calaveras county museum complex

We have lived in this area for almost 40 years and had never known about this hidden gem. We had been invited to a art showing at the Museum and decided to take a look around. Almost two hours later we were leaving very happy we had spent the time to see this fantastic pieces of history. The items are displayed very nicely. Be sure to go to the jail out back of the museum and see where the famous Black Bart spent his time in jail. This is a great place to bring children to learn about past times. When we have company coming from out of state this will be a wonderful place to bring them.

Loved this gem of a museum complete with Black Bart's jail cell. There are lots of tatty museums around but this one is real and gives you a good sense of history.

to see the history of California in such an up close and personal way. Great for kids of all ages. A good one time experience.

On the second floor is truly one of the largest and best, most interesting history museums I have ever seen anywhere. Room after room of fascinating things with great description cards telling really interesting stories of early California, and the fascinating people, buildings, things, gold mining, outlaws, and sheriffs of the 1800s. There are whole rooms set up to show what things looked like in the 1800s, including: A full size courtoom with jury chairs, a court library, an office, a bedroom, and more... And one large room has a display of Native American things, plus the actual original, extremely old little courthouse, made of boards from China - before California had any lumber mills! We started on the first floor though, and saw the jailhouse and a fascinating display of a very good looking, honest, and fair sheriff whose story will remind you very much of The Andy Griffith Show.

This is a very well laid out small museum. It provides a great overview and explanation of the history of the Gold Rush region. We have seen a lot of small regional and county museums -- highly recommend this one to travelers in the area.

The town takes pride in their museum, they have 2 large buildings filled with historical items donated by many members of the town. The docents were a wealth of information and were eager to share their town's history. You will find out about the great gold rush, the tools they used and all you ever wanted to know about mining. I loved this museum, I could have stayed there for 8 hours, its a piece of Americana and I hope it will always be there for Americans to enjoy.I take my hat off to the town for preserving their history!

I love this museum,especially the jail!! When i first saw the place I got the creeps(in a good way) because it's a ln old jail!! It was very thrilling. I think more people should go there!!

The self paced tour is worth the time spent. Great exhibits on the way life was for those that built California. Good representation of the Native and Chinese cultures as well. The main museum is housed in the old courthouse and jail itself a historical building.

The Calaveras County Museum in San Andreas is well worth a visit. It houses an extremely interesting collection of exhibits and artifacts detailing the history of this part of California - the Gold Country!You enter the museum through the imposing doors of the 1893 Hall of Records. These doors are 16 feet tall and made out of solid iron. Once inside, the friendly attendant offers information about the exhibits. The cost is very reasonable at only $3 per adult and $2 per senior, and it's open daily 10-4. The museum has several levels and there are stairs.The exhibits and displays include all aspects of the region's history. There is a section on the original inhabitants of this area, the Miwok Indians. There are exhibits detailing the history of the Chinese immigrants as well as many displays chronicling the history of gold mining and everyday life in an 1800's "wild west" town.One of the most interesting exhibits to me was the actual building that housed California's first courthouse. It was built in 1850 with boards that came from China since there were no sawmills in California at that time.Visitors can peek into original old offices of the Hall of Records, which have been restored to look as they did in the late 19th Century. You then can walk into an adjoining building and see an old courthouse where the notorious stage-robbing outlaw "Black Bart" was sentenced.The museum attractions continue outside, as you enter the old jail yard. The walls surrounding this yard were built in 1885 and were 10 feet high. The old jail itself is quite interesting and was in use all the way up to the mid 1960's.All in all, this is one of the better small museums my husband and I have ever visited. San Andreas is a pleasant small town and there is ample parking around the museum.