St. James Episcopal Church

The state registered what it calls the oldest Episcopal church building in California and never put a plaque on it. First services were held on 4 October 1859 in a Carpenter Gothic frame of redwood board and batten, painted red, which is why Sonora calls it the Red Church rather than St. James. Consecration waited until 1870, when the first bishop of the diocese came up to do it. No state plaque has been located here and the marker databases hold no record of one.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 4.4 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• Shaw's Flat — 1.4 mi
• Sawmill Flat — 2.5 mi
• Springfield — 2.8 mi
• Sierra Railway Shops — 3.1 mi