gold country museum

The story begins with this museum and the area history. Worth the trip and time. Recommended. Its a great history to be learned in this area. The last of the old west history.

This museum housed in the rustic and refurbished jewel in Auburn. I was fortunate to have an inside view of one of the original courtrooms. I stood in the holding cell where the accused stayed until they were called to the courtroom. This was a very dismal concrete cell block. There was a large gold nugget in one of the rooms. A great exhibit in the main museum. An excellent quote from Placer County about this museum describes it very well. "..interprets the rich history of the gold rush in Placer County". There are many displays depicting the basket weavers. One of the Indian Tribes featured were the Miwok Indians. This museum is free. You get a double delight to see the museum and the amazing architect of the refurbished building. The rich wood in the courtrooms will take your breath away!

The museum isn't very big, but they do sell bags with small flecks of gold, so the kids can actually pan for gold. The museum was very informative about the life of a prospector and mining. Plus, it is free, so that was nice.

So many people who live in Auburn don't even visit this great museum. There is so much fantastic history in this museum. The Auburn Courthouse is a very well known place for many famous cases. The old courhouse rooms are still with very rich and lush woods.The museum gives us a birds eye view of the Gold Country in the 1840's. According to the website, the exhibit starts with early Nisenan inhabitants through the latter half of the 20th century. It also includes the renowned Pate Collection of Native American artifacts and the original Thomas Kinkade painting “Auburn Centennial”. There is an original Sheriff's Office furnished in Circa 1800's with old time wanted posters.There is a 44 pound gold nugget that is worth viewing. It is highly guarded!

Here's a hint for finding it - When you drive into the designated area, drive to the bottom of the hill and turn right. There is parking right in front of the museum. This will make it much easier of less able bodied people to get there.Lots of Gold Country history, a mine to walk through and a reproduction of an old saloon.

If you don’t have the time to drive to the Empire Mine State Historic Park, make a visit to the Gold Country Museum in Auburn. My five-year old grandson had a great time panning for gold right inside the museum, thanks to the very helpful museum volunteer. There’s a small hard rock mine display and other exhibits on gold mining life. The museum is inside the Gold Country Fairgrounds on High Street; when you enter the fairgrounds, you’ll find the museum at the end on the right.

Check it out if you are into Gold Country historical stuff.

informative displays well done. Attendants well informed helpful and friendly

Well maintained, very interesting historical artifacts.

A interesting fee stop. If you engage the docents you will get a lot more out of it, figure about an hour. Younger kids have some areas where they can touch and feel things. This is a quick 1-2 room tour of various kinds of mining. Can be a little tricky finding but consider it a nice introduction to the mining in the local area.