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| Landmark #431 | Tuolumne County | Visited: June 27, 2015 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque in the heart of historic Jamestown! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: James Woods first discovered gold in Tuolumne County west of this point, on Woods Creek, shortly before the town was founded by Colonel George James on August 8, 1848. Large quantities of gold were recovered from the stream. The town became known as gateway to the Mother Lode and the southern mines.
OTHER TIDBITS: Detail note: All the sources I’ve seen have named the gold discoverer Benjamin Wood, not James Woods! In any case, the more interesting character is Colonel James, an attorney who came here from San Francisco to sell groceries and mining equipment. He was the town’s first alcalde, but he also involved the townsfolk in a number of schemes that didn’t pan out, and he disappeared overnight! All that stuck around was his name! Jamestown quickly ran out of placer gold, but it had a second boom in the 1880s when quartz gold was discovered. The Sierra Railroad kept this boom going until World War I, when costs began to run up and supplies began to run down! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: NE corner of Main and Donovan Sts Jamestown, CA 95327 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~327mi (527km) — 5.5hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |