One of
the things I love about living in Northern California is the colorful names of so
many old Gold Rush towns. Yesterday I drove by Missouri Flats and Hangtown,
also known as Dry Diggings and now officially named Placerville. Last week, I
happened to pass by French Camp and Calaveras, the latter made famous by Mark
Twain for its jumping frog contest, which just happens to be taking place this
weekend.
Near
Folsom lies what is left of Mormon Island (now buried under Folsom Lake), site
of the first and richest diggings of the Gold Rush, and Negro Bar—a name that
makes passers-by flinch, but by which it was historically known. Calistoga and its
mud baths bring back memories of Sam Brannan, the brash, flamboyantly
ambitious first millionaire of the Gold Rush, drunkenly sputtering to his
companions that the town would be "the Calistoga of Sarifornia!" (The
Saratoga of California.) Wherever you drive in this part of the state, memories
of the Gold Rush surround you.
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