Fiddletown

The name went away and came back, and so did the plaque. The legislature renamed the town Oleta in 1878, and the older marker here, lettered in cursive by the Department of Natural Resources, says Oleta is an Indian name meant to mean Old Home Spring. Fiddletown was later restored. The bronze beside it, cast in 1950 because residents were always fiddling, was itself replaced and rededicated in June 2026, carrying the 1950 wording and the 1950 credit forward unchanged.

What the plaque says

CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL LANDMARK Fiddletown - OLETA Settled in 1849 by a party from Missouri. According to tradition they were always fiddling, especially while waiting for the rainy season - hence the name..... It was changed by state legislature in 1878 to Oleta, an Indian name said to mean "Old Home Spring" By order of DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES STATE OF CALIFORNIA Reg. No. 35 FIDDLETOWN SETTLED BY MISSOURIANS, 1849. SUGGESTED THAT SETTLEMENT BE CALLED FIDDLETOWN BECAUSE RESIDENTS "WERE ALWAYS FIDDLING". CHANGED IN 1878 TO OLETA BUT ORIGINAL NAME LATER RESTORED. ONCE TRADING CENTER FOR AMERICAN, LOAFER, AND FRENCH FLATS, LONE HILL AND OTHER RICH MINING CAMPS. BRET HARTE ADDED TO THE COMMUNITY'S FAME IN "AN EPISODE OF FIDDLETOWN". CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 35 TABLET PLACED BY CALIFORNIA CENTENNIALS COMMISSION, BASE FURNISHED BY RESIDENTS OF FIDDLETOWN. DEDICATED AUGUST 19, 1950. REPLACED AND REDEDICATED BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION IN COOPERATION WITH THE FIDDLETOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY AND THE CALIFORNIA LANDMARK FOUNDATION. JUNE 27, 2026.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park — 22 mi
  The tailrace at Coloma where a carpenter found gold in January 1848 and the world came running.

More markers nearby

• D'Agostini Winery — 2.0 mi
• Plymouth Trading Post — 5.0 mi
• Drytown — 6.8 mi
• Knight Foundry — 8.0 mi