Benton Welty Historic School Room
•
530-889-6500
1225 Lincoln Way
Hours of Operation: Open by appointment only. Give a call.
Admission: FREE
Visitors will get a rare sense of school days in the early 1900's. The Benton Welty Schoolroom, located in Auburn City Hall building, is packed with turn-of-the-century photos,
student scrapbooks, maps, and old school books.
Visitors can try their hand at string games and penmanship exercises. Free tickets will be issued for a just-for-kids gift basket. Ample parking behind building.
Bernhard House Museum Complex
•
530-889-6500
291 Auburn Folsom Rd.
Tue-Sun 11-4pm; closed Mondays and Holidays
Admission: FREE
Originally known as the Traveler’s Rest, this 1851 stage stop may be the oldest wooden structure in Auburn.
The long brick and stone building facing the street is known as the Winery.
The two-story house was constructed in 1851 and was operated as a stage stop by Bishop and Long until 1858 when
it became Bishop’ home. Benjamin Bernhard purchased the property in 1868.
Bernhard, who had at one time been a teamster, added the west, single story wing to the house in 1870 and turned
his property into a productive farm. Bernhard built the winery in 1874. An underground tunnel connects the
winery to the basement of the house.
The Bernhard Complex is now part of the Placer County Museum system.
Placer County Courthouse Museum
•
530-889-6500
101 Maple Street
Open everyday 10-4; closed Holidays
Admission: FREE
The Placer County Courthouse you see today was completed in 1898 with most of its building materials coming from Placer
County: the granite from Rocklin, the bricks and terra-cotta trim from Lincoln, lime and lumber from various other areas
in the county. The slate roof is from El Dorado County. The courthouse bell came around Cape Horn. This building is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places and houses the Placer County Museum and Gift Shop.
Before the formation of Placer County in 1851, the hilltop where the courthouse stands was the site of bull and bear
fights and public hangings.
Gold Country Medical Museum
•
530-885-1252
219 Maple Street
Currently open Saturdays and Sundays Noon-3pm, or by arrangement.
Admission: FREE
One of four medical history museums in California, this is the only museum housed in a historic setting. This stately
Victorian was the first hospital in Placer County, established in 1855 to
care for indigent miners. Displays show the course of medical
care and knowledge from the Gold Rush era to the mid 20th Century.
The museum features settings depicting a doctor's office, a pharmacy, an operating room, and a wardroom. These settings
reflect doctor-patient activities taking place as they would have in the 1800's to early 1900's. Permanent and visiting
collections of medical artifacts, including implements, equipment,
furnishings, pharmaceuticals and bottles, and advertising and other ephemera are on display in cabinets. A favorite
display is the folklore, potions, and multitude of strange gadgets we today call medical quackery.
Joss Hoss Museum
•
530-885-1252
200 Sacramento Street
Open upon arrangement
Admission: FREE
The Joss House was built after the fire of 1855. It served as a temple and house of worship
for the area’s Chinese population.
In the 1880s, this block of Sacramento Street was known as Chinatown Hill. The Chinese concentrated here and built
most of the buildings. At one time, they had laundry shops, opium dens and card rooms.
Brewery Lane, just north of the Joss House, was the entrance to Auburn’s red light district.
Old Town Firehouse
•
530-823-3836
Lincoln Way and Commercial St.
Open on special occasions and upon arrangement
Admission: FREE
Built in 1891. Before becoming one of Auburn’s most famous attractions, this firehouse was home to the Auburn
Volunteer Fire Dept, one of the oldest volunteer groups west of the Mississippi. Organized in 1852, this group is
still fighting Auburn fires.
