Trinity County Jake Jackson Museum

Historic downtown Weaverville is host to massive mining equipment, delicate gold nugget necklaces, and the only working steam powered stamp mill on the west coast—all preserved by the Trinity County Jake Jackson Museum. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of and education on the history of Trinity County. Of course, no history of the region would be complete without a deep dive into its early mining origins. The museum collection includes mining equipment, assaying scales, gold nuggets, and other artifacts from the historic county.

Along with the indoor exhibits the museum includes the Hal Goodyear History Park and Alice Goen Jones History Research Center. The history park includes a Ditch tender cabin from the La Grange Mine, a carriage barn, the Davis blacksmith shop, Denny sawmill, and the Paymaster Stamp Mill. The mill runs its steam powered two-stamp mill daily for visitors.

Ditch Tender’s Cabin

Along with an expansive collection of mining equipment, the Trinity County Jake Jackson Museum includes several structures in its collection. The Ditch Tender’s Cabin is a log cabin moved to the museum campus. The cabin was one of many cabins that acted as home for La Grange Mine ditch tenders.

Paymaster Stamp Mill

The Paymaster Stamp Mill is a period replica housing the only working steam powered stamp mill on the west coast. The two-stamp mill is regularly run during museum operating hours for visitors to watch.