Family ties bring this writer to Columbia, a California Gold Rush town, but it’s worth the trip for many other reasons
Having grown up with a parent in the military, I have a difficult time answering the question “Where are you from?”
I was born in Washington but moved to Louisiana when I was about 2. I’ve also lived in South Carolina and Pennsylvania, with stints back in Washington between each move.
If it’s a quick conversation, I’ll say “I’m from Washington” and leave it at that. If I have a little more time, I’ll map out the zig-zags I’ve made across the country, which helps a lot when someone has asked the question after they’ve heard me say “y’all.”
Though, in total, I’ve spent more years of my life in Washington than anywhere else, the most reliable place in my life has been my grandparents’ house in Northern California.
So reliable in fact, I remember an assignment in a poetry class I took in middle school for which the teacher asked us to write a letter to our future self, which she would mail to us in a year.
My problem? I didn’t know where I’d be in a year so I asked if I could send it to my grandparents. A year later, my grandma forwarded my letter to our new address.
They’ve been in the same house since I was 4 years old, and I probably have as many memories there as any other place I’ve lived.
Most are great – cramming in a hammock stretched between two trees that are no longer there with my sisters and brother as we whiled away the afternoon, or eating ice cream in the front yard with my grandpa.
Others not so much – I once fell off a slide on a play structure and had to miss a magic show at a local library while I rested on the couch.
I get to see my grandparents, Mike and Esther, about twice a year, and turning onto their street always fills me with a sense of comfort.
All of this to say, California feels a bit like home.
On my most recent visit to see my grandparents, accompanied by my twin sister Ashley and brother Ian, that feeling was intensified after visiting Columbia, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, about two and a half hours from San Francisco.
My grandpa’s family has had roots in California for more than a century. According to a book of family history written by my great-great-great-great aunt MaryAnn Quadros, the first person on the family tree to set foot in California arrived, give or take, in the 1860s.
Manuel Quadros Sr., born in St. George in the Azores Islands in 1834, left when he was 16 and spent the next 16 years at sea working on an American ship. When the ship stopped in San Francisco to pick up food and fresh water, Quadros began hearing about the success many had during the Gold Rush and decided to quit sea life.
Though he didn’t strike it rich, Quadros settled in California. Long story short, the family grew and spread out across the region, some eventually settling in Columbia.
Growing up, my grandpa spent summers there with his Uncle Richard and Aunt Barbara. After they moved, he began staying with Uncle Paul and Aunt Ethel and their children Frank and Marilyn, who were a few years older than him.
Marilyn worked in Nelson’s Candy Kitchen (22726 Main St.), so my grandpa and Frank would stop by often for treats.
“But more important,” my grandpa said, “were the days of grabbing a dog and walking through the foothills, sitting on rock piles of the old gold mines’ tailings and just being outside.”
My dad and brother had been to Columbia before, but my sister and I hadn’t. It felt special knowing I was going to be walking the same streets my family members had.
Columbia, within the Columbia State Historic Park, also called the Columbia Historic District, is a collection of nearly 30 buildings built during the California Gold Rush.
The buildings have been so well maintained, it really feels as if any minute, someone is going to come running down Main Street yelling about how much gold was found that day.
While browsing Columbia Clothiers and Emporium (22711 Main St.), employee Peyton Rivera told me a similar thing used to happen for tourists’ enjoyment.
Her role in the town’s re-enactments of yesteryear involved chasing a “thief” into the street and yelling for the sheriff’s help.
Rivera has worked at Columbia Clothiers and Emporium for six years. Rivera said the shop was built in 1899, about 40 years newer than the rest of the town. Though the building is newer, the shop falls under the 1850s interpretation the rest of the town follows.
In the store, shoppers can find goods akin to what would be on offer during the Gold Rush. Men’s clothing didn’t change too much year to year, so Columbia Clothiers and Emporium sells pants and shirts.
Women’s clothing has a bit more variety, from ready-made clothes popularized in the 1870s to pieces typical of department stores near the turn of the century and walking skirts from the 1910s. Much of the clothing for sale, Rivera said, is made by Scully, a Western wear company that’s been around since 1906.
Rivera, who like many employees in Columbia wears period-appropriate clothing, said Easter usually marks the beginning of the busy season in Columbia, which lasts through the summer, with the Fourth of July being one of the busiest days of the year.
The nice thing about Columbia is that it’s still a living town with local residents, so even after the shops have closed for the day, it’s still possible to wander Main Street.
“It’s a really peaceful walk around the area, enjoy all the buildings with nobody” River said. “It’s not a ghost town. It’s never been one, but it feels like a ghost town when you’re walking in it.”
Walking down Main Street, you’ll pass a variety of shops, including the Columbia Booksellers and Variety Store (22725 Main St.), which sells books, toys, clothing and souvenirs, and Ebler’s Leather and Saddlery Emporium (22751 Main St.), where you can outfit yourself in leather boots, belts and jackets, plus purses, beaded jewelry and other Western wear.
There’s also the Matelot Gulch Mining Co. (22675 Main St.), where visitors can try their hand at mining for gold and gemstones.
Though we didn’t eat in Columbia during our visit, you can grab a bite to eat at Columbia House Restaurant (22738 Main St.) or St. Charles Saloon (22801 Main St.). For a sweet treat, stop by Nelson’s Candy Kitchen, where an employee said about 80% of what they sell is made in-house, or Fallon House Ice Cream Parlor (11175 Washington St.).
If you’re staying around the area for more than a day, stop by Columbia Mercantile 1855 (11245 Jackson St.), a grocery store on which the building’s original shelves are filled with local meat and produce, vegan and gluten-free options, snacks, pantry staples, drinks and pharmacy items.
Main Street, by the way, and Columbia as a whole, has been used as a filming location for dozens of films and TV shows, including “The Lone Ranger,” “High Noon” and “Little House on the Prairie.”
Even when it isn’t being used as a film set, don’t be surprised to see stagecoaches taking visitors around town courtesy of Columbia Stage Line and Stable, which operates out of the Wells Fargo and Co. Express building (22708 Main St.).
That building, while fascinating to explore, didn’t become my favorite stop of the trip until we got back home. There, my grandpa pulled out a copy of the San Francisco Examiner from Sunday, July 17, 1949, and showed us that my great-great uncle Wes Kent was captured in two photos that accompanied an article about Columbia’s centennial gold rush celebration.
In one picture, he stands with a group of people with his hat raised high, standing in front of the Wells Fargo and Co. Express building. Had I seen this photo before we left, I would have recreated it while we were there, but it was still a powerful moment to know I had been right where Uncle Wes was all those years ago.
A little constancy in a life that’s been, as I like to say, consistently inconsistent.
Family connection aside, one of the best things about Columbia is that though, yes, it is a tourist attraction, it’s not the kind of attraction that makes you feel as if you’re being manipulated to visit. There are no outlandishly high admission prices, no flashing signs beckoning you into one shop or another, no restaurant employees standing out front, menus in hand, trying to persuade people to come inside.
It simply exists as it has since the Gold Rush, albeit with modern conveniences like air conditioning and credit card readers. You’re part of history when visiting Columbia, but you’re also part of the community.
Parking and admission to Columbia are free. Hours for each shop vary. For more information on Columbia, visit visitcolumbiacalifornia.com.