Columbia, California

This location is of such historical significance that the entire town has been designated a California State Park.   Several westerns were filmed in this small town, including High Noon, Death Valley Days, Wells Fargo, and The Cimmaron Kid.   Columbia's main street, part of the Columbia State Historic Park, is closed to automobile traffic but open to horses and carriages, as well as pedestrians. The town's old Gold Rush-era business district has been preserved with shops, restaurants and two hotels. Visitors have the chance to time-travel to the 1850s, imagining life when gold miners rubbed shoulders with businessmen and the other residents in Columbia. Tousists can experience a bygone era watching proprietors in period clothing conduct business in the style of yesterday. Stagecoach rides are available on the weekends, weather permitting. Although only about 2,000 people now live in this region near Sonora, California, at its height Columbia was California's second-largest city.  By 1852, this 'gold fever' town had 8 hotels, 4 banks, 17 general stores, 2 firehouses, 2 bookstores and over 40 gambling saloons.