~ TOP TEN CALIFORNIA VINTAGE TOWNS ~

~ TOP TEN CALIFORNIA

 VINTAGE & ANTIQUE TOWNS ~

10. Columbia State Historic Park—This historic park has several vintage-style stores including a dry goods store that carries quilting fabric, patterns, and trims. There is also a delightful mercantile that carries many reproduction toys, tools, and kitchen gadgets.

9. Angel's Camp—This Gold Rush foothill town located on the Gold Highway, 49, has a fabulous store called Nellie Lou's that features china, figurines, artwork, small furniture and lots more! I love to browse in this neat, organized, and fun shop when I have time. They frequently have old toys and dolls on display which takes me back to my childhood days.

8. Eureka—This isolated Northern Coast logging and fishing town has many shops of interest in their Old Town Area that carry vintage linens, farm tools, books, and artwork. This area also boasts the exquisite Carson Mansion which can be viewed from the street. Many other Victorians line the streets in Eureka. The Sequoia Park, Zoo, and Garden are fun for children and adults alike.

7. Cayucos—A Central Coast town south of Hearst Castle, this beach town features a number of whimsical shops that sell everything from dolls and toys to maritime memorabilia

6. Jamestown—This Gold Rush Town has an active Main Street with many vintage shops that carry everything a treasure hunter and collector could envision!

5.  Placerville—Here is yet another foothill Mining Town located on Highway 49 near Highway 50 with lots of promise for vintage hunters! Placerville offers several shops with collectibles and other specialties such as vintage earrings, hats, gloves, brooches, toys, dolls, and small furniture.  The historic downtown also boasts a fantastic yarn and fiber shop, Lofty Lou's. They have everything a knitter or crocheter needs for their projects. My personal favorite is Kelsey's Needle Krafts on Main Street. This shop carries a treasure trove of supplies for stitchers of all kinds since they carry an abundance of cross-stitch, needlepoint, and embroidery materials. Don't miss the two historical museums in the area:  The El Dorado County Museum is located at the fairgrounds and has a plethora of displays on the area's gold mining, local, and Native American history. The other museum is in old town Placerville—the Fountain and Tallman Museum. This museum features exhibits on local dining history, the Miwok and Maidu tribes, Snowshoe Thompson, and other historical artifacts such as buttons and furniture. Up the road a few miles in Camino is Apple Hill. Be sure to stop at Boa Vista Orchards for some complimentary tastings of apple cider and produce products. (https://www.placerville-downtown.org/)

4.  Sutter Creek—This foothill Mining Town along Highway 49 has a small, but lovely Main Street with several gems that provide a vintage hound with many opportunities to find hand-crafted items as well as vintage treasures such as buttons, dolls, tools, and books. The J. Monteverde General Store Museum, depicting an authentic family general store that opened in 1898 and closed in 1971, is located just off of Main Street. The store has been preserved as it was in 1971 including shelves filled with miner's supplies, apparel, dry goods, patterns, and most amazingly—groceries.  My favorite shop in Sutter Creek is the garden shop, The Antique Gardener. This lovely garden shop is filled to the brim with vintage and antique garden tools, garden decorations, gifts, and holiday décor. They even sell plants and flowers out on their back patio. I hardly ever walk away empty-handed!  (www.suttercreek.org)

3.  Folsom—Historic Sutter Street in Old Town Folsom located southwest of Lake Tahoe has many delightful shops including a Christmas Store that carries everything Christmas. There are many vintage shops that carry books, clothing, jewelry, children's items, or anything else you are looking to find! The real treasure in this town, however, is the Folsom History Museum. Each year this museum has an antique quilt and clothing show that is simply the best I have ever seen! (www.FolsomHistoryMuseum.org)

2.  Niles District in Fremont—The East Bay city of Fremont was originally made up of five districts. The Niles District is where Charlie Chaplin filmed several silent movies. There is a fun Silent Movie Museum and a Railroad Depot Museum in this area along with many vintage/antique shops. The Main Street area is where the merchants and museums are located. However, if you walk around in the residential area located 'behind' Main Street, you will see many historic homes in the Craftsman, Victorian, Cottage, and Bungalow styles of architecture. The Niles District hosts many fun events throughout the year. Check out their website to plan your visit into the past.  (http://www.niles.org/)

1.  Ferndale—A few miles from Eureka this small Victorian village has a large mercantile that carries many collectibles and vintage and antique items for the kitchen and more. There is a newish quilt store named, Stitch, and a yarn store called, Foggy Bottoms Yarns. My favorite shops are Farmer's Daughter and Ring's Pharmacy, a Rexall Drug Store which calls itself , "The oldest continuously operating drug store in California . . ." Get out of the car and walk around the streets on either side of Main Street to see some magnificent Victorian homes and a sprinkling of Cottage and Craftsman-style homes. The Ferndale Museum and Fern Cottage are also not to be missed on your trip to this quaint village. (https://www.visitferndale.com/)

HAVE A GREAT TRIP!

**NOTE FROM BLOGGER:  All photos of the antique dolls, toys, and books shown above were taken by me with permission of the director of the Folsom History Museum. The yellow dinnerplate dahlia photo was taken at the Sequoia Park Garden in Eureka.

# # # # #