CHEROKEE

NAME: Cherokee
COUNTY: Butte
ROADS: 2WD
GRID #(see map): 1
CLIMATE: Cool winter, mild summer.
BEST TIME TO VISIT:
Anytime.
COMMENTS: On SR 191 off SR 70 North of Sacramento, current residents, Semi-ghost.
REMAINS:
Many original buildings.

Named Cherokee because gold was found here in 1850 by a band of Cherokee indians, this towns main claim to fame is that it is the site of the worlds greatest hydraulic gold mine. The mine covered 26,000 acres with 100 miles of sluice. In Cherokee's heyday (1875), there were over 1000 residents. Also, the first diamonds discovered in America were discovered here, the largest weighing 6 carats. - Ghosttowns.com

This old town is 10 miles north of Oroville, & 2 miles west of the Feather River. Diamonds were found in the diggings around Cherokee as early as 1863. Over 300 of these diamonds, mostly of industrial quality, have been discovered there, and said to be the largest such discovery in North America. Ruins of stone walls & a vault still mark the site of the Cherokee Mining Company office, a picturesque remnant of pioneer days. Submitted by Bob Stelow.

Atop Table Mountain thirteen miles north of Oroville on state Highway 70 is the ghost town of Cherokee dating from 1853. There is a museum in an old hotel (1850s), the schoolhouse (1868), and a well-kept cemetery. Cherokee is the site of what was once the largest hydraulic mine in the world. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

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