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January 2024 by Doug
Spectacular and much bigger than it looks from the highway. Very educational, clean, and nicely laid out.
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November 2023 by Konstantin Goldin
Very nice museum, and - incredible docent. Tom was our docent, and he loves the history. While we planned to a quick stop, we ended up staying for a complete tour of the carriage part of the museum. Learned so much!
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October 2023 by Leila C
This is more than a museum and you should plan to spend at least an hour here. It is a vast and well organized collection of artifacts and documentation that can help to show what life was like in the gold rush days. It will show you more than you can learn just by visiting the Columbia historic park. If you want to get a more in depth picture of what life was like back then.... you must visit this place!
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August 2023 by Evelyn K.
Good to see all gold mining stuff and old horse riding ,and in these days outside space used for farmer market on Friday evening which is great
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July 2023 by Rico Olvera
Super cool place. Very friendly staff. Tim was awesome and very informative. I will definitely be back with friends and family.
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June 2023 by Sherry Black (SherryB)
Do NOT miss this collection of museums when in the Angels Camp/Sonora CA area! It is a mix of historical museums about the area, the Calaveras County - Mark Twain connection, area mining, agriculture, transportation, Gold Rush society and more. Kids and adults will learn a lot here and have lingering questions answered, like, "How big were covered wagons?", or, " What does a blacksmith do", or "Why is Mark Twain a big part of history in nowhere's-ville California?". You'll have fun and gain a lot of knowledge about white people in the mania of the Gold Rush era.Two negatives should be addressed. The first is lack of accessibility. The museum's staff has made an effort to make the upper and lower areas more accessible to the mobility challenged and wheelchairs, like allowing vehicles to drive up next to each building. But the very steep, unlevel terrain can be difficult, more for walkers/canes even than a pushed wheelchair.The 2nd issue is bothersome. The museum IS about Gold Rush miners and settlers, I admit. BUT, they should cover the Native American history more, even if just providing details about the interactions between the Natives and the miners and settlers. The damage white convergence caused the Natives in their everyday lives, and any benefits gained, should definitely be addressed!
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June 2023 by Cindy Yu
Our family recently spent two hours at Angels Camp Museum on our way back from Big Tree State Park.It is very nice to learn the Gold Rush history of this town. I enjoyed learning more about Mark Twain, spending time at the Wagon exhibition, Mining exhibition and Medical exhibition.Chuck at the Mining exhibition is really nice. He patiently guided us and explained a lot of interesting items at the exhibition. He even spent time to play checkers with my kids.Amy is also very helpful showing us wagons/carriages.I am very happy that the historic town remains alive and keeps the history in such a nice Museum. Thanks everyone in the Museum to connect us to the history and People during Gold Rush.
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March 2023 by Laci C.
Great for a little trip to see some local history we all enjoyed it even our 3 year old such an awesome museum!
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February 2023 by Venus L.
We love to learn through hands on experience and Angels camp museum is a great opportunity to do that. We had learned so much during the visit, Tom was amazing about telling stories and history, It was just Amazing! My children 17 and 11 were so happy to be there, both were excited about the Tour and scavenger hunt game they were playing at the same time. Amy was so sweet, and had lots of patience while the children were finding gold and beautiful rocks. I Love it! We will be returning to Angels camp for the Jumping frog contest.
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February 2023 by Nikki M.
Very cool place. Full of history and fun facts for the whole family. Definitely worth the stop in Angels Camp.
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January 2023 by Shelbi Lawrance
This is a really cool and educational place to come check out. Lots of cool artifacts and crystals to look at. They have a game too that kids can play. It's essentially a scavenger hunt of sorts and at the end if they find all the gold nuggets they get a prize. The gift shop has a lot of nice things as well. Frogs, t shirts, jewelry, candies, books.... You'll find all kinds of stuff.
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January 2023 by Jenn C.
This is a great collection of mining equipment, tools, wagons, buggies and other horse-drawn conveyances. Impressive mineral display with quartz crystals that have to be about 12 inches in diameter. Everyone there is super nice and friendly - the gift shop is really cute and full of great photos and historical information. Well worth the $15 admission.
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January 2023 by Meghan P.
This museum is so cool and the people we met who work here are great! My kids (ages 5.5, 3.5, and 1) especially loved the scavenger hunt (for great prizes!) and panning for gold. I loved the panning for gold experience too - I could have done it all day! We visited on a very rainy day but it was still so fun. I'm excited to come back one day!We followed our visit with lunch at the Picked Porch which we loved too!
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January 2023 by Yuan LIU
Angels Camp Museum focuses on local history (including Calaveras County as many small-town museums have to do), and is very well presented. The crown jewel in my opinion is (of course) drafts that led to Mark Twain's first published fiction. Even though they are in print published after Twain's death, not manuscripts, learning the progression that shaped the writer's career gave me tingles. (Unless you are a Twain scholar, I bet you don't know this history.)The most exciting collection, of course, is about the Frog Jump Jubilee in commemoration of the tall story retold by the world-famous writer. (Or it could be his invention. Who knows.) You may have watched the CBS documentary, read about it in national newspapers, or any number of online places. But seeing physical artifacts about this extremely local yet global sensation is always a thrill. Prominent on display are the cage that held and box that transported the Republic of China (Taiwan) entry to the event in the 50's.While the staff in the main hall, now shared with the gift shop as well as relocated state tourist bureau office, is too busy to conduct guided tour (but happy to answer questions), you can ask for tours in the other two buildings. Boy, do they tell stories! (Who knew that the word “hippie” was rooted in Chinese laborers’ opium use? Although this is not really local, and whether this is even true, damn the British!) Did you know that San Francisco’s first electricity power line came from waterwheel on display here? I had known Michelson’s interferometer and its importance in the development of modern physics since college years, but knew nothing about its inventor’s local root.On top of all that, artifacts from the newly closed Murphys Museum are currently stored here. Be sure to ask for a tour of the condensed room! (Should I spoil the connection with one iconic Beatles moment? If you are from the Bay Area, be prepared to be surprised by many connections outside of San Francisco's role as financial center of the Gold Rush.) And of course, no self-respecting gold country museum would be short of a gold panning station where you - and your young ones, can extract shinier bits from bone-chilling water troughs.All in all, this museum can provide solid entertainment for two to four hours. Not a bad deal for $15.
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November 2022 by Lori H.
You can't miss this one! If you like museums take your time and enjoy the history. We were there over 2 hours and talking with the knowledgeable docents made it 3! So much to look at so don't take any short cuts. From the jumping frog history, pharmacy and doctoring information, farming and mining this museum is a true gold nugget.