Finding Gold in Rich Bar

It’s name speaks of its wealth … Rich Bar.

In the 1850s, Rich Bar in the Feather River Canyon attracted thousands of argonauts. Many never left. Gravemarkers, memorials and headstones tell a grim story of their fates.

Mining accident … drowned … illness … hanged for theft … murdered … stabbed … hanged for murder … accidental shooting … killed in duel … shot … gunshot suicide.

Plumas County color spotter Michael Beatley spent a day exploring his county’s historic places and came back with a few visual nuggets, though no real gold.

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He reports that the oak and dogwood are still golden. Union Pacific tracks pass near Rich Bar along the Feather River, for those who enjoy combining rail and fall color photography.

• Rich Bar, Plumas County (2,402′) – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT.