Tuolumne City, CA and Westside Lumber Company; Gold Rush and lumber capital

Tuolumne City preserves remnants of the old Gold Rush town of Summersville, as well as lots of pieces of its longer-lasting hay-day as a logging and lumber center of the Mother Lode. Just six miles from Highway 49 and regional center Sonora, it offers history, and fun at nearby Black Oak Casino, for all ages, from one to 100!

Huge old Steam Donkey awaits bygone lumbering operations next to Tuolumne Fire Station

Eves of the Westside Lumber main mill reflect its closure some 50 years ago

The old Westside Lumber Mill building is in a stage of accelerated disrepair, having closed in the early 60s

Tuolumne City's Memorial Auditorium is in use as a town gathering hall

Massive old lumber equipment dots the fields around the Toulumne City boundaries

Westside Lumber's Engine #2 is preserved in the city's park

Westside Lumber at height of its operations (photo courtesy of Tuolumne Museum)

Early history: Tuolumne began in 1854 when Franklin Summers and family settled nearby and built a cabin and began to grow crops. In 1856 James Blakely arrived and discovered the first quartz outcropping, which would become his “Eureka” quartz and gold mine. Soon the initial town of Summersville had taken shape, with shops, restaurants and service providers.

Other nearby mining towns would spring up (and then disappear), Lone Gulch, two miles south, and Cherokee, two miles north. Later named Cartersville, then Tuolumne City, the placer gold would quickly be mined out, and the area became both an agricultural center and the heart of logging and lumber production for cities in the valley like Modesto and Stockton.

Of several logging operations, the Westside Lumber Company became the main player, building a narrow gauge railroad into varied portions of the Sierra forest, buying and uniteg several other narrow-gauge Sierra railways and developing a major lumber mill with regional innovations. It would continue to expand its railroad, the size and complexity of its mill, and develop Tuolumne City into a lumber town of major proportions in the first sixty years of the 20th century. The mill closed in the early 1960s, after a major fire during a labor dispute - the town has struggled to maintain its viability since.

More recent history: Today, portions of the lumber empire of the Westside Lumber Company take center stage. Several of the company’s buildings remain, though in states of disrepair. Remnants of logging equipment dot the town, from a huge Steam Donkey next to the fire station, to pieces of lumbering equipment in varied fields on the edge of town, the lumber company’s Steam Engine #2 in the city park, to the city’s Municipal Auditorium and the local museum. There is much to explore in a short walk of a few to a dozen blocks. A mile to the north east is the huge, new Black Oak Casino, which is bringing new vitality and visitors to the area, and pumping investment into the town as well.

What to do while there: Walk the historic streets, see the old lumber company remnants, tour the city’s museum (open Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4 PM excluding holidays, at 18663 Carter Street, (209) 928-3516; http://tuolumnemuseum.wordpress.com/), and visit the Tuolumne-band of the Miwuk Indian’s Black Oak Casino (www.BlackOakCasino.com; just a mile from the city center).

How to get there: Tuolumne City is located just off historic Highway 49, six miles southeast of the regional city of Sonora by following Tuolumne Road. It is just two hours from Sacramento and one hour from Stockton and Modesto.

Nearby attractions: Nearby Gold Rush towns like Sonora, Twain Hart, Columbia and Jamestown make for a nifty collection of historic towns in the Mother Lode; many will make their trip several days to take in the rich history and scenic beauty of the Sierra foothills. And the Black Oak Casino is worth a visit, with fun for all.

Lodging, camping, dining options: While Toulumne City offers no hotels or motels, nearby Black Oak Casino offers hotel accommodations, several cafes and a fine restaurant, the Seven Sisters. Sonora, just six miles away, offers a wealth of motels, hotels, bed and breakfasts and a number of good to fine restaurants. Campgrounds can also be found along Highway 49, and up Highway 108 in the Sierras.

For additional weekend getaway ideas in California and the west, go to http//LittlePlacesIKnow.blogspot.com.