Amador County is in the heart of what is called the Mother Lode, in the Gold Country. The Gold Rush got under way in 1849, about one year after Jim Marshall's finding gold flakes in the tailrace of Capt. Sutter's new sawmill alongside the American River. The Gold Rush era lasted only ten years, during that time the stream beds had been sifted thoroughly, first by the eager miners, followed by the Chinese gleaners who picked the placers inch by inch.

The second phase of mining, the break down of the mountains and the cutting blasts of water from the Monitors came to a halt when the 1884 law went in to effect prohibiting this gold mining phase due to debris covering up farm lands, ruining navigation on the rivers. After the Monitors came the lode mining, extraction from mother ores. Skilled engineering and vast capital backing were by that time available. The triangular headframes, made of steel or timber, marked the mine shafts. These shafts brought the California gold monetary figures from millions to hundreds of millions in wealth.

There are few things to be found in the Gold Country that actually date to 1849, as there weren't many things, including structures that survived. Most were temporary shelters. Today cornerstones and tombstones are the major source of that era's history.

Amador County consists of the following towns: Jackson (the County Seat)est. 1854, Amador City, Drytown, Sutter Creek Plymouth, Fiddletown, River Pines, Ione, Volcano, Pine Grove, Pioneer, and Kirkwood. Today Amador County is a wonderful place to trace our
rich Gold Rush history.

Reference: The Gold Rush Country, Sunset Books, c.1964 reader compilation.