Sonora (California)

Sonora was founded as a gold mining camp by white settlers from back east. Gold had been discovered in Woods Creek, in the summer of 1848 near what is now Jamestown. The name Sonora was derived from the Mexican workers the whites employed at slave-like wages to work their mines.
The City of Sonora was incorporated in 1851 by whites, not Mexicans, primarily as a means of creating a badly-needed hospital. Many miners were sick, and dying, mainly from scurvy, mainly white miners who never learnt the importance of fresh vegetables and fruits in their diets. Sonora became the business center (and county seat of Tuolumne County) for the mines around the county and, indeed, for the entire Southern Mines region south of Placerville. When the placer mines began to give out in the 1860s, Sonora survived in part because it had become a business center. It also had what were known as "pocket" minesunderground deposits of highly concentrated gold. Such pocket mines are distinguished from ordinary quartz mines, in which the gold is much less concentrated and requires much work and technology to mine, and which were not profitable until the 1880s when better mining technology had been developed.

Climate

Sonora is just off Highway 108, which leads from Modesto northeast and goes over Sonora Pass to the desert east of the mountains. Part of the way from Oakdale Highway 108 shares the same road as Highway 120, the route to Yosemite. To get to downtown Sonora, take the Route 49 exit (Stockton Street) from Highway 108 about two miles to the downtown area. Visitor information is available from the Visitors Bureau building, also on Stockton Street, about a mile south of downtown.

• Yosemite Area Regional Transit SystemThe YARTS shuttle travels on Highway 120 from Sonora to Yosemite Valley, with stops in Sonora at the Black Oak Hotel, the Best Western, the Inns of California and Rocca Park. Ticket prices include park entry, and can be purchased from the shuttle driver.

The downtown area can be walked around. Park either on the main downtown street, Washington Street, or on the street or in nearby parking lots that are on Stewart Street, one block east of Washington Street. There is a business area in East Sonora, a couple of miles east of downtown, that has additional shopping and restaurants (including the only chain stores and restaurants and fast food places in Tuolumne County).

• Tuolumne County Courthouse

  address: 41 W. Yaney Ave
  Built in 1898 with yellow Roman pressed brick, and still in operation as a courthouse today. The courthouse is on Yaney Street and a block west of Washington Street in the north part of downtown.

• The Red Church

  phone: +1 209 532-1580
  address: 42 Snell Street
  Built in 1860 and still in use, it can be seen from most of downtown Washington Street as a landmark at the north end of town.

• Opera Hall

  phone: +1 209 532-7725
  address: 250 S Washington St
  Built in the late 19th century of brick.

Ski at Dodge Ridge (down hill or cross country) 40 minutes east on highway 108.
Swim at any of the many local lakes and rivers, including Pine Crest Lake and the Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers.
Go wine-tasting at Mt. Brow vineyard, between Jamestown and Sonora.

• Tuolumne County Historical Museum

  address: Bradford Street

Shop at a number of stores, particularly antique stores, along Washington Street.

Eat at a number of restaurants in the downtown area. Mexican restaurants, not surprisingly given the town's history, are particularly common.

Several bars and taverns are in the downtown area.

• Country Inn Sonora

  phone: +1 209 984-0315
  address: 18730 Hwy 108
  The property has a swimming pool, and offers a continental breakfast free of charge, every morning.

• Sonora Inn

  phone: +1 209 532-2400
  address: 160 South Washington St

• Bradford Place

  phone: +1 209-536-6075
  address: 56 West Bradford St
  A small upscale, yet casual inn offering hotel privacy within a bed and breakfast (all rooms have baths en suite).

• The Inn on Knowles Hill

  phone: +1 209-352-4333
  address: 253 Knowles Hill Dr
  Built in 1927 for the Charles Segerstrom Family, Knowles Hill has undergone an exquisite restoration. The Inn on Knowles Hill has entertained many famous guests, including President Herbert Hoover and Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren.

Visitors can continue on Highway 108 to the mountain areas, including such towns as Twain Harte, Mi-Wuk Village, Pinecrest. In summer, they can continue on Highway 108 to Kennedy Meadow and across Sonora Pass to the high desert beyond. In winter, Highway 108 is closed at a point 7.5 miles beyond Strawberry, which is just past Pinecrest on Highway 108. Visitors can go north or south on the Gold Country route 49, north to Angels Camp, Murphys (a little east of 49 on Highway 49), Jackson, and Placerville, or south to Coulterville and Mariposa.