After a morning of enlightening workshops, we'll visit several historic sites on Friday and Saturday to learn about local history while seeing the best organizational practices in action.
BOEGER WINERY
The Boeger Winery estate was homesteaded during the gold rush by the Fossati-Lombardo family. Though the family initially tried their luck in the gold fields they quickly learned, as many others did, that there was more fortune to be made from selling goods and services to the miners than in the mining itself. The estate was turned into a fruit and nut farm as well as a winery and distillery. The family made wine from Mission grapes and an early clone of Zinfandel, a small block of which still remain and produce fruit to this day. Greg and Sue Boeger bought the property in 1972, decades after the last winery in the county was shut down due to Prohibition. Boeger was the first modern day (post-Prohibition) winery in the El Dorado AVA. But Greg was not a newcomer to the wine industry at this time. His grandfather Anton Nichelini had founded Nichelini Winery in Napa in 1890. Spending a good portion of his youth at his grandfather's vineyard and winery, Greg developed an intimate knowledge of the craft that by 1972 was second nature.
MARSHALL GOLD DISCOVERY STATE HISTORIC PARK
In 1848, James W. Marshall found shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he was building in partnership with John Sutter. This discovery changed the course of California's and the nation's history. See a replica of the original sawmill and over 20 historic buildings including a mining exhibit, Chinese store exhibits and schoolhouse exhibit.
Visitors have the opportunity to pan for gold in the American River and enjoy hikes and picnics under the riparian oak woodlands. Overlooking the beautiful river canyon is the Marshall Monument, California's first historic monument and the final resting place of James Marshall. The statue looks down on the river and points to the site of the gold discovery.
GOLD BUG PARK
UNION CEMETERY TOUR
