Two California State Historic Parks, Railtown 1897 and Columbia, export visitors to a past era when the West was bustling with those searching for gold or a new way of life:
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, located just a few blocks from Main Street in Jamestown, is a must-see with one of the few remaining working railroad roundhouses in the U.S., steam locomotives and railroad cars of the historic Sierra Railway. The highlight of this state park is truly a movie star—Sierra No. 3®, known as the movie star locomotive, has been seen in hundreds of movies, television shows and commercials.
Picture: Kelly B. Huston
There’s no place better to get immersed in California’s Gold Rush history than in Columbia State Historic Park where visitors stroll along wooden sidewalks, ride an authentic stage, pan for gold and chat with knowledgeable and friendly townspeople dressed in period attire. Historic inns, restaurants, working blacksmith shop, old-fashioned bowling alley, theatre and shops supplied with treats and trinkets add to the ambiance of the town where a new surprise is around every corner.
