Fiddletown, California

The Fiddletown AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Amador County, California, United States. The region was first settled in 1849, during the California Gold Rush. Settlers who stayed in the area eventually planted grape vines, which became abundant by the end of the nineteenth century. Most of the vineyards in the Fiddletown AVA are located in the south and west portion of the region, at elevations between 1,500 feet (457 m) and 2,500 feet (762 m) above sea level. About 20% of the wine produced in Amador County comes from Fiddletown AVA.

Lower Rancheria is a former gold-mining camp in Amador County, California. It was located on Rancheria Creek 2 miles (3.2 km) east-southeast of Drytown, at an elevation of 1017 feet (310 m). Placer mining began at Lower Rancheria in 1848.Prior to 1855, the camp at Lower Rancheria was mostly populated by Spanish-speaking miners. On 6 August 1855 a series of murders were carried out at the camp by a group of Mexicans, who killed five men and one women and who also robbed the contents of a safe. Following this, three of the Mexicans were hanged, and the Mexican population of the camp were driven away.

Plymouth (formerly, Puckerville, Pokerville, and Poker Camp) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 1,005 at the 2010 census. The town was originally named Pokerville, when it was settled during the time of the gold rush. Plymouth is commonly now known as a "Gateway to Shenandoah Valley", a popular wine-producing region in the Sierra foothills. The Ione Band of Miwok Indians, a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people, is headquartered in Plymouth.

The Plymouth Trading Post is a brick building in Plymouth, California in Amador County, United States. The brick building was built in 1857 by hand by Joe Williams in 1857, to be his Trading Post. The Trading Post closed and the building became the headquarters of Plymouth Consolidated Mine in 1873. Plymouth Consolidated Mine was formed when a number of small mines combined. The building was the Plymouth Consolidated Mine main office and its commissary. Plymouth Trading Post is registered as California Historical Landmark #41, starting August 30, 1950. The Trading Post served the town and nearby Plymouth Mine. The building survived the 1877 that burned down much of the town. The brick walls foundations are 30 inches thick. The floor support beams are 12x12 inches of wood. Joe Williams "dug" the basement with dynamite to remove the shale rock below the building. There were hitching posts ring on the side of the building. Plymouth Consolidated Mine's Pacific shaft, was the deepest hard rock shaft at 4,450 feet by 1925 working the Plymouth gold vain. The main haul of gold was between 1883 and 1889, when it operated 160 stamps that crushed 400 tons of quartz ore a day. The Plymouth Consolidated Mine mined over $13,500,000 dollars of gold and closed in 1947. Some of the mines that Consolidated in 1883 were: Plymouth, Empire, and Amador Pacific mining companies. The mines were all located in the northern part of Mother Lode Gold Belt of the Sierra Nevada foothills at an elevation of 332 feet. After consolidation, the company had 126.3 acres of land that included: the Plymouth, Southerland, Oaks, Pacific, Simpson, Aden, Reese, Phoenix East claims, the Phoenix mill site, and interests in the Reese and Woolford, Indiana, Rising Star, Conville, and Beta claims. The first gold in the area was found in 1852. The Plymouth Consolidated Mine was idle from 1892 to 1911.

Fort John is a former settlement and mining location in Amador County, California, briefly populated in the 1850s. It was located on the South Fork of Dry Creek, 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Volcano. Fort John was named for John Stuart.A church and schoolhouse, reportedly the first in what would become Amador County, were built as early as 1850-51. The church was Methodist Episcopal and built by P.Y. Cool. The site thrived for about a year, but when the mining in Volcano proved better, the site was largely abandoned, with only minor activity after that. Some miners and residents remained later in the decade. An 1857 story said that Fort John "retains more of the signs and characteristics of old Forty-Nine times than any other place in this section of California. You behold the log-cabin, with canvass roof; the clapboard palace with mud chimney emitting the savory perfumes of burnt slapjacks and beans straight, not forgetting the bountiful supply of oro that lines the pockets of the 'honest miners.' Everyone is proficient in the mysteries of poker and old sledge ..."By 1881, a county history book reported only one resident there, who "seems to have staid to point out the site of the former town, and relate to occasional visitors the glories of the ancient days." Yet, the Mining Bureau still had the site listed as of 1954.

Enterprise is a former mining camp in Amador County, California. It is located 5.5 miles (8.9 km) west-northwest of Fiddletown, on Big Indian Creek, at an elevation of 876 feet (267 m). Established to mine quartz, at its peak it had a population of around a hundred, but the prospects did not pan out, and there are only a few houses in the area now.

Yeomet (also, Saratoga and Forks of the Cosumnes) is a former settlement and mining town in Amador County, California. It was at the confluence of Middle and North Forks of the Cosumnes River, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Enterprise. The name, reportedly Native American in origin meaning "rocky falls", reflects the rapids upstream from the place. Other accounts place the namesake waterfalls downstream and claim yomet to mean "sounding rock" for the echoing effects there.It was first settled by Edwin Beebee, John D. Morrison, and E. M. Simpson in 1850, and the three established and ran a trading post until 1859. There was a hotel and ferry to cross the Cosumnes, both operated by E. P. Bowman. A post office operated at Yeomet from 1854 to 1861. The settlement prospered with gold miners for a number of years before it faded.

New Chicago (formerly, Chicago) is an unincorporated community in Amador County, California. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Plymouth, at an elevation of 948 feet (289 m). In 1888, New Chicago was described as "only a mining camp" with a population of 150. A few residences remain in the area today.

Amador City (formerly Amadore's Creek or South Amador) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 200 as of the 2020 Census, up from 185 in 2010, making it the least populous incorporated city in California. Amador City is also noted for being the smallest city in California by area.

The Gold Country (also known as Mother Lode Country) is a historic region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, that is primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines that attracted waves of immigrants, known as the 49ers, during the 1849 California Gold Rush.

Knight Foundry, also known as Knight's Foundry and Shops, is a cast iron foundry and machine shop in Sutter Creek, California. It was established in 1873 to supply heavy equipment and repair facilities to the gold mines and timber industry of the Mother Lode. Samuel N. Knight developed a high speed, cast iron impulse water turbine which was a forerunner of the Pelton wheel design. Knight Wheels were used in some of the first hydroelectric plants in California, Utah, and Oregon. This site is the last water-powered foundry and machine shop in the United States. A 42-inch (107 cm) Knight Wheel drives the main line shaft, with smaller water motors powering other machines.

Amador County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson. Amador County, located within California's Gold Country, is known as "The Heart of the Mother Lode". There is a substantial viticultural industry in the county.