Calif. county seat oozes authenticity

Since it was Friday I knew we must be headed to happy hour at Le Grange Cafe. The restaurant was jammed, mostly with locals who herald the weekend with camaraderie, drinks, and appetizers - the latter plentiful and free.

If my sister had not married a local man I never would have discovered this tiny town. Historic Weaverville, the county seat with a population of about 3,600, is a vast wilderness with hiking trails, dozens of lakes, and the state’s second-largest reservoir.

In the mid-1800s, as elsewhere in California, gold was discovered and Weaverville sprang up overnight. To grasp the area’s history I visited the J.J. “Jake’’ Jackson Memorial Museum & History Park. Exhibits included Wintu Indian artifacts and baskets; household implements and clothing of the Chinese immigrants; and guns, tools, and photos of the early miners and farmers. Over 800 textiles are displayed on rotation.

Farther down the walk loud clanging emanated from the Blacksmith Shop where several men hammered away on anvils. The interior is a reproduction of a shop built in 1905. In addition to blacksmithing demonstrations, classes are taught here. Outside on the park is the Paymaster Stamp Mill, the only fully operational, steam-operated gold quartz mill using restored original equipment. The mill is operated on holiday weekends and for tour groups.

Though some fortunate 49ers did strike it rich, the natural environment was made the poorer. By the 1870s, lone prospectors had been replaced by massive high-pressure water hoses (called monitors) that stripped whole mountainsides to uncover gold. The loosened dirt rendered rivers unnavigable, flooded farmlands, and killed fish. In recent decades, work has restored the Trinity River’s steelhead and salmon runs.

Gold panning is still an option, but these days the banks of the Trinity are more commonly flanked with anglers tending their lines and families lazily floating on inner tubes or rafters braving the rapids.