Deciding it was a day for a long drive, we took the "scenic route", historic U.S. 40 (aka Lincoln and Victory Highways).  What we love about it is the stories it tells through the towns it traverses.

This darling town demanded an explore and a study. There is evidence to suggest man's presence in the Auburn area dating back to 1400 B.C. However, the first known people were the Nisenan, an offshoot of the Maidu Tribe.  An interesting side note:  Auburn is the town where George and Lennie were raised in John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men.  Hmm.

Gold was discovered by Claude Chana in a ravine at the future site of the town of Auburn.  Claude is very BIG in this town!

No visit to a town, as historic as Auburn, is complete without a visit to its museum, and luckily the town's is housed in "The Old Courthouse".  Its history is worthy of discussing.  An 1851 California Legislative Act organized the state into counties, at which time the County of Placer was formed, and Auburn was designated the county seat.  The courthouse took on several shapes and sizes until  1894 when this, the new courthouse, which included a jail and hall of records, was constructed. The “modern” Courthouse was now home not only to the court system but to the Sheriffs office, Agricultural Commission, Treasurer, Auditor, District Attorney, Recorder, Tax Collector and Superintendent of Schools…a truly integrated county facility for the 1800s.