For the final day with my brothers, we headed off the hill to the quaint town of Coloma to explore the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

My brothers lived in California for decades and neither of them have ever visited this amazing place. As most know, James W. Marshall discovered gold (here) in 1848 on the South Fork of the American River in the valley the Nisenan Indians knew as Cullumah (beautiful valley).
This event led to the greatest mass movement of people in the Western Hemisphere and was the spark that ignited the spectacular growth of the West during the ensuing decades. This gold discovery site is one of the most significant historic sites in the nation.
“Monday 24th. This day some kind of mettle was found in the tail race that looks like goald, first discovered by James Martial, the Boss of the Mill.”— from Henry Bigler’s Diary, January, 1848.
James W. Marshall did indeed find shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he was building in partnership with John Sutter. This discovery changed the course of California's and the nation's history. Here we were able to see a replica of the original sawmill and over 20 historic buildings including a mining exhibit, a Chinese store, a schoolhouse, the first jail in El Dorado County and we had the opportunity to hang out with the blacksmith to learn even more interesting history.


 


And how about this tiny post office? This is its 170th year of delivering mail. Old age and rumors that it’s haunted haven’t dampened its spirits. While over 100 post offices are said to have existed in El Dorado County at one time or another, it’s the Coloma Post Office that is still here while most of the rest have closed or been combined with others. Oh the stories it could tell!

Sadly, Marshall 's discovery did not make him a wealthy man. In 1885, he died in poverty at the age  of 75. His body was returned to Coloma and buried on the hillside above town. In 1890, this monumental statue —California’s first State Historic Monument — was commissioned and placed on the same hill, overlooking the gold discovery site, to mark the location of Marshall’s grave. The statue has Mr. Marshall pointing to the river, where he so famously proclaimed,  “Boys, by God, I believe I’ve found a gold mine.” And the rest they say is history.
After learning about Coloma, we headed home with a brief stop to explore Placerville. A highlight is the Hardware Store- the oldest one west of the Mississippi. Can you just imagine who has moseyed through there since 1852? Wow!
Our last stop for the day was at the Jack Russell Farm Brewery. Chuck is a huge fan of this breed of dog, so we had to stop. Steve and Chuck did some sampling and all of us enjoyed the beauty of this space in Camino.
Tomorrow, the rides to Reno Airport begin at 3:30 AM so this day has to end early. I have loved this family reunion and all the new memories we have made. We are all hopeful that we won't have to wait another eight years to connect!