Everything Valley Springs is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Valley Springs.
10 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
The sign used to say “Population: 3,500.” Now, the faded paint and missing numbers tell a different story. Valley Springs, nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Calaveras County, isn’t shrinking exactly, but it's…
This 1867 courthouse once housed the courtroom, jail, and sheriff's office all in one building. It was the heart of justice, and sometimes injustice, in Calaveras County. Built in 1867, this brick building was more than…
Feast your eyes on a rare gem of architecture, a Carpenter Gothic house right here in Jackson! This is the William J. Paugh House, also known as Rosewall. It was built in the late 1850s by Charles L. Parish, who was an…
Hold your breath – you're near a place where fortunes were made and dreams were chased deep underground. The Kennedy Gold Mine, named for Andrew Kennedy, an Irish immigrant, became one of the deepest mines along the…
Get ready to glimpse a real-life castle, right here in California! But this isn't a fairytale. It's Preston Castle, formerly the Preston School of Industry, a reform school with a long and complex history. Construction…
Imagine the roar of machinery echoing through this valley – that's Knight Foundry. Established in 1873, it provided crucial equipment and repairs for the booming gold mines and timber industry of the Mother Lode. Samuel…
Pull over, you're about to see where Mark Twain supposedly heard the yarn that launched his career! The Angels Hotel is right here in Angels Camp. Back in 1865, Twain was hanging around the bar here when he supposedly…
This unassuming brick building is the last tangible piece of a once-thriving Chinese community right here in Angels Camp. During the Gold Rush, Chinese immigrants flocked to California seeking fortune, and this area…
Right here in Copperopolis stands a silent witness to a nation divided: the Copperopolis Armory. Back in 1864, this brick building became the headquarters for the Union Guard, Copperopolis's own regiment of the Union…
Imagine generations of people gathering here, their lives intertwined with the rhythm of the seasons and the bounty of the land. This is Chaw’se, or Indian Grinding Rock, home to the largest collection of bedrock mortar…