Foresthill Self-Guided Tour

 Miners reached Foresthill (aka Forest Hill) in 1850. By 1851, a hotel and trading-post known as the “Forest House” was established among the dense pines, oaks, fir, and spruce trees, on a broad ridge between the Middle Fork of the American River and Shirt Tail Canon. At this junction of routes to Auburn and Yankee Jims, a community quickly grew to become an important center of trade and travel for the surrounding populations. Prosperous mines and logging operations were established around the vicinity and wagons and stagecoaches ran daily to the area – laden with freight, bullion, and people. It became one of the largest towns in Placer County and was described in 1882 as having “quite a metropolitan air.”

This tour takes travelers along the historic stage route from Auburn to Foresthill and offers a chance to walk around and discover the history of this once bustling community.

The first stop is a monument marking the final resting place of a legendary figure in local history. It is located about 10.5 miles from where the Foresthill Road begins in Auburn, en route to Foresthill.

To get more in-depth information and historical photos of each stop, click on the photos below.

Once in town, Main Street splits off from Foresthill Road. Between these parallel streets there are several bucket brigade water tanks.

Halfway through town, The Foresthill School Building is on the right side of the road at 24540 Main Street.

Continuing down Main Street, the Foresthill Community Center is on the right at 24580 Main St.

At the corner of Main St. and Soap St. sits the Forest House. The address is 24590 Main St. 

After crossing Soap St. the Rea and McAninch Stage Barn will be a little way up on the right at 14630 Main Street.

Turn around and look across Main St. and Foresthill Rd. and the Odd Fellows Hall will be right in front of you at 24601 Foresthill Rd.

The building to the left on the corner of Foresthill Rd. and Soap St. was originally Garrison's Store. The address is 24617 Foresthill Rd.

Continue down Soap St. until it dead-ends at the Foresthill Veterans Memorial Hall. The address of the hall is 24601 Harrison St.

Right next door to the Memorial Hall is the Foresthill Divide Museum at 24601 Harrison St. Click on the link below for our grounds tour of the front yard.

       

The next stop will take you a half-mile out of town to the Catholic Cemetery at 25115 Foresthill Rd. 

If you're looking for other self-guided tours of historic areas, check out the Placer County Museums tours page. There's also more info available if you visit the Foresthill Divide Museum or the Foresthill Divide Historical Society.

Dutch Flat Self-Guided Tour

Dutch Flat is a small mountain community in the eastern part of Placer County. Once home to over 1,000 people, today the Dutch Flat Historic District sits on the National Register of Historic Places and visitors can view many of the remaining structures that existed in this formerly bustling community.

The Golden Drift Historical Society has collaborated with the Placer County Museums Division to highlight some of the historic buildings in Dutch Flat. If you are looking for the more extensive walking tour these highlights are based on, click on the link below to access a PDF of the Golden Drift Historical Society's official Walking Tour brochure.

 

The following building highlights offer a glimpse of the variety of sites that still exist in Dutch Flat and can be visited as part of this walking tour.

Please be advised this is a mountain town and much of the walking requires making your way up and down slopes of various steepness.

The first highlight on our tour sits at 32905 Main Street, the Daniel E. Smart House.

Headed downhill, the site of the former Opera House will be on your left.



Continue down the hill and you'll see signs on the left for the Golden Drift Museum.



Across the street and next to the post office building is the Dutch Flat Trading Post.



The big red three-story building across the street from the Trading Post is the Dutch Flat Hotel



Continuing downhill and zig-zagging back and forth across the street the building with the red steps is the Masonic Hall.



Right next door to that is the Odd Fellows Building.



Continuing downhill on Main Street, the Hearse House will be on the opposite side of the street just before the road curves to the left. 



Following the curve downhill, Main Street turns into Sacramento Street. Follow it and Stockton Street will be on your left. Just past Stockton Street, there is an old adobe building that is what remains of  Chinatown.



Backtrack down Sacramento Street until you get back to Stockton Street and then head up it. After it curves back towards Main Street, the Dutch Flat Grammar School will be on your left.



Across the street from the Grammar School is the Methodist Episcopal Church.

If you're looking for other self-guided tours of historic areas, check out the Placer County Museums tours page. There's also more info available if you visit the Golden Drift Museum or the Golden Drift Historical Society website. 

