|
Discover Places to Go and Things to Do
|
|
Auburn, CA
|
|
|
|
|
|
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California, USA. The population was 12,462 at the 2000 census. It is well-known for its California Gold Rush history and boasts one of the best preserved historic downtowns in the state. One of its most famous citizens was the poet and short-story writer Clark Ashton Smith, who was born in Auburn in 1893 and lived there most of his life. Born and raised in Auburn, Stacy Dragila was the first to win an Olympic gold medal in women's pole vaulting. Also, the town is featured toward the end of British author Anthony Horowitz's book, Nightrise.
HistoryNative Americans, the Nisenan, an offshoot of the Maidu, were the first to establish a permanent settlement in the Auburn area.
In the spring of 1848 a group of French gold miners arrived and camped in what would later be known as the Auburn Ravine. The party was on their way to the gold fields in Coloma, California and included Francois Gendron, Philibert Courteau and Claude Chana. It was the young Chana who discovered gold on May 16, 1848. After finding the gold deposits in the soil, the party decided to stay.
HistoryNative Americans, the Nisenan, an offshoot of the Maidu, were the first to establish a permanent settlement in the Auburn area.
In the spring of 1848 a group of French gold miners arrived and camped in what would later be known as the Auburn Ravine. The party was on their way to the gold fields in Coloma, California and included Francois Gendron, Philibert Courteau and Claude Chana. It was the young Chana who discovered gold on May 16, 1848. After finding the gold deposits in the soil, the party decided to stay.
Placer mining in the area was very good, with the camp first becoming known as North Fork Dry Diggings. The name was then changed to Woods Dry Diggings, after John S. Wood settled down, built a cabin, and started to mine the ravine.
The area quickly developed into a well established mining camp, officially becoming known as Auburn in August of 1849. By 1850 the population had grown to about 1500, and Auburn became the seat of Placer County in 1851. Future mining operations would move up the ravine to the site of present day Auburn. In 1865, the Central Pacific Railroad, the Western portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, reached Auburn as it was being built East from Sacramento.
Auburn is home of the Auburn State Recreation Area. Within the boundaries of this state park are more sporting endurance events than any other place in the world, giving Auburn the undisputed and internationally-acclaimed title of Endurance Capital of the World. Examples include the Western States 100 mile endurance run, Tevis Cup 100 mile equestrian ride, American River 50 mile endurance run, American River 50 mile equestrain ride, Way Too Cool 50K endurance run, Auburn International half-ironman triathlon, Auburn Century 100 mile bike ride, Coolest 24 hour mountain bike ride, Rio Del Lago 100 mile endurance run, Sierra Nevada 50 mile endurance run, and the Coolest Run: Ride & Tie.
The restored Old Town still offers houses and shops from the middle of the 19th century as a special eye-catcher. The oldest fire station Caitlin McCoy and post office are further delicacies out of the gold fever time. Gold-digger accessories as well as Indian/Chinese artifacts can also be admired by visitors at the Placer County museum.
FilmsThe following films were, at least in part, shot in Auburn:
The Adventures of Rocky and BullwinkleProtocolBreakdownMi FamiliaThe PhantomPhenomenonWisdomxXxLandmarksAuburn is home to Placer High School, which is one of the oldest high schools in California.
Local dentist Kenneth H. Fox's colossal sculptures are perhaps the most infamous in town. The statues chronicle Auburn's history with a middle-aged Claud Chana gold panning in the nearby American River, and a Chinese Cooley worker building the Transcontinental Railroad. Dr. Fox also took creative risk in sculpting statues of nude Native Americans that appear surprisingly Anglo. Dr. Fox is still a practicing dentist.
GeographyAuburn is located at (38.898671, -121.074399).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²), of which, 7.4 square miles (19.1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.41%) is water. The city is located at 38.89199 N, 121.07606 W.
Auburn is situated approximately 800 vertical feet above the confluence of the North Fork and Middle Fork of the American River between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe in central California, along the Interstate 80 freeway. Mountainous wilderness canyons and the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Range lie adjacent eastward, while gentle rolling foothills well-suited for agriculture lie to the west. The crest of the Sierra Nevada lies approximately 45 miles eastward, and the Central Valley lies approximately ten miles to the west.
PoliticsLocalThe current mayor of Auburn is Republican Bob Snyder.
State/FederalIn the state legislature Auburn is located in the 1st Senate District, represented by Republican Dave Cox, and in the 4th Assembly District, represented by Republican Ted Gaines. Federally, Auburn is located in California's 4th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +11 and is represented by Republican John Doolittle.
BooksAuburn, California: crossroads of historic gold country. (1973).. Borchardt, G. A., Rice, S. J., & Taylor, G. C. (1980). Paleosols overlying the Foothills fault system near Auburn, California. Sacramento: California Division of Mines and Geology. Barieau, C. (1988). A self-guided walking tour to historic Auburn buildings: a guide to significant historical and architectural buildings of Auburn, California. Auburn, Calif: Auburn Letter House. Sanborn, D. (2001). Chronology of Auburn, California. Auburn, CA: Auburn Sesquicentennial Committee.External linksAuburn City Official HomepageAuburn, CA - Information & ResourcesAuburn Chamber of CommercePlacer County CourthouseAuburn Journal - official newspaperWest Placer Community ForumsPlacer High SchoolAuburn Online CommunityPlace Nature CenterGold Country Forum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
By Ingrid
4 days
Family vacation during Thanksgiving 2006. Theme: Follow the GoldRush and make it enjoyable and fun for the kids.
|
|
|
|
By Ingrid
5 days
Follow the Gold Rush and discover the "days of old".
|
|
|
|
1 person reviewed Auburn
|
Top
|
|
|
|
at 10:17PM May 28, 2008
Southern Placer County in California is a wonderful place to be... still rural enough for peace, yet sophisticated enough and close enough to: Sacramento, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Reno, with a heavenly climate; a gardener's paradise! Nearby Loomis and Folsom are equally charming... the Flower Farm Inn and Nursery in Lommis are not to be missed, as is Eisley's Nursery in Auburn if you're into gardening. And the area is an historical gold mine (pun intended!)
|
|
|
|
Add to
My Places
Plan Your Visit
