Columbia State Historic Park

Columbia State Historic Park Columbia State Historic Park is a Gold Rush era town preserved for visitors to step back in time.
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In honor of Juneteenth, join us at Columbia State Historic Park to celebrate Black History with our newly reopened exhib...
06/19/2026

In honor of Juneteenth, join us at Columbia State Historic Park to celebrate Black History with our newly reopened exhibit “Gold and Grit: African American Histories in Gold Rush Tuolumne County.” This exhibit is located on State Street within the park grounds, between Towle and Leavitt and the Dentist Office display.

The exhibit highlights some of the remarkable early Black residents that helped transform Tuolumne County during the California Gold Rush. Learn about how early Black Californians organized to struggle against racist and discriminatory laws, read about how Black entrepreneurs built successful businesses and community institutions, and come face to face with Black women whose ingenuity and tenacity helped to build lasting homes for their families.

In celebration of Juneteenth and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, California Sta...
06/19/2026

In celebration of Juneteenth and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, California State Parks is offering a special free version of its Historian Passport for admission of up to four people per pass at more than 30 state historic parks throughout the state. Starting today through Monday, July 6, Californians can download the pass for free and use it for unlimited visits to participating historic parks from Juneteenth until the end of the year.
This pass includes Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park.

Act now and visit Reserve California because there is a limited time to get this downloadable pass!

https://reservecalifornia.com/passes/advancepasses
🎫 State Parks included:
Antelope Valley Indian Museum
Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park
Benicia Capitol State Historic Park
Bodie State Historic Park
California Citrus State Historic Park
California Mining and Mineral Museum
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park
Empire Mine State Historic Park
Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park
Fort Ross State Historic Park
Fort Tejon State Historic Park
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park
La Purísima Mission State Historic Park
Los Encinos State Historic Park
Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
Monterey State Historic Park
Olompali State Historic Park
Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park
San Juan Bautista State Historic Park
Shasta State Historic Park
Sonoma State Historic Park
State Indian Museum State Historic Park
Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park
Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
Will Rogers State Historic Park
William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park

06/19/2026

Have you ever wondered how a simple device like a pan can separate gold from dirt, sand, and rocks?

Join State Park Interpreter Logan Currin at Columbia State Historic Park to find out how! This is the next entry in our “Gold Miners’ Toolbox” series, part one of two focusing on the gold pan, perhaps the most iconic tool of the California Gold Rush. This short video discusses the use and mechanism behind the gold pan. Stay tuned for part two, which will discuss the historical context and evolution of the gold pan!

In this video, you can learn some of the techniques recoded in the 1861 book, “Mining in the Pacific States of North America,” by John Shertzer Hittell. Hittell was a forty-niner who later became a writer for the Alta California and a prolific author. He records a number of mining techniques used during the California Gold Rush, including two techniques for prospecting using a gold pan. Hittell also describes the basic construction of a pan and provides tips on its use.

To learn more about the gold mining tools and techniques used during the California Gold Rush, follow Columbia SHP on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and come and visit the park in person!

Interested in history? Love sharing with others? Become a Docent for Columbia SHP. Join us for Docent Training this summ...
06/17/2026

Interested in history? Love sharing with others? Become a Docent for Columbia SHP.

Join us for Docent Training this summer! It will be on Saturdays starting July 18 to August 22 from 9:30 am to 3 pm. If are interested in becoming a volunteer or docent, please email [email protected] for more information.

What’s going on here?🤔 The Central Valley District Vegetation Management Crew is back in action and taking a stand again...
06/12/2026

What’s going on here?🤔


The Central Valley District Vegetation Management Crew is back in action and taking a stand against invasive grasses. If you have taken a walk on the Karen Bakerville-Smith Trail lately and wondered why the w**d whacking looked a little arbitrary, you can blame the Hedgehog Dogtail Grass! This species is a common offender in Columbia, but luckily the seeds lying dormant in the soil do not last very long. In the last month, the Vegetation Crew has targeted this invasive grass throughout the park to prevent it from going to seed while sparing other, sometimes native, species. This timed mowing is efficient, effective, and reduces the amount of herbicides needed to battle invasive plant species, making it a valuable component of the integrated management approach taken by the Vegetation Management Program in Columbia and throughout the Central Valley District.

