#39 Early Pioneer Towns & Fun Sights

Cherokee
Table Mtn. Blvd. to Cherokee Road
Museum: 530-533-1849
School: 530-533-3402

Oregon City
Table Mtn. Blvd. to Cherokee Rd.
follow bridge signs
Tours of the school: 530-533-5316

Settled in 1853 by a school teacher and his Cherokee Indian students from what is now the state of Oklahoma, Cherokee boomed from 1870-1886.

In 1881, a mining company was operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It employed 200 men using 40 million gallons of water daily with hydraulic monitors to mine the Table Mountain bluffs. Investors here included such names as Vanderbilt. President Rutherford B. Hayes and General Sherman visited Cherokee at the height of its boom times.

In the late 1800's hydraulic mining was outlawed due to the environmental damage it caused. More than 200 diamonds of commerical quality were also found here.

The cemetery is dedicated to the early pioneer families who founded the community, and many of the headstones bear their names. The museum, under the direction of Jim Lenhoff, displays old gold mining artifacts and other memorabilia from the pioneer era.

The Calif. Historic Landmark plaque says that Oregon City was settled in 1848 by a party of Oregonians captained by Peter H. Burnett (who later became the first civil governor of Calif.) and prospered as a gold mining community. It is home to the Oregon City School, which is maintained by the Butte County Historical Society, and houses a small museum of artifacts.

In 1984, the community, led by Clay Castleberry, built a covered bridge, which was automatically authenticated by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges because of its true detail of a period design, complete with wooden trusses.