeled for any bandits. Weekdays, ride the surrey shuttle. Get your tickets at the Wells Fargo Express office (and don't miss the re-creation of the 19th century office next door). | |
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can also arrange for pony and trail rides through the surrounding
woods. For the trail rides, you have to be 8 years old and sign up early
as the trail rides get booked up. |
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Pan for gold –Panning for gold is a "must do." What could be more fun that swirling your gold pan through water running down the sluice, peering in the sediment for telltale golden flecks of gold or semi-precious gems (or just playing in the mud). You can do it all day and you're sure to come away with some treasure. Fun for the smallest kids and adults alike. |
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Treasure Gold Mine – Take a tour of a hardrock gold mine, wending
your way through hundreds of feet of tunnels and "glory holes."
(Tour lasts about an hour and a half.) |
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to the gold panning area is a log cabin and some rocks to run around,
play hide-and-seek and pretend you're Black Bart, the stagecoach robber-poet. |
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| Tip: Throughout Columbia there are numerous picnic tables (in the shade), so bring a picnic for your day at Columbia. |
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Fun food – |
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Stop into Nelson's Columbia Candy Kitchen for an incredible selection of old-fashioned lollypops, taffy, chocolates, licorice, and rock candy on a stick. For ice cream, try the Fallon Ice Cream Parlour. |
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Shopping – |
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New York Dry Goods has old fashioned bonnets for girls. Shop for traditional wooden toys at J.C. Miller Carpentry and Joiner. Dip your own candles and watch a soap making demonstration at the Columbia Candle and Soap Works. Go to A. de Cosmos Photo Studio for a family portrait – you dress up in 19th century clothing (great selection of hats). |
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Travel for Kids |
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Your best choice for family travel |
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