Jackson

Jackson still supports roughly the same population as it had during the Gold Rush—consequently, modern shopping centers and sprawling suburbs are the order of the day. To visit the old town turn right at the first stop sign in town which curves through the old downtown along Main Street. Set above the old town in a Victorian home is the Amador County Museum, 225 Church Street (open Wednesday to Sunday 10 am to 4 pm). The various rooms have rather eclectic exhibits from the Gold Rush era: for example, the kitchen is full of 19th-century cookware while a small upstairs bedroom displays Indian baskets. Set in an adjacent building is a scale working model of the North Star Stamp Mill, which crushes tiny stones.