Join us for a free family friendly hike at the Karen Bakerville-Smith Memorial Trail. Senior Park Aide Steve Hampton wil...
06/12/2026

Join us for a free family friendly hike at the Karen Bakerville-Smith Memorial Trail. Senior Park Aide Steve Hampton will lead you on a one-hour guided hike and explore what there is to eat along the way. You will have the chance to learn more about the natural environment surrounding the historic mining town of Columbia and the edible and inedible flora that can be found all around us. Join us to find out more about where you live!

Meet us in the Schoolhouse Parking lot at 9:30am. We recommend you wear sturdy footwear as this is a moderate hike. Please bring water as it will likely be warm.

Register for this hike online at CAStateParksWeek.org or scan the QR code included in this post. For more information, please email [email protected].

06/10/2026

Join State Park Interpreter Logan Currin at Columbia State Historic Park to learn more about the history and use of the rocker box! This tool was extensively used by gold miners involved in placer mining during the California Gold Rush, including here in Columbia! Last week, we learned about how the rocker box was used and how it functioned.

The rocker box was allegedly introduced to California by a gold miner named Isaac Humphrey. Humphrey had experience as a gold miner from the Georgia Gold Rush of 1829, which brought him familiarity with the rocker box. Similar devices can be found in medieval manuscripts, such as the 16th century De re Metallica, by Georgius Agricola. This manuscript contains woodcut engravings that depict devices with similar functions to a rocker box, including flumes with riffle bars and boxes hung to posts by chains for shaking through sediment.

To learn more about the tools of the California Gold Rush or others aspects of gold rush history, follow Columbia SHP on social media and plan an in-person visit to the park! Visiting Columbia is completely FREE and we are open nearly every day of the year, with the exception of Christmas.

Today was a beautiful day in Columbia. The forecast for the rest of the week looks a little warmer, but there is plenty ...
06/09/2026

Today was a beautiful day in Columbia. The forecast for the rest of the week looks a little warmer, but there is plenty of shade to take a break. You can also find food and cold beverages across town to enjoy while you recharge. 🌳😋

M is for Martinez House! The Martinez house follows a similar story as many of the building in Columbia SHP, where the l...
06/08/2026

M is for Martinez House!

The Martinez house follows a similar story as many of the building in Columbia SHP, where the lots and buildings went through many owners and changes. In the early 1850s during the height of the gold rush many things sold for a high price like the Martinez house lot, which sold for $600 in 1851 then $1000 in 1852.

In the early and mid 1850s, the buildings on this lot served the greater community of Columbia as the Clipper Newspaper office, Justice Court, then the Post Office. For a brief time, William and Charlotte O'Hara used the lot as their home across the street from their restaurant “The Jenny Lind.” Then the building burned down in the 1857 fire.

After the fire, the lot became a residence for many families. George Morgan buys the house for $300 then later sells it to George W. Hale and Frank Vassallo for $200. Abraham J. Sartoris, the son-in-law of Vassallo buys the house. In 1929, Sartoris gifts the house to his daughter Christine Marie Sartoris Martinez, where her family used the house as a vacation home in the summer until 1972.

Whether as a business or a home the Martinez stands today to continue to tell stories of Columbia SHP.

Sources:
http://www.columbiagazette.com/biddle.html
Columbia State Historic Park Archives

06/06/2026

Join State Park Interpreter Logan Currin at Columbia State Historic Park’s miner’s cabin to open up the Gold Miners’ Toolbox and learn more about the tools used by miners during the California Gold Rush! Keep an eye out for Part 2, coming next week!

Today, we’ll be learning about the rocker box, also known as a miner’s cradle. This tool was used by individual miners and teams of miners involved in placer mining during the time of the California Gold Rush. Placer mining involves the mining of modern or ancient streambeds, separating gold deposited by the force of water from the sediment it is surrounded by. Come along with Logan to learn about the different components of a rocker box, how they work, and how the whole device is operated!

To learn more about the California Gold Rush and get a closer look at tools used by gold miners, come and visit Columbia State Historic Park. Visiting the park is completely FREE and we are open every day of the year, except for Christmas. We hope to see you soon!

Address

11259 Jackson Street
Columbia, CA
95310

Telephone

+12095889128

Website

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