Going for Gold: Norton Owners Club

Northern California Norton Owners Club takes on Gold Country

By Margie Siegal
Published on June 13, 2024
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by Margie Siegal
Some of these buildings have been here more than 150 years.

Highway 80 is an east-to-west highway that extends from San Francisco to New Jersey. In California, it is often crowded with semi-trucks, and exists as a way to get somewhere, no fun intended. If where you are trying to get to is California’s Gold Country, and you are going west, you leave Highway 80 at Truckee, a few miles from the Nevada border, and turn north on Highway 89, a scenic and welcome relief after a stint of dodging trucks.

South on 89 will take you to Lake Tahoe, which is pretty, but can be crawling with tourists, especially on weekends. If you are coming east, you pass Sacramento and look for the Highway 49 sign in Auburn. Both north and south on 49 are lightly traveled and wooded, with broad sweepers. If you are going North and have booked a cabin or are camping, you might want to stop at the Safeway in Grass Valley for provisions — it is the last supermarket for many miles. Turn back your clock 50 years or so, ease up on the twist grip and enjoy the winding roads.

This area was anything but quiet 150 years ago. This is where gold was discovered in 1848, sparking a huge influx of immigrants. People from Northern Italy showed up, realized the climate was much like home, and started farms and ranches to produce food and wine for the adventurers. Financiers invested in railroads and ships and made millions. The Chinese laborers hired to work on the railroads stayed and brought their culture and cuisine.

The mines that sparked all this upheaval were worked out by the early 1900s. Mining towns that once had populations of thousands dwindled to a few hundred, and in some cases were abandoned to become ghost towns. Although the people left, the Gold Rush architecture stayed. The Gold Country is now dotted with campgrounds, fishing resorts, antique shops and museums. The place where gold was discovered, Sutter’s Mill, is now a state park featuring the nicely preserved ghost town of Coloma. Take Highway 49 south from Auburn eighteen miles. Downieville, north on Highway 49, has some of the original saloons from over 100 years ago, bronze plaques everywhere commemorating historic events, crooked, narrow streets and a one lane bridge over the river with interesting design elements.

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