The Self-Guided Downtown Auburn Walking Tour

Auburn is a community filled with iconic landmarks and historic buildings that harken back to the quintessential architecture of the past.

While the Old Town Walking Tour brings the visitor to the early beginnings of Auburn, and the nearby Bernhard Museum Grounds Tour treats guests to experience the oldest building in town, this Downtown Walking Tour features the growth and development of the community as it expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The tour is a leisurely, partly downhill .6 miles (one-way) stroll from the Gold Rush Museum to City Hall. The Placer County Museum and Old Town are just beyond where you can find plenty of places to stop for a rest and some food or refreshment before heading back to the Gold Rush Museum. The walk back is largely flat but with a couple of notable inclines.

The tour begins at 601 Lincoln Way which is a historic train depot as well as the current home of Placer County's Gold Rush Museum.

Head downhill on Lincoln Way and the Hotel Auburn will be on the left side of the street.

Across the street and a little further down the hill you will find the Placer County Bank.

Keep headed down the hill until you reach the stoplight. Across the intersection stands The Tahoe Club building. 

Take a left to stay on Lincoln Way and head down to Central Square where you'll find a statue of a Nisenan man as well as several sidewalk tiles featuring historical figures from Auburn's past. Across the street to the left is a stand of five buisness which is also the site of the Auburn Opera House.

Around the corner from where the Opera House would have been is Lewis Street. Head up Lewis Street and Saint Luke's Church will be on your right.

Turn around and head back toward Central Square. Once you reach the corner, look to the left and you'll see the side of the old Firehouse/City Hall.

From City Hall, head back to the Central Square intersection and look across Central Square to get a nice view of the Masonic Hall.

From in front of the Masonic Hall, continue down Lincoln Way. On the left, you should see the Marquee of the State Theater.

Keep heading down Lincoln Way for a few steps and Almond Street runs into Lincoln Way. At the top of Almond Street is the old Auburn Library.

Head back down the hill and take a right on Lincoln Way. Keep going up and over the rise in the hill. As you come down the other side the Auburn Grammar School will be on your left.

Directly across the street from the Auburn Grammar School is the Odd Fellows Hall.

This completes the Self-Guided  Downtown Auburn Walking Tour. If your interest in local history has not been satisfied, feel free to continue on to the Old Town Walking Tour!

Old Town Auburn Walking/Driving Tour

Visitors are welcome to join us every Saturday morning at 10:00am sharp, rain or shine, for a free guided tour of Old Town Auburn. The Tour begins at the Courthouse, 101 Maple Street, and lasts about one hour.

For those who prefer a self-guided experience, you may enjoy this virtual tour highlighting some of the landmarks one would see and learn about on the tour.  Just click on each photo below to be whisked away into the past.

Just like a walking tour, this one starts at one of the jewels in our historical crown, the Historic Courthouse.

From there we head downhill on Lincoln Way. Just past Court Street on your right you'll see our next stop, the Brye Mansion.

Continue down the hill and when you get to the bottom, the old Tsuda Grocery will be the first building on your left.

Across from this extremely wide intersection, you will see a block of businesses known as the Center Block or the Post Office Block. This intersection is a relic of the days when Auburn was built around the convergence of three gold-bearing ravines at this site.

Across Washington Street from the Post Office Block sits what is now the Auburn Alehouse. Before that, it was the Shanghai Restaurant and, before that, the American Hotel.

The next building to the right is where the Empire Livery Stable was.

Now head up the other hill which is Sacramento Street. Right past the alley called Brewery Lane sits the Joss House.

Spin around and head back down the hill and take a look around. Pretty good view, right? One of the buildings you probably noticed right away is Firehouse No. 2. Because how can you miss a three story candy-striped building right past the Post Office Block.

As you stand admiring the beauty of this structure, turn to your right. The gas station on the corner is where the Orleans Hotel used to be.

Take a walk up Commercial Street back toward the courthouse. Are you starting to understand why they call Auburn the Endurance Capital of the World? You can't get anywhere in this town without going up a steep hill at some point. Commercial Street runs into Maple Street. Take Maple up to the intersection in front of the Courthouse. The Pioneer Methodist is across the street on the Left.

The End...

for now.

Stay tuned for our upcoming tour of downtown and of several other towns in Placer County.

Special thanks to the volunteers of the Placer County Archives and Research Center whose research was instrumental in the making of this project and to our wonderful walking tour docents. We look forward to seeing you again, soon!