The "Stories of the Past" have brought us on an educational journey to Columbia State Historic Park. To not only discover the clues left from long ago but, also giving us the opportunity to compare the differences from the past to the present.
We decided to fully immerse ourselves in the experience by staying in one of the parks historic cottages in Columbia. It was the perfect location for our visit, being located only one block off the main street. Our Cottage was fully equipped with a kitchen, which made it convenient when the entire town closed down at 5:00 PM every night.
The Stories of long ago, gold rush days were brought to life by one of the most phenomenal park rangers we have ever had the pleasure to meet. Our forty-five minute scheduled Town Tour that was provided by Friends of Colombia seemed to end too soon as she entertained us with her enthusiasm over each small detail of the past and how life was once lived.
One of the advantages when you take the town tour is it takes you to areas of the park that are normally closed off to regular visitors. Our ranger had a way of explaining the towns history in a way where you no longer felt like you were being told a story but were experiencing first hand what it would be like to live in the gold rush era.
Columbia has a great Passport Program for adults and children alike. This program is a multiple choice scavenger hunt that took us to areas that we would have passed by without ever even knowing they were there.
Located in town was Quartz Mountain Stage Line we jumped on board as they transported us back in time on an authentic stagecoach ride.
There was even a HOLD UP, while we were on our stagecoach ride. Thankfully we got away unscathed!
We made a stop by Hidden Treasures Gold Mine and took their one-on-one panning lesson. The lesson gave Jaxon the tools and knowledge of what it took to pan for gold during the Gold Rush.
Once Jax's took the educational panning lesson he was able to pan for gold as much as he wanted to through out the day. He soon found the frustrations that haunted many gold miners from the past and the patients it took while searching for gold.
Another part of our lesson plan during this trip was for Jaxon to identify the differences from schools of the past to the present. To make our daily school work more exiting we decided to purchase a slate and chalk from the local Bookstore and do all of our school work as they did in the past.
We had a wonderful visit to Columbia State Park and we will be sure to return soon.