Wandering around Sutter Creek killing some time before dinner, we stumble upon an open house / fund…read moreraiser at the general store. I have walked by it several times and peered in the windows, but it had never been open to go inside. Oh wow. Time had completely stopped here. Every item, every display was just left- dry gods to the right, hardware tools in the back, clothing, and groceries to the left. The General Store was started in 1896 by John Monteverde and son. The elder came to America in 1860 by the way of San Francisco. He came to Sutter Creek in 1861, like many others hoping to strike it rich during the gold rush. Later working as a stone mason. Married and had seven children. He died in 1918. His daughter Mary took over running the store. In October 1971, Mary placed a sign on the door saying the store would be closed a few days. The sign remained for 20 years. The city opened the store in 1992. Now as a museum the full shelves give a glimpse of the past. Even the old ledgers show the good and bad times of Sutter Creek patrons. You'll need to call in advance for a volunteer tour of the store and family history. Or get lucky like we did and catch a day that it was open

Weve been to Sutter Creek many,many times. First time this place was open so we decided to go in…read more Lets just say it is a time capsule ?literally) to the earlier days. 1950's and earlier. The docent was great and explained why it remained untouched for decades. If you look closely you will see some well know brands still around today

We visited here with some family members who lived nearby, and had a very nice time wandering this…read moreold historic town. I just love old fashion shops along wooden walkways. There are quite a few wine tasting rooms that could occupy wine lovers for several days! We enjoyed exploring specialty stores that offered clothing, souvenirs, antiques, ice cream parlor, and even a popular cheese/wine tasting shop. There are restaurants, bars and an old historic hotel. The Sutter Creek Auditorium just happened to have a craft fair while we were there and found ourselves spending lots of money on some inexpensive, quality items. It was a great day for gift shopping as well! That evening we stayed late to see the Sutter Creek Christmas parade that was fun, but consisted mostly of emergency vehicles decorated in Xmas lights which the procession seemed to never end! It started raining and we finally had to head to the parking lot to catch our shuttle. Unfortunately, this event is quite popular and the traffic getting out of this quaint little town was pretty congested and annoying! Eventually, we slowly, but finally made our way back to our point of origin where our car was parked. I would love to return here again, but not during an event or parade!

Not just another quaint old Amador mining town…read more Sutter Creek can be an easy weekend getaway from Reno or Sacramento. This spot feels like a combination of the old west and Napa. A main street with a mix of wooden sidewalks and wine tasting rooms. Small restaurants and cute boutiques. There is a Days Inn at the north end of town, though it's not my favorite and have used it only once. The Handford House Inn, Nancy V says is devine. Several cafes that have you covered from breakfast to dinner. Buffalo Chips is my favorite breakfast spot. Their burger is looking pretty fabulous too. For snacking there's an ice cream parlor, chocolate shop and cheese monger. But what could be better than parking the car, or strolling in from a hotel, and sampling wine from a few of the almost two dozen local tasting rooms. Elegant store fronts, quaint small houses and modern shops, will pour you some of the areas finest reds, a few whites, surprising bubbles and hard to find port styles. If you need a break from sipping, seriously?? Wander off the main street and discover the Knight Foundry, Monteverde General Store Museum, or stroll the Sutter Creek.

If you are an individual who loves to learn about the California Gold Rush and subsequent mining in…read morethe Foothills, then stop by Miner's Bend Park in Sutter Creek. Just a short walk from downtown, the park is small but has a lot of cool old machinery and more importantly, lots of great information on Mother Lode mining and the miners who risked their lives daily to extract the precious metal.

Miner's Bend Historical Park, is down the road from the old downtown of Sutter Creek, on old route…read more49. The park is very, very small. One can walk at the pace of a turtle ( figuratively speaking) and probably still do a whole turn in less than 5 minutes. It's at the end of a road of homes and extra city parking spaces. It has no restroom, no play area, and no BBQ pits. It has a couple of picnic tables under a big beautiful sprawling low branching tree. So what does the park actually have and why the heck would anyone go visit it?!?!! Well, the park is actually an outdoor display of historical mining equipment with information boards full of historical facts and archive photographs. Basically a free outdoor museum! Awesome use of open public space and retired mining equipment. It's worth a stop if you are already in the area and appreciate history. Actually the small country town of Sutter Creek is itself a California historical landmark. The old town is a modern refined tourist trap with modern posh boutiques, shops, and eateries; it has a historical charm of the 19th century gold mining California town. The Main Street has its wooden sidewalk and Americano turn of the century look. I call it Main Street but it's officially called old route 49. Nearby homes are older beautifully refurbished Victorians maintained by private residences. Sutter Creek still flows through old town, site of the gold panning days of yore. The Main Street is on the old route 49. The new route 49 was built about 10 years ago that rerouted it away from driving through town. #suttercreekminersbendhistoricalpark

