Sacramento has been a great home base for this exploration of Highway 49. From our house it takes roughly an hour driving east to get to the highway. Once there I've got buildings and structures to find heading both the north and south. At the northern end of the study is Downieville in Sierra County (we'll get there soon), but to the south is the site I've most wanted to explore. This town has quite a few still standing buildings, a quarry right in its middle that was used to construct some of the stone structures, and a remoteness from society that has drawn me in. This charming town did not disappoint. Best of all, Hornitos in Mariposa County far exceeded my anticipation. We started with a trip to the center of town, the Plaza. Hornitos was one of the early mining towns of the southern mines. Taking its name from the Spanish word "little ovens", Hornitos was settled by Mexican miners who had been run out of a nearby mining town. The town had a reputation for rowdiness and if you want to learn more that, visit the town's last bar and chat up the owner for some real stories. The bar is just a few doors down from the well-preserved plaza building shown above.
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AuthorMy name is Jeff and I am on a hunt to find historic brick and stone structures along Highway 49. Archives
January 2022
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