Abandoned Towns

Living community · Tuolumne County, California

Jamestown

A gold camp of 1848 on Woods Creek that never emptied, with the Sierra Railway's 1897 roundhouse at the edge of town.

37°57′06″N 120°25′26″W
Living town

Jamestown is a living town of 3,478 people (2020 census), not a ghost town. It is an 1848 Gold Rush town on Highway 49 whose Main Street keeps gold-era buildings, and its railroad yard is Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, open daily (California State Parks, checked October 29, 2026).

The label

Why Jamestown is called a ghost town

Jamestown is listed in a long-running ghost town directory, which calls it "semi-ghost" while adding that the town is not dead. The label comes from its look: covered balconies over the Main Street sidewalks, and a few brick, stone and adobe buildings from the gold years. Jamestown is not on Wikipedia's list of ghost towns in California, and Wikipedia describes it as an unincorporated community and census-designated place.

History

Jamestown then

James Woods found gold on Woods Creek in 1848, the first strike in Tuolumne County, and that August Colonel George F. James, a San Francisco lawyer, founded the camp a few miles south of where Sonora now stands. The stream gravels were rich, and the state landmark plaque says the town became known as the gateway to the Mother Lode and the southern mines. James fell out with the miners and left, and by one account was not heard from again.

Jamestown never emptied. The Harvard mine, found in 1859, produced about 800,000 ounces of gold before it closed in 1994. The National Hotel dates from 1859 and Preston's meat market from the late 1860s. The Sierra Railway's roundhouse and shops, parts of them from 1897, became a backdrop for film crews from 1919, when the silent serial The Red Glove was shot there; the railroad has since appeared in more than 200 films, shows and commercials, among them Petticoat Junction and Back to the Future Part III. Jamestown became California Historical Landmark No. 431 on March 16, 1949.

1848. James Woods finds gold on Woods Creek; Colonel George F. James founds the camp in August.

1859. The Harvard mine is discovered; the National Hotel is built.

Late 1860s. Preston's meat market goes up.

1897. The Sierra Railway's roundhouse and shops, parts of which still stand at Railtown.

1919. The first known film shot at the railroad, The Red Glove.

1949. Jamestown becomes California Historical Landmark No. 431 on March 16.

1994. The Harvard mine closes after producing about 800,000 ounces of gold.

2020. The census counts 3,478 people.

Today

What is there now

Main Street, July 2009
Main Street, July 2009 · Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
The blacksmith shop at Railtown 1897, May 2011
The blacksmith shop at Railtown 1897, May 2011 · Photo: Cullen328, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Start at the northeast corner of Main and Donovan Streets, where the state landmark plaque stands. Main Street runs past balconied storefronts, most of them later frame buildings, with a few gold-era survivors of brick, stone and adobe, among them the National Hotel of 1859. Homes in town are private.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park is a working steam-era repair shop and roundhouse. California State Parks lists it as open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from April through October and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from November through March, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day; admission is $5 for adults, $3 for ages 6 to 17, free for children 5 and under, phone (209) 984-3953 (checked October 29, 2026). The park's foundation says park admission is included in all excursion train tickets.

The 1893 Sonora sheet below shows Jamestown as a small cluster on the road between Sonora and Campo Seco, among camps like Tuttletown, Rawhide and French Flat. The 1949 sheet fills in the town grid along Woods Creek, with the railroad yard on the southeast side and the Harvard Mine to the southwest.

Historic maps

Jamestown on USGS maps, 1893–1994

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Jamestown, 1893
Sonora sheet, 1893, 1:125,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Sonora, the county seat, is the closest city, a few minutes up Highway 49. From Sacramento, take Highway 99 south to Highway 4 through Farmington, then county roads east to Highway 108 and 120. The routes were computed from OpenStreetMap.

USGS topographic map from Sonora south to Jamestown, with the route drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.

From downtown Sonora3.8 miabout 7 min
  1. From downtown Sonora, take South Washington Street (Highway 49) and turn right on Stockton Street.1.7 mi
  2. At the end of the road, turn right on Highway 108 and follow it to Main Street in Jamestown.2.1 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and visiting notes

  • California State Parks gives two locations for Railtown: Sierra Avenue and 9th Street, and 5th Avenue and Reservoir Road. Follow the signs from Main Street.

Photos

Jamestown in photos

Questions

Common questions

Is Jamestown, California a ghost town?

No. Jamestown is a living town of 3,478 people (2020 census) on Highway 49. Its Gold Rush Main Street is why some lists call it a ghost town.

What is there to see in Jamestown?

The state landmark plaque at Main and Donovan Streets, the balconied Main Street with the National Hotel of 1859, and Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, the Sierra Railway's roundhouse and shops.

When is Railtown 1897 open?

Daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from April through October and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from November through March, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day (California State Parks, October 2026).

Nearby

Ghost towns and sites near Jamestown

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. California State Parks, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, checked October 29, 2026: hours, closures, museum fees, phone, the shops and roundhouse with portions from 1897, the first film in 1919, more than 200 productions, the two locations.
  2. Railtown 1897, "General information" (California State Railroad Museum Foundation), read October 29, 2026: daily hours, admission, park admission included in excursion train tickets.
  3. California Office of Historic Preservation, California Historical Landmark No. 431, Jamestown: James Woods's strike, the founding by Colonel George James in August 1848, gateway to the Mother Lode and the southern mines, the plaque at Main and Donovan Streets, registered March 16, 1949.
  4. Wikipedia, "Jamestown, California", retrieved October 2026: census populations, the Harvard mine (1859 to 1994, about 800,000 oz), films and shows, the landmark date.
  5. Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in California", read October 29, 2026: Jamestown is not listed.
  6. Ghosttowns.com, "Jamestown": the "semi-ghost" listing; George F. James and his departure, gold-era buildings, the National Hotel (1859), Preston's meat market.
  7. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits