Northern Mariposa County History Center

Northern Mariposa County History Center Admission is free, donations are always welcome! Coulterville was one of the most important trading centers of the southern end of the Mother Lode.

The museum's various displays and photos provide an authentic glimpse of the life and times of the Native Americans and pioneers who settled in Coulterville and the surrounding area, including those who arrived during the 1849 California gold rush. The entire town is listed as California Historical Landmark #332. “True West” magazine has featured Coulterville as one of the top 10 “Towns to Watch”

for good works in historic preservation. Originally called Banderita (little flag) because of the small flag on George Coulter’s tent trading post, established in 1850, a flip of the coin a few years later supposedly determined that the town would be named after Coulter, The loser, George Maxwell, who was the first man to establish a mining claim in the area, had the creek that ran through town named in his honor. Unlike many gold rush towns that quickly withered and died after the placer gold vanished in a few short years, hard rock mining continued to draw commerce to the area, with forestry, agriculture and eventually tourism supplanting mining over time. The first toll road providing public access into Yosemite began in Coulterville, with visitors traveling first by stage and eventually by automobile. Three major fires (1849, ‘79 & ’99) and a major flood wrecked havoc on the tough little town before the turn of the century, with part of the Hotel Jeffery, a Wells Fargo building and Sun Sun Woo, the only buildings surviving all three. The museum is built into the shell of one of the many hotels built in the late 1800’s destroyed by the last of the three fires and extends into a building that originally held the town’s apothecary and later became the Wells Fargo office.

06/02/2026
06/02/2026
05/25/2026
05/24/2026

Jacksonville was located about 12 miles north of Coulterville on old Highway 49. The town, approximately the size of Sonora, lies beneath the waters of Don Pedro near Moccasin Point.

Check out our next class on Saturday May 30!
05/12/2026

Check out our next class on Saturday May 30!

By popular demand: Soapstone Carving! Saturday May 30, Noon to 2:30pm. All materials provided, a portion of the class fee goes to support the Northern Mariposa County History Center. See you there!

Wow! Some very talented local guys made this amazing song about Highway 49, including Coulterville, CA! Their mom, Pamel...
05/02/2026

Wow! Some very talented local guys made this amazing song about Highway 49, including Coulterville, CA! Their mom, Pamela Henderson, was a docent back in the 80s and 90s, and recruited them to help out, so they're part of our NMCHC family. Enjoy!

Listen and make your own on Suno.

After getting a guided tour of the museum, a dozen visitors from Los Angeles had fun trying their luck gold panning...ap...
04/20/2026

After getting a guided tour of the museum, a dozen visitors from Los Angeles had fun trying their luck gold panning...apparently very successful as they needed a few extra viles to take their precious finds home!

Tell all your photographer friends...The Heritage Rose Tour gives you access to private gardens teaming with rare roses....
04/07/2026

Tell all your photographer friends...The Heritage Rose Tour gives you access to private gardens teaming with rare roses. This walking tour through Coulterville is a must for rose enthusiasts, photographers, or those just looking to take a free tour!

May 2nd at 10am (9am Rose Sale)
Northern Mariposa County History Center - 10301 Hwy 49, Coulterville CA 95311

04/04/2026

Storage Building all but finished! This vitally needed project was funded primarily by a generous $100,000 private donation from the late Karol Harla, received in 2021, and a $500,000 grant from the California Cultural & Historical Endowment Fund (for which NMCHC applied for back in March 2022 and after surviving 3 rounds of elimination, was awarded in March of 2023). So many hours of volunteer effort went into each and every step, from searching for and obtaining the funds needed, navigating through the complex quagmire of governmental requirements, regulations, hoops and hurdles; finding skilled contractors willing to work with us to meet the mandates of a publicly funded project, etc.

02/16/2026

Learn to write beautifully at our FREE beginning calligraphy class on March 8th!

Address

10301 State Highway 49
Coulterville, CA
95311

Opening Hours

Friday 11am - 3pm
Saturday 11am - 3pm
Sunday 11am - 3pm

Telephone

(209) 878-3015

Website

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