{"nrhp_refnum":"66000207","name":"Coloma","other_names":["Coloma (Gold Discovery Site)"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"7 mi. NW of Placerville on CA 49","address_restricted":false,"city":"Placerville","county":"El Dorado County","state":"CA","lat":38.800560880000035,"lon":-120.89173798299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1961-07-04","areas_of_significance":["Industry","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Coloma is a townsite district on State Route 49 about nine miles north of Placerville, El Dorado County, California, now part of Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. It includes the mill site, Marshall's grave and the remains of the gold rush town along the South Fork of the American River.","why_significant":"The site marks where James Wilson Marshall discovered gold on January 24, 1848, the event that set off the California gold rush. The form calls it of outstanding significance to California and the world, and notes it was named a national historic landmark. Coloma was also the El Dorado County seat from 1850 to 1857.","narrative":"Coloma is a small townsite astride State Route 49 in El Dorado County, California, where the South Fork of the American River flows northwest through town. Today it is part of a state park and holds a few remaining landmarks, deep mining scars half hidden by locust trees, and some cottages with tangled gardens. Several historic buildings survive as stone or brick ruins, while wood frame structures are in various stages of decay. Newer additions include a replica of Sutter's sawmill, a 6,000-square-foot museum, a comfort station with parking, and two residences for park staff. The place matters because James Wilson Marshall found gold here on January 24, 1848, while building a sawmill for John Sutter. That discovery set off the California gold rush. The district takes in the mill site, Marshall's grave and the town, which served as county seat from 1850 to 1857. Its significance has been recognized at the national level.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date January 24, 1848)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated fair and altered. Several historic stone and brick buildings are ruins, and wood frame buildings are deteriorating. Some buildings are kept for residential, interpretive and park use, and preservation work is in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.982864-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/66000207_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000207/34ef920d4b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000207/34ef920d4b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coloma,_California_street2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coloma,_California_street2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857899","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coloma,_California","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1110351"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/el-dorado-county/coloma-66000207/"}