Marysville Appeal-Democrat

Forbestown to hold Gold Rush celebratio­n

- By Chris Kaufman ckaufman@appealdemo­crat.com

More than 150 years ago, the Forbestown area in upper Yuba County was a thriving community – flush from the Gold Rush. Now days the Yuba Feather Museum and Gold Trader Flat (a re-creation of a Gold Rush-era community) help preserve that history.

The museum celebratin­g the Gold Rush and the local timber industry opens for the season with a barbecue this Saturday.

Visitors can examine the tools used in the lumber business – saws and other implements used to extract the “green gold” of the forests.

Gold Trader Flat, which is entered through the Museum, is an interpreti­ve village constructe­d by volunteers to reproduce the architectu­re and lifestyle of the old towns.

The museum is filled with curated exhibits related to mining, ranching, native Americans and the daily life of those who lived and worked in the area.

The Museum’s collection includes an archive of 19th-century photos and documents of the period and a genealogy area with researcher­s available to help those interested in finding out WHAT: WHEN: WHERE:

KNOW & GO

more about their own ancestry or that of the families that settled the area.

A new exhibit has been set up displaying artifacts from World War I, in commemorat­ion of the 100th anniversar­y of Armistice Day, now celebrated as Veterans Day.

The streets of Gold Trader Flat feature displays of early gas engines that have been preserved and are operated by members of the Foothill Flywheeler­s. This century-old technology was put to good use by early settlers in the west and helped build communitie­s in the foothills.

The homestead and saloon offer a perspectiv­e of life in the old days and the Mercantile has an assortment of old-time toys, novelties, homemade baked goods ice cold bottles of sarsaparil­la.

A one-room school house and chapel are also part of the grounds.

 ??  ?? Lolita Manzano, 15, from left, mother Juliana and brother Lorenzo, 9, of Forbestown, tour Gold Trader Flat – a series of life-sized structures built to look like an old mining town – in 2014.
Lolita Manzano, 15, from left, mother Juliana and brother Lorenzo, 9, of Forbestown, tour Gold Trader Flat – a series of life-sized structures built to look like an old mining town – in 2014.

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