Holcomb Valley

The largest gold rush southern California ever had happened four miles north of this plaque, and hardly anyone has heard of it. William Holcomb and Ben Choteau found placer gold on 4 May 1860, the valley filled, and Belleville grew big enough to rival San Bernardino and come within a few votes of taking the county seat. It was a violent place and the hangings were routine. Note where you are standing: the marker is in a park in town, not at the diggings.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Pioneertown — 20 mi
  A Western movie set built in 1946 that people moved into and never left.
• Original McDonald's Site — 27 mi
  The corner where two brothers invented fast food, now an unofficial museum the corporation has never blessed.

More markers nearby

• Old Bear Valley Dam — 7.7 mi
• Chimney Rock — 16 mi
• Daley Toll Road Monument — 21 mi
• Yucaipa Adobe — 22 mi