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1945
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The idea for Angels Camp Museum is proposed by local resident William G. Daniels, who believes the community deserves a special place that recognizes and preserves regional history for generations to come.
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1951
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The Museum opens its doors on May 6, 1951 under the directorship of Mr. Daniels, thanks to the collaborative work of the City of Angels, the Lions Club and the Angels Camp Boosters.
The original building at 753 South Main Street serves as the welcome desk, gift shop exhibit area, and the Museum office. The Museum’s 3-acre property is the site of the historic Angels Quartz Mine and part of China Gulch where the 49ers prospected for gold; the Mother Lode seam of gold runs directly under the property. |
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1969
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After the death of Mr. Daniels in 1969, the City of Angels takes over the management of the Museum, overseeing its growth and development towards the future. Since then, the Museum is funded through the general fund of the City of Angels. Funding is allocated on an annual basis. Admissions, gold panning and gift shop sales contribute to revenue, fully supporting operations but not staff wages and the director's salary.
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Mid 1990s
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A second building is built and called the “Pole Barn” because of its construction style (it’s now called “Mining & Ranching.”
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2005
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Through a government grant that the City matches, construction starts on a third building to house the Museum’s extensive carriage collection. The Pole Barn is closed to visitors during construction.
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2006
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The City commissions a survey of the Museum, its operations, practices and potential. The “Angels Camp Museum Institutional MAP Assessment” is presented to the Mayor, City Administrator, Museum Clerks and other members of the community on November 1, 2006.
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2007
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In January, as a result of the Assessment, the City Council establishes the Museum Commission and five commissioners are appointed. The Museum’s artifacts, collections and exhibits had until this time been maintained by a very dedicated, part-time staff of three, none of whom had had any museum or archival training. In October, the Commission recommended to the City Council, the hiring of an experience Administrator. Bob Rogers was hired – a position that was classified as a part-time consultant to the City. That year, the Museum also joined two professional museum associations.
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2008
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The Angels Camp Museum Foundation is set up as a 501(c)3 Non-profit, tax exempt organization to facilitate fundraising, volunteer recruitment and program development.
The gold panning experience and a volunteer program were started, and the museum collections began to be catalogued in Past Perfect museum software. Nioma Mather was hired as Museum Clerk and promoted to Senior Museum Clerk a year later. |
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2010
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The Mark Twain Exhibit, the Museum’s first professional exhibit, opens.
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2011
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The Foundation has grown in success in fund-raising events and attracting donations and a ‘Friends of the Museum' (membership) program was developed along with an annual lecture series.
With the Foundation’s assistance, artisan exhibits – a print shop, textile shop, and carpenter’s shop -are installed in the Pole Barn, thus consolidating a number of the Museum’s artifacts into meaningful interpretive displays. An original stamp mill used to crush gold ore from the mines in Angels Camp is installed at the base of the Angels Quartz Mine overshot waterwheel, thanks to a kind donation. The Native Sons of the Golden West, Placerville Parlor No. 9, made a loan of the Downing & Sons stage coach #512, built between 1848 and 1858. The stagecoach made the run between Carson City, Nevada and Placerville, California and is featured in Mark Twain’s Roughing It. In September 2011, the Commission unanimously adopted the Museum’s Vision and guiding principles: To be the premier museum on California Gold Country history. |
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2012
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An experienced Education Coordinator, Jim Miller, is hired to develop school tours, community outreach and a docent volunteer program.
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2013
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Kim Arth, a professional museum director, was hired as a full-time City Museum Department Manager resulting in major progress in reorganizing the Museum’s exhibits, opening the Museum to special events that gives it broader exposure in the community and in publicity and marketing. Wi-Fi and security cameras are installed in all three buildings.
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Since 2013
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The City has invested significantly to upgrade museum facilities including a new gold panning station that accommodates up to 24 visitors; footpaths to the outdoor display of farming equipment; improved lights, signage, concrete stairs, drain spouts; and a sprinkler system.
Heating and air conditioning systems in the education office and collections room were installed, and collections and education computers were upgraded and with cloud back up. |
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2015
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The Museum opens Gold is where you find it: The Rush to Angels Camp. The nearly $20,000 project was funded by community donations. The exhibit also highlights the immigration, life and impact of Chinese people in Angels Camp during the Gold Rush. Visitors in 2015 numbered almost 8,000.
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2016
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The Museum opens Medicine in the Gold Rush. Educational programming includes special new exhibit and tree trek guided tours, six lectures, a free family festival, two preschool story time programs, two summer camp sessions, six living history days and two exhibit opening receptions.
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2017
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Angels Camp Museum receives Tri-County (Amador, Tuolumne, and Calaveras) award for Best Art Gallery award for the 3rd time!
Carriage House Preservation: The Carriage House insulation is repaired by the City as a capital investment of $29,995. The community raised $37,135 to fund new heating and air conditioning system in the Carriage House. |
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2018
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Foundation Board Member Tad Folendorf opens his historic Utica Mansion home to over 100 members of the public for tours, dinner and historical presentations by local historians and archivists. $2000 raised in unrestricted funds to support museum activities.
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2019
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Work began on the part of the foundation and museum staff to create a self-guided tour, using the existing docent tour script as a beginning and expanding out to include the entire museum inside and out. At times the museum lacks enough docents for multiple tours or when we have bus tours, and for these moments or when individuals wish to take an audio self-guided tour and ask questions to staff as they come up there is that option. The project would also generate income for the museum and serve as an added draw.
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2020
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April launch of digital docent program postponed due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
Native son Martin Huberty returns to Calaveras County to take over the Calaveras Visitors Bureau and becomes the new Angels Camp Museum Director. The Calaveras Visitors Bureau co-locates on Museum grounds making it the perfect first stop for visitors to Angels Camp, Gold Country and the Sierra foothills. |
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2021
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The Angles Camp Museum Foundation re-launches its website with a renewed focus on large-scale fundraising in partnership with the Museum Director to expand our ability to properly display our growing collections, new acquisitions and to create a solid foundation for the future of the museum. Exciting projects ahead!
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