PLUMAS EUREKA ABOUNDS IN GOLD Saturday and Sunday, July 20th and 21 st , mark the annual celebration of Gold Discovery Days at Plumas Eureka State Park in Johnsville. The Park-wide activities recognize the 150 th anniversary of the California State Park System, and also a century of feverish hard rock gold mining in this northern end of the Mother Lode. There will be many free, non-stop activities just for youngsters. Ice cream-making, butter churning, clothes washing - the old fashioned way - will take place in the shade of the trees at the Moriarty House There will be home-made bread and jam served there as well. Candle-making and quill pen writing and a bean bag toss will be available outside the Museum, as well as demonstrations of wool crafts. All of the venues in the Historic Area will be open and free to park visitors, with docents showing and explaining the many aspects of the gold mining industry. Blacksmiths in their heavy leather aprons will be fashioning miners’ implements, pounding their hammers on the anvil, shaping the raw iron that has been heated over the bellows-fanned coal fire. Their products are available for sale in the Museum. The Bushman Mill displays how the gold ore was processed from rock, to yield the fine yellow metal; and the Park Museum has an operating, scale model of the famous, nearby, sixty stamp Mohawk Mill. The Assay Office will have a demonstration of how the value of the raw gold ore was determined. The Park Museum contains many exhibits featuring the historic and natural environment of the area. The house of gold miner John Moriarty, and the seven members of his family, has many examples of the furnishings and paraphernalia of an 1890’s family. There are several activities for the entire family. Gold panning can be tried in the trough outside the Blacksmith Shop. Videos with an historic theme are scheduled in the cool theater room downstairs in the Museum. Guided hikes will take energetic visitors to the first Gold Discovery Site high up on Eureka Peak. Tom DeMund, noted Plumas County outdoors writer, will also conduct a special, reserved, walk for a fee to some of the notable historic sites in the Park. Wandering musicians will be entertaining listeners as they view the many exhibits on the State Park grounds. Sunday will kick off at 8 am with the acclaimed Pancake Breakfast hosted by Portola Rotary Club, with musical accompaniment provided by Code Bluegrass, who are returning with their foot-stomping version of classical favorites. An added feature of the Sunday breakfast is a raffle with many valuable prizes - from local merchants’ gift items to blacksmith-created iron items to gift certificates contributed by area restaurateurs - all generously donated to support the State Park. There will be an architectural walk that departs from the State Park Museum at 10 am on Sunday, and goes through the Town of Johnsville to the Historical Society’s St. Johns Church , which has its own special display of artifact and memorabilia unique to the Town and surrounding area. A new feature of Gold Discovery Days this year will be the availability of photo-souvenir portraits taken of visitors in period costume, for a fee. Horse-drawn wagon rides will be available again this year carrying passengers all day long from the Park Museum through the old Town of Johnsville to the Historical Society’s Museum and return. The Society will feature their annual old fashion bake sale and lemonade stand on Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm. Tasty food to whet visitors’ appetites will be available for a modest charge. The Park Association will host a barbecue outside the Park Museum on both days, from 11 am to 3 pm. Featured foods include hamburgers, hot dogs, and authentic Cornish pasties, together with beverages and all the trimmings. To get to Johnsville: From the east and west, drive State Route 70 to Blairsden, turn south on State Route 89, and follow the brown-and-white signs six miles to Plumas Eureka State Park. From Truckee and areas to the south, travel State Route 89 to Graeagle, and follow the brown-and-white signs five miles to Plumas Eureka State Park. For more information call Jay Skutt at 530-836-4135, or Larry Fites at 530-836-0783; or visit the Park website at plumas-eureka.org.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 18:10:08 +0000
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