Amador City is the smallest town in California. Before Western settlers, the Miwok Native Americans…read morelived in the area. The mining town sprung up around 1853 due to the discovery of gold nearby. The town's historic Main Street now houses restaurants, brewery, hotel, boutique shops, historic buildings... and the Amador Whitney Museum. I luv museums... large and small... and this is no exception. Drop on in to check out the musuem. It is free of charge, payment is donation based. They also sell postcards of photos of places on Main Street in its heyday from turn of century. Pretty neat. The postcards are for less than a dollar apiece. Hours are posted on their website, but may vary since they are staffed by volunteers. Currently the listed hours are Friday-Sunday 11am-~3pm. Fee is donation based. The museum current display focuses on the women of the early days of the Western settling of the town. There were quite a bunch of remarkable women. They took on roles of miners, postmaster, business owners, farmers, and unofficial historians. The letters that many women in the early years of the settlement wrote were preserved generational and given to various museums and institutional archives such as UC Berkeley. Some displays are actual artifacts and others are replicas. The museum is small and compact. I enjoyed touring it. Another important tidbit is that museum is named after Mr. Jerrold Whitney (1939-1992), an art dealer, that bequeathed the building to the town for a museum. Previously it was his home, art gallery, studio, and store where he showcased art including that of his partner, Mr. Clayton Pinkerton (1930-1993). Mr. Pinkerton was a talented world renowned painter that studied at the Sorbonne. He bequeathed many of his paintings to be sold to support the museum as well. Some paintings are on display at the museum. They chose Amador City to be their home in 1983. Their generosity is truly testament of their love for their adopted community. This story is also an important part of Amador City's history that should not be forgotten.

The museum is filled with wonderful historical items from the area. If you love period clothing,…read morethey have a ton! There is also a 1/12 scale operating model and presentation of the Kennedy Mine nearby. This is given by local resident, Gary, who is very knowledgeable and friendly.

From the owner: The Amador County Museum was established in 1949 in Judge Brown's home, a 2 story brick home built…read morein 1859 that is now filled with a diverse collection of artifacts given to the museum by people from the surrounding area.

The Post Office is rarely as much of a necessity as it is in a micro-town like Amador City. The…read moretown is so small that people have to come here to get their mail, making it one of the more frequented stopovers in the sleepy downtown. This is also the only post office I've ever come across that you could describe as "cute." It's located in the first floor of a beautiful old historic building with quaint little antique shops flanking it on both sides. Inside, you'll find a worn desk, a bunch of P.O. boxes and, well, that's about it. During business hours there is usually a friendly mail person to greet you as well. However, because of the P.O. boxes the door is usually open even when they aren't around to accept counter mail. The only downside is also the upside. The small town charm also means the hours are less and somewhat erratic depending on the day. Make sure to physically go by there in person if you plan to use them so you can check the hours and determine the best time to get your mail on!

The current postmaster, Greg, deserves a 5-star for his great personality and customer service. I…read moregive him credit for being the only person managing this little post office the best he could. Kudos to you, Greg!

Amador City has the current distinctions of being the least populated city in California and the…read moresmallest in size. It has a smidge over 200 townsfolk and the total square footage is .3 miles. The old Highway 49 runs through historic main street. The new Highway 49 bypass completed construction in 2006. It actually bypasses the towns of Amador City and Sutter Creek. The intention of this four mile Highway 49 bypass is to divert traffic away from the historic downtowns to relieve traffic congestion and preserve the historic buildings, but not to divert tourism. So don't forget the town is there and drive on in to check it out. Miwok (Me-Wuk) were the indigenous people before the hubbub of gold mining which brought in other townsfolk. One of them was Jose Maria Amador, he found gold in the creek in 1848. He was a Spanish rancher from San Ramon that tried his luck but didn't stay long. He left an impression though to have the town and creek named after him. The miners gold panned along the Amador Creek which runs through the town. What's there to see and do in Amador City? Shop, eat, wine taste, and soak in a bit of history. For operating hours for the businesses listed below, please go to their social accounts. Imperial Hotel & Restaurant Bar - In 1879, the Imperial Hotel was rebuilt from its wood structure to brick. Previous it was a mercantile shop. It served as a hotel/boarding house from 1879-1927. The original bricks still exist and at the base are 12 bricks thick. In 1988, it was lovely restored to its current state of boutique hotel and restaurant and bar. Dining/Wine Tasting - Amador City in right in the Shenandoah Valley wine region. The End of Nowhere wine tasting room serves up wine from their label. The wine is grown organically from local growers. The End Zone of Nowhere also serves up some meant tasty bbq grilled burgers and small plates. Imperialhotelamador.com. Moonrise Pizza opened up recently in April 2024. Not your boring pizza. Pizzas with character and big flavors. @moonrisepizza Break Even Beermakers. Beer tasting! 95% of the malt comes from California. A portion of used is sourced from Amador's own 16 Quartz Hop Farm and Sutter Creek's Banded Family Ranch. Breakevenbeermakers.com. Shop - Antiques, garden, gift shop, women boutique... come check 'em out. Amador Whitney Museum- This museum is a small but mighty museum. The building dates back to 1860. The current displays focus on the pioneering women of Amador City from the 1800s-1940s. It's free admission with donations accepted. Amador-city. com Plus check out the city's website to view a map of a historic self guided walking tour.

Fabulous service, beautiful work and many options to choose from. The work was done in a timely…read morefashion. I am grateful and love the way it turned out

I had an old photo that was damaged and I knew it couldn't be rejuvenated. Brought it to Add Art…read moreand left it with them, and was assured they could make a copy of it. When I returned, I was astonished - every detail was perfect. Very, very impressed! Thank you!