CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 49

'State Route 49' is a California State Highway that travels in a North-South direction, passing through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49 is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and a portion of it is known as the 'Gold Country Highway'. This roadway begins at Oakhurst, California in the Sierra-Nevada mountains, where it diverges from State Route 41. It continues in a generally northwest direction, weaving through the communities of Goldside and Ahwahnee, before crossing into Mariposa County. State Route 49 then continues northward through the counties of Mariopsa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra, and Plumas, where it reaches its northern terminus at State Route 70, in Vinton.

Contents

Points of interest

Other names

State law

References

External links

Points of interest

Listed in order from south to north.

★ Robinson's Ferry (California Historical Landmark #276, postmile CAL 0.6), a ferry across the Stanislaus River established in 1848.

★ Birthplace of Archie Stevenot (CHL #769, postmile CAL 3.3), who helped found the California State Chamber of Commerce and was officially named "Mr. Mother Lode" by the California legislature.

★ Carson Hill (CHL #274, postmile CAL 3.3), where the largest gold nugget in California (195 pounds troy) was found.

★ Angels Camp (CHL #287), one of the richest quartz mining sections of the Mother Lode and home of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".

★ Altaville (CHL #288), an important foundry town.

★ Fourth Crossing (CHL #258), an important stagecoach and freighting depot that served the southern mines until after the turn of the 20th century (postmile CAL 14.0).

★ San Andreas (CHL #252), where Charles Bolles, also known as "Black Bart", was tried and sentenced.

★ Chili Gulch (CHL #265, postmile CAL 26.4), site of the Chilean War.

★ Mokelumne Hill (CHL #269), the richest placer mining section of Calaveras County and one of the principal mining towns of California.

★ Big Bar (CHL #41) is located on the county line between Amador and Calaveras counties. The Mokelumne River was mined at this point in 1848. Established in 1849, the Whale Boat Ferry operated until the first bridge was built, about 1852.

★ The Butte Store (CHL #39) is the only structure remaining of Butte City, prosperous mining town of the 1850s.

★ Argonaut and Kennedy Mines (CHL #786), two of the highest-paying gold mines in the state.

★ Drytown (CHL #31) is the oldest town and first in which gold was discovered in Amador County.

★ Coloma (CHL #143, #530, and #748) home of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, where gold was first discovered in 1848, sparking the gold rush.

★ Empire Mine in Grass Valley, California (registered landmark #298) was the richest hard-rock mine in the State of California in its operating history of 106 years (1850-1956).

★ Camptonville is a gold rush town where the Pelton wheel was invented and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Other names

Route 49 has the following names, as designated by various state laws:^[2]

★ 'Golden Center Freeway:' From Grass Valley to Nevada City.

★ 'Golden Chain Highway:' Entire route.

★ 'John C. Begovich Memorial Highway:' From Jackson to Route 88.

★ 'Mother Lode Highway:' From Sonora to Auburn.

State law

'Legal Definition of Route 49:' California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 349

References

1. January 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways
2. 2006 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California, , , , Caltrans, ,

External links

★ WestCoast Roads- California 49

★ Caltrans: Route 49 highway conditions

★ California Highways: CA-49

★ History Highway 49