Placer miners – who panned for gold in rivers – first settled Jackson but the community’s wealth was created by machine-worked gold mines. With some reaching a mile below ground, Jackson’s mines were the deepest and, sadly, were the scene of the one of U.S.’s worst mining disasters – 47 miners losing their lives here in 1922. Sited on a hill above the pocket-sized town centre, the Amador County Museum (http://www.amadorgold.net/tours/museums/jackson/), 225 Church Street, outlines gold-mining techniques and the local political wranglings which created tiny Amador County, of which Jackson is the seat.

Detour – Indian Grinding Rock State Park

Eight miles east of Jackson on Hwy-88, a large chunk of limestone is indented by thousands of chawse, or mortar cups, created by many generations of Miwok Indians using the rock to grind nuts. The rock stands in Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, where its use – and local Native American life – is described by the Museum Cultural Centre.