Brushing up on our history...

Hope you are all excited as we are about Diggins! Need to brush up on your Columbia history? Here’s a brief write-up courtesy of Judith Peebles:

1849, the area of Columbia was known as Santa Iago, a Mexican settlement with some buildings, possibly of adobe.
March 27, 1850 - gold is discovered by the Hildreth brothers, Walker, and Carson.
April 1850 - a mining district was formed, but only allowed with American born citizens.
May of 1850 - Columbia is the settled name, after being called Hildreth's Diggins and American Camp.
Summer of 1850 the area is almost deserted because of lack of water, but by the Fall, the population picks up when the rains return.
June of 1851 - the Tuolumne County Water Company is formed to insure a steady supply of water to the county and the various towns, camps and strikes.
November of 1851 - the streets of Columbia are laid out. Businesses promote steady growth, with the town size consisting of over 500 buildings.
Fall 1851-Spring 1852 The nearby town of Sonora has a terrible fire, the local populace of Columbia fears the same tragedy, but there is no serious danger until 1854. Citizens worry about foreign miners coming to the area and staking claims, a foreign miners tax is levied. Also, the Sole Trader Act is made into California law stating that a woman may own her own property and business, keeping any income earned herself.
In July of 1852, and the talk of our town is the increasing numbers of families so there is a need for churches and schools. St. Andrews church is built at this time. Two other churches are built, and a private school is started. With votes of 1,500 men, the town is well on it's way to incorporation.Also, the first water was brought into town by flume from Five Mile Creek, which gave the town a year-round stability. By August, the flume was extended to South Fork which would provide even more water.
Columbia has fires that devastate the town, but not until July 1854, August 1857, and July 1861. By April 1864 most the gold is finished, consequently many of the buildings are sold and moved to Sonora. Shortly after this, another fire in 1865 burns down many buildings in the financial area around the City Hotel.

Look for more history posts in the next couple of days! Looking forward to seeing you all soon!