Columbia, California

USA / California / Columbia /
 town, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places
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On March 27, 1850, Dr. Thaddeus Hildreth, with his brother George and a handful of other prospectors, made camp near here. They found gold, and miners streamed in to share the wealth. Before the month was out Hildreth's Diggings, a tent and shanty town housing several thousand miners, was created. Its original name was soon changed to American Camp and then, because that sounded too temporary, to Columbia.

Columbia was only one of hundreds of settlements that sprang up during the exciting years when the cry of "Gold!" brought Argonauts from all over the world to seek their fortunes in California.
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Coordinates:   38°1'55"N   120°24'55"W
This article was last modified 12 years ago