Soulsbyville

This is the first town in the county that existed because of a mine rather than a creek. It was founded in 1855 entirely on the working of the Soulsby lode, which the bronze says produced over six and a half million dollars by 1900. Hard rock needs men who know it, so the mine imported them: the first hardrock miners here came from Cornwall, and the bronze counts the first group at 499, a precision nobody can source. It was dedicated on New Year's Eve, 1950.

What the plaque says

MARK TWAIN BRET HARTE TRAIL SOULSBYVILLE THE FIRST COMMUNITY IN TUOLUMNE COUNTY TO BE FOUNDED (1855) ENTIRELY UPON THE OPERATION OF A LODE MINE. SITE OF THE FAMOUS SOULSBY MINE (DISCOVERED BY BENJAMINE SOULSBY) WHICH PRODUCED OVER $6,500,000 BY 1900. THE FIRST HARDROCK MINERS WHO WORKED MINE WERE FROM CORNWALL, ENGLAND. FIRST GROUP OF 499 ARRIVING IN 1858. STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK NO. 420 ERECTED BY CITIZENS OF SOULSBYVILLE TUOLUMNE COUNTY GOLD CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION COMMITTEE DEDICATED DECEMBER 31, 1950

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 8.6 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• Cherokee — 0.9 mi
• Tuolumne — 2.1 mi
• Sonora Pass - Mono Road — 6.3 mi
• St. James Episcopal Church — 6.6 mi