Auburn is located on state highway 49 between Grass Valley and Placerville. The town received its name from a group of ex-soldiers most of whom were from Auburn, New York. The town had a number of different names before the arrival of the soldiers, none of which lasted very long. The new arrivals began calling it Auburn and the name became permanent after a while. Unlike other towns which died after the gold ran out, Auburn survived because of its location. It became the center of a network of roads and soon became a distribution center for mining supplies and later for goods and services for farmers and others that worked the soil for a living. There one street in Auburn that is virtually unchanged from gold rush days and is preserved as an historical site.Ghosttowns.com

Auburn has the reputation of being a “Three-Story Town.” Her first gold strike occurred in 1848. Hundreds of miners poured into area from Sutter's Mill and points south. Of this original site, little is left today except some half-hidden foundations. By 1850 Auburn numbered some 1,500 persons and the more permanent town was located on its second site further up the hill. It is this middle location around the plaza that is Auburn's picturesque “Old Town”. On its narrow and winding streets stand old-time buildings. Some are ghosts and others are occupied but all carry the frontier flavor that makes “Old Town” Auburn one of the most colorful of Sierra mining camps. A short distance higher lays the modern city of Auburn. The lower or “old” section remains one of the best preserved and most picturesque of Mother Lode ghost towns. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

Firehouse -- narrow frame structure with a pointed tower and a colorful
red-and-white exterior -- 1891
Courtesy Dolores Steele

Methodest Church -- 1858
Courtesy Dolores Steele

Cemetery
Courtesy Dolores Steele