Campo Seco

Somebody planted a Mediterranean tree in a Mexican mining camp and it outlasted the camp. The cork oak set here in 1858 is the largest living specimen in California, and it has now stood longer than the placers on Oregon Gulch, longer than the copper found the year after it was planted, and longer than the Adams Express office whose iron doors the bronze says are still there. The register drops the copper and gets the doors backwards.

What the plaque says

CAMPO SECO SETTLED IN 1849 BY MEXICANS WHO WORKED PLACERS ON OREGON GULCH. RICH COPPER DEPOSITS DISCOVERED IN 1859. LARGEST LIVING CORK OAK TREE IN CALIFORNIA PLANTED HERE 1858. RUINS OF ADAMS EXPRESS BUILDING WITH IRON DOORS STILL STANDING. STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK NO. 257 MARKER PLACED BY CALIFORNIA CENTENNIALS COMMISSION. BASE FURNISHED BY THE CAMPO SECO COMMUNITY CLUB DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 9, 1950

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 28 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• Valley Springs — 2.8 mi
• Camanche — 3.9 mi
• Lancha Plana — 5.0 mi
• Paloma — 5.5 mi