Every school child has heard of Sutter’s Mill, where gold was first discovered in California, but few have heard of James Marshall, the man who found the first nugget or where exactly the mill was located. We were in Placerville, located along Route 50, and decided to turn onto Route 49 going north and take a back road to Route 80. While traveling along Route 49, we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a small old western town called Coloma. We knew it was historically significant when we saw a fancy new building and a big sign informing us it was the Gold Discovery State Historic Park Visitors’ Center and that Sutter’s Mill was located there.

It was nearly closing time, so we took a quick look around and vowed to go back and investigate things more thoroughly. Two years later we did return. There was a big parking lot near Sutter’s Mill. No one was in the guard house; a sign instructed us to put $5 in an envelope and drop it in a slot. We did so and got a parking pass that we needed to show later on. Mormons were working at the mill when gold was discovered and a replica of their cabin was next to the parking lot. A sign told us to push a button and a voice came on and told us their story.

Here and there in the park, rangers will answer your questions. Sometimes the mill is in operation (it’s a replica, parts from the original are in a glass front building nearby). The gold pebble (it was that small) was found in the raceway going from the mill, but the raceway wasn’t reproduced. The south fork of the American River is about 50 feet away. The park has tours or you can walk around and do your own thing. We went to the visitors’ center to get information (they also have lots of great books for sale) and then browsed through the museum behind the center.

Coloma was active for several years until no more gold was found, so the surviving buildings and mining tools reflect the wild population spurt during those first years of the gold rush. Chinese stores, with a museum in one and an actual Chinese store in the other, have survived because of their very thick stone walls. There was a tiny post office and several more old buildings that are now used for gift shops and restaurants. The Monroe Cabin belonged to Negroes, who came as slaves. California was a free state, so they were freed. Their descendants eventually accumulated much of the acreage in the area and sold it to the government for the park in 1942.