History
Nisenan-Maidu People
Rich in Native American, pioneer and Gold Rush history, the American River has always been the focus of human activity. For over 6,000 years, various Native American people inhabited the canyons. The most recent, the Nisenan-Maidu people, hunted and gathered food in the canyons, living in harmony with the natural world. Salmon, deer and acorns were the staples of their diet. Villages were located up and down the river. The larger villages had a ceremonial dance house called the K'um at its center. The K'um was the social center of the village. Dancing was very popular and dances marked the seasons and important food cycles such as the acorn harvest or the catch of the first salmon. Today, scattered grinding holes in the rocks along the river are silent reminders of the first inhabitants of the American River canyons.
Gold Rush History
Pioneers forged wagon routes along the ridges to make new homes in the Great Sacramento Valley. The mining village known as Yankee Jims, between Colfax and Foresthill, was the site of a convention to determine the preferred route across the Sierra to Sacramento.
The Gold Rush of 1849 played an important role in developing the American River's rich historical identity. Auburn, Colfax and Foresthill grew to be large towns that outfitted and provided the miners with supplies. The river bars still bear the names given them by the miners. Over 6 miles long, the Grand Flume was built on the Middle Fork in the 1850's from Oregon Bar to Mammoth Bar to facilitate mining the river bed. At Horseshoe Bar a tunnel was blasted through the bedrock to divert the water from a section of river for mining. This is the site of the infamous Tunnel Chute rapid. Many of the trails in use in the canyons were miner's ditches that diverted water from streams to wash gold from the gravel at the mining camps. Much of the environmental destruction of the Gold Rush has been healed by time and now the real "gold" is in the scenic beauty, the pristine wilderness and the biodiversity found in the canyons.
Pioneers forged wagon routes along the ridges to make new homes in the Great Sacramento Valley. The mining village known as Yankee Jims, between Colfax and Foresthill, was the site of a convention to determine the preferred route across the Sierra to Sacramento.
The Gold Rush of 1849 played an important role in developing the American River's rich historical identity. Auburn, Colfax and Foresthill grew to be large towns that outfitted and provided the miners with supplies. The river bars still bear the names given them by the miners. Over 6 miles long, the Grand Flume was built on the Middle Fork in the 1850's from Oregon Bar to Mammoth Bar to facilitate mining the river bed. At Horseshoe Bar a tunnel was blasted through the bedrock to divert the water from a section of river for mining. This is the site of the infamous Tunnel Chute rapid. Many of the trails in use in the canyons were miner's ditches that diverted water from streams to wash gold from the gravel at the mining camps. Much of the environmental destruction of the Gold Rush has been healed by time and now the real "gold" is in the scenic beauty, the pristine wilderness and the biodiversity found in the canyons.
