Nestled in the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills, Jamestown is a deep-dive into Gold Country history, a gateway to outdoorsy adventures in Yosemite national park and a front-row ticket to spectacular High Sierra views. Many visitors to Tuolumne County speed through en route to Yosemite, but missing out on Jamestown and Sonora means missing out on a fascinating chapter of Californian history.
The California gold rush of 1848-1855 kicked off when gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada foothills, bringing in an influx of 300,000 prospectors to California, reinvigorating the US economy, creating railway boomtowns and propelling California into statehood – and cementing its reputation as the land of opportunity.
Jamestown was founded in 1848, one mile from the first gold find in Tuolumne County, at Woods Crossing. Today, downtown Jamestown looks much as it did a century ago, with dry-laid stone buildings, charming Queen Anne-style wooden frame buildings with balconies and wooden boardwalks lining Main Street. The forty-niners, as the gold miners were called, are long gone, but a slow drive along Highway 49, past battered boomtowns and oak-fronted saloons, is a true taste of those crazy years that birthed this state. And Railtown 1897, a state historic park, offers 45-minute steam train trips through California’s wild west, a real joy for rail travel lovers. For culturally curious travellers hoping for a history hit alongside outdoorsy adventures, Jamestown’s breweries, quaint antique stores, bakeries, restaurants and historic hotels make it an atmospheric and charming base for adventures farther afield.
The National Hotel
This historic hotel is one of the oldest hotels in California, established in 1859 to house miners, railroad executives and other notables in relative luxury. Longstanding proprietor Stephen Willey, who has owned the hotel since 1974, has stayed true to the Old West charm of the property, carefully restoring all nine bedrooms with Victorian brass beds, antique walnut armoires and chintzy wallpaper. There’s a completely charming and original saloon, a vine-strewn patio, and a showstopper of a front balcony where all guests can linger with a sarsaparilla. “We get all sorts of guests coming through here,” says Willey. “They come because they want to stay in a piece of gold rush history, or they want to see where the western movies were set. And we’re just an hour from Yosemite, so we get visitors from all over the world coming here.” Overnight guests even have the option of paying for their stays with gold dust. “We’ve got the scales, we’re tracking daily prices, and if guests want to pay for their rooms, meals and drinks with a few pinches, we’ll be ready,” says Willey.
Railtown 1897 state historic park
Just a few blocks east of Jamestown’s Main Street, this 10-hectare (26-acre) collection of trains and railroad memorabilia has been used as a set for a string of films and TV shows, including Back to the Future III, Unforgiven and High Noon. Sacramento’s Rail Museum attracts serious rail buffs, but Railtown 1897 is a more romantic, photogenic immersion in rail history … and cinematic history. There’s the original depot, headquarters and roundhouse of the Sierra Railway, which was built in 1897 to carry miners, supplies, lumber and ore. But the big draw is perhaps Sierra No 3, a 19th-century locomotive dubbed “the movie star locomotive” thanks to its lengthy list of film and TV appearances, from the 1930 Gary Cooper classic The Texan to cult 1994 neo-western Bad Girls, starring Drew Barrymore. Check the times for the 45-minute, six-mile steam train circuit along a narrow-gauge railroad, one of the most scenic and atmospheric rail journeys in the state.
Gianelli Vineyards
A Tuscan-inspired, award-winning vineyard isn’t exactly what most visitors expect when they visit a gold rush town such as Jamestown, but this town is full of surprises. The land that is now Gianelli Vineyards was originally purchased by an Italian adventurer named Giovani Rocca in the 1800s, who married into the Gianelli family and used the land as a working cattle ranch, gold mining camp, and a major stagecoach stop. In the early 2000s, having ascertained that the soil in Jamestown mirrors the soil profile of Tuscany, the first vines were planted … and today Gianelli Vineyards is home to 18 different estate-grown varietals, some rarely found outside Italy, such as vermentino, fiano, primitivo and aglianico.
These days, the vineyard is run by two brothers from Jamestown, Cody and Christian LaPertche, who heads up vineyard operations. “I always loved this area, and I’m grateful I didn’t have to move away for a career in winemaking … because every single day here is exciting,” says Cody. “The tasting room is really beautiful, situated above the vineyard with stunning views of the estate and the Sierra Nevada. Guests can try 20 different wines, but we highlight mainly Italian varietals that are perfectly suited to the Tuscan-like climate of Tuolumne County.”
Morelia Mexican Restaurant
For European travellers, the abundance of family-run Mexican restaurants across California offers a major upgrade to any road trip, and Jamestown’s Morelia is as authentic and friendly as it gets. Morelia has been in the Pulido family for years, and chef Ofelia Pulido Morales whips up carnitas, tamales, flautas and a house-favourite chimichanga, alongside grilled seafood, steak and chicken dishes. This friendly, family-run joint is housed in a historic Victorian residence on Main Street, dating back to 1906, right across the road from the clapboard-fronted National Hotel; it’s surely a contender for the most atmospheric and charming setting for a Mexican restaurant in California.
With just 12 tables, it’s an intimate and cosy dining room for eating in with a Modelo, but during the pandemic it began a roaring delivery trade and still services local hotels … just be sure to add their own bottled margarita mix.
Bear Tent Brewing Company
There’s small-batch brewing … and then there’s the small-town nanobrewery. Bear Tent Brewing Company is a farm brewery on Main Street in the heart of Jamestown, and the brewery patio is one of the best places in town to sip a cold cream ale after a day hiking, fishing, biking, horse-riding or rock-climbing. Founded in 2017 by two beer-loving high-school friends, John McGettigan and Ben Deutsch, the pair took over a site that used to belong to McGettigan’s grandfather and got the brewery ball rolling with two three-barrel and one seven-barrel brewing system. Currently, Bear Tent grows their own Cascade and Chinook hops, and there is a strong emphasis on locally grown and sustainable ingredients. For Jamestown locals, it’s been a thrill to see a pub return to this site on Main Street. Bear Tent gets its name from the roadhouse tavern that used to occupy the site. “Grizzly Adams had a mining claim across the street,” says McGettigan.
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