Douglas Flat

The gold here came out of a river that stopped running millions of years ago. The Central Hill Channel is an ancient streambed buried under later ground, and the workings that chased it produced $130,000 from the Harper and Lone Star claims in 1857 alone. The camp above it was roaring by the early 1850s. No plaque marks Douglas Flat; the only stone here is a Clampers panel about the general store, and it misspells Tertiary.

What the plaque says

THE ITALIAN STORE BUILT IN 1861 BY ANTONIO AND CATERINA GAGLIARDO. SERVED AS A POST OFFICE AND SOCIAL CENTER FOR THE COMMUNITY OF DOUGLAS FLAT. A HAND DUG WELL LOCATED NEXT TO THE STORE SUPPLIED DOUGLAS FLAT WITH GOOD FRESH WATER AND REMAINS IN GOOD SHAPE TODAY. JAMES MALESPINA PURCHASED THE STORE IN 1885, WHERE IT REMAINED IN THE FAMILY FOR SEVERAL YEARS. A WELLS FARGO OFFICE ALSO OCCUPIED THE BUILDING WITH A SAFE AND ARMED GUARD TO PROTECT THE GOLD FROM TABLE MOUNTAIN AND ALONG COYOTE CREEK. ALL FROM THE FABLED TERIARY CENTRAL HILL CHANNEL. THE MINES INCLUDED THE OHIO, HITCHCOCK, SOUTHWESTERN, TEXAS AND THE LONE STAR. SOME OF THESE ARE LOCATED DIRECTLY BEHIND THE STORE. THE GUARD STATIONED AT THE REAR OF THE BUILDING AT ITS NOTABLE GUN PORT. SHOULD ANYONE TRY TO BUST THE SAFE, HE ONLY HAD TO POKE HIS SHOTGUN THROUGH THE PORT THAT WAS ALIGNED WITH THE SAFE AND PULL THE TRIGGER. DEDICATED BY MATUCA CHAPTER 1849 E CLAMPUS VITUS SEPT. 15 2001 (6006) CREDO QUIA ABSURDUM

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 5.5 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• Site of Brownsville — 1.1 mi
• Murphys — 1.5 mi
• Mitchler Hotel — 1.6 mi
• Peter L. Traver Building — 1.6 mi