Columbia (California) Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
census designated place in California, United States
About Columbia (California)
Columbia was founded in 1851, relatively late in the Gold Rush for founding towns, when a mining party camping overnight during a trip to Calaveras County stayed briefly to dry their blankets overnight after a rainstorm. One of the party decided to try panning in a nearby stream, and found gold in his first pan. Within a few months, several thousand miners were in the vicinity, in one of the richer areas of placer mining. Although mining largely stopped because of the seasonal drying up of the stream, a town was laid out and built, largely on speculation that water for mining could be obtained by an ambitious project using wooden flumes and ditches to bring water from the Stanislaus River. This water project was successful and Columbia became a thriving and wealthy Gold Rush town during th
Columbia (California) Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 10 sections including: