Stories of the diggings, the people, and the land of the Sierra foothills
At the meeting of the ravine and the road, Auburn keeps watch over California's Gold Rush. Our galleries consider the miners who came seeking fortune, the Chinese immigrants who built lives on Gold Mountain, the Native peoples who endured invasion and dispossession, and the labor that made the camps possible.
Four rooms, one difficult and enduring history
GALLERY I
Marshall's discovery, the river routes, and the first rush toward the Sierra.
GALLERY II
Tools, tents, ledgers, food, wages, and the daily work behind a miner's claim.
GALLERY III
Chinese immigrant communities, mutual aid, commerce, and the pressure of exclusion.
GALLERY IV
Nisenan homelands, environmental change, resistance, and the people whose stories were pushed aside.
Featured artifacts and documents from the Auburn ravine
ARTIFACT NO. 104
A hand-built rocker used to wash gravel and separate gold from river sediment.
DOCUMENT NO. 082
A record of supplies, wages, debts, and the unequal price of life in the camps.
ARCHIVAL MAP NO. 019
A map of Auburn's waterways and claims, read alongside the Native landscape that preceded them.
A timeline of foothill transformation and memory
1848
Gold is found at Sutter's Mill, and word travels down the river roads.
1849
Emigrants, merchants, laborers, and families converge on the Sierra foothills.
AFTER THE RUSH
Auburn becomes a lasting town while its mines, waterways, and communities bear the marks of extraction.
TODAY
The museum preserves evidence, asks difficult questions, and invites the public to look again.
Educational offerings, gallery walks, and community history
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Walk the galleries with a museum guide and follow the objects back to the camps.
EDUCATION
Hands-on lessons in mining technology, migration, labor, and Native California history.
EVENTS
Gatherings for stories of Auburn, the foothills, and the families who carried them forward.
Visitor information, hours, and location
LOCATION: 101 GOLD STREET, AUBURN, CALIFORNIA
HOURS: Open Wednesday through Monday, 10 am to 5 pm
ADMISSION: $12 adults, $8 students, free for children under 12
DURATION: Allow one to two hours for the permanent galleries.