José Amador Slept
Here
Even before the discovery of gold at
Sutter's Mill at Coloma, John Sutter had a lumbering
operation a few miles east of here, with a haul road
crossing a creek less than a mile east of the present
site of Amador City. The rough road was used by Sutter's
workers to transport logs to his sawmills. It was at the
crossing that JoséMaria Amador and his companions
set up camp in 1848, to gather gold from the creekbed.
Amador was a well-known ranchero from the Livermore
Valley, where the city of Dublin is now located, and left
his comfortable home to search for riches in this wild
Sierra Foothills countryside. The location of the mining
camp is called Amador's Crossing.
Amador City Today
It's the smallest incorporated city in
California (if not quite the world) with a population of
150, located in a beautiful little valley with Highway 49
connecting the community with the rest of the world. It's
two miles north of Sutter Creek, three miles south of
Drytown, and about 35 miles southeast of Sacramento.
Amador City has no supermarket, no liquor
store, no movie theater, and few other modern
distractions. Instead, it has retained its rustic
Victorian charm from the gold rush days, with its
"downtown" district intact, including original buildings
such as the historic Amador Hotel (now filled with
boutiques). The ancient Fleehart Building is home to the
Amador Whitney Museum. Other historic buildings
are now antique and specialty stores, with the Buffalo
Chips Cafe retaining an early 1900s ambience. The
Mine House (the former headquarters for the
Keystone Mine) is a well-known bed and breakfast inn. The
Imperial Hotel is not only a fine B&B, but has
one of the finest restaurants in California, noted for
its innovative cuisine. Visitors come here from across
California (and farther) to enjoy the unruffled Gold
Country atmosphere.
Andre's Bakery, an artisan bakery
and imported cheese shop has won kudos and appreciatio
from Califoriaans far and wide.
Amador City is close to Amador Wine
Country, with wineries in the Shenandoah Valley, a
few miles to the north, and other wineries near Sutter
Creek. We can pop out for a few minutes to visit the
wineries, and bring home superb Zinfandel, Barbera,
Sangiovese, and other prize-winning vintages from
California's original wine region.
Onroute.com began its web life in Amador
City, and is now based in Ione, a neighboring town in
Amador County.
