Middle Bar, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Middle Bar | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Middle Bar | |
| Location | 2.8 miles (4.5 km) south of State Route 49, on Middle Bar Road at the Mokelumne River |
| Built | 1850 |
| Reference no. | 36 |
Middle Bar is a former mining town on the Mokelumne River in Amador County, California. It is a California Historical Landmark.[1]
Middle Bar was founded in 1850 by English miners during the California Gold Rush.[2] A mine in the area produced gold quartz.[3]
In 1851, the Middle Bar Bridge was built over the Mokelumne River to handle the large amount of gold seekers coming through the area. The following years, 1852, a flood washed the bridge away. Another bridge was built with claims stating it was high enough it would not get washed away. It was finished in November, 1852, and cost $25,000 (~$739,858 in 2024) to build. It stood for approximately ten years until another flood dislocated the bridge.[4]
After the first gold rush, the area experienced a second round of increased population in the 1920s during a smaller mining rush.
Eventually, the homes of Middle Bar were purchased by the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The company had built the Pardee Dam, six miles away.[5]
