Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sonora & Jamestown
Settled in 1848 by miners from Sonora, Mexico, this area was once a cosmopolitan center
of commerce and culture with parks, elaborate saloons and the Southern Mines' largest
concentration of gamblers and gold. Racial unrest drove the Mexican settlers out and their
European immigrant usurpers got rich on the Big Bonanza Mine, where Sonora High
School now stands. That single mine yielded 12 tons of gold in two years (including a 28lb
nugget).
Today, people en route to Yosemite National Park use Sonora as a staging area, wander-
ing through its pubs for refreshment or grabbing quick eats at the chain restaurants and
stores that have cropped up on the periphery. Fortunately, the historic center is well pre-
served (so much so that it's a frequent backdrop in films).
The smaller
Jamestown
is 3 miles south of Sonora, just south of the Hwy 49/108 junc-
tion. Founded around the time of Tuolumne County's first gold strike in 1848, it has
suffered the ups and downs of the region's roller-coaster development, and today it limps
along on tourism and antiques. It has its charm but is only a few blocks long.
Two highways cross the Sierra Nevada east of Sonora and connect with Hwy 395 in the
Eastern Sierra: Hwy 108 via Sonora Pass and Hwy 120 via Tioga Pass. Note that the sec-
tion of Hwy 120 traveling through Yosemite National Park is only open in summer.
