Posted by: News_Desk on 07/09/2021 02:14 AM
Updated by: News_Desk on 07/09/2021 02:14 AM
Expires: 01/01/2026 12:00 AM
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Angels Camp Museum Foundation Kicks off $25K Campaign to Expand the Pole Barn Exhibit Space
Angels Camp, CA... Visitors will find it easier to navigate among exhibits, increase access for all, and improve the presentation across all exhibits. The Angels Camp Museum Foundation is kicking off a new fundraising campaign to raise $25,000 for the re-imagining of the Angels Camp Museum’s Mining & Ranching Building exhibits.
Throughout the Mother Lode, starting in the late 1850s after the majority of surface Placer gold deposits were exhausted, many former miners began to take up farming and ranching. This economic shift foretold the future when mining would eventually give way to agriculture and cattle ranching in the foothills.
“Churchill once said ‘The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see,’ said Martin Huberty, Angels Camp Museum Executive Director. “Our precious Gold Rush history is a reflection of who we are and should be celebrated and showcased. That’s what this project is about – showcasing our many mining and ranching artifacts in the most engaging way possible,” he continued.
The Mining & Ranching Building (also known as the Pole Barn because of the style of construction) houses an extensive collection of Gold Rush era gold mining, ranching and farming equipment, each with a story to tell. Among the many mining-related Items found in the pole barn are a Rocker box (also known as a cradle), a gold mining implement for separating alluvial placer gold from sand and gravel and an automated stamp mill model showing how gold was extracted from hard rock.
The Pole Barn is also home to a vast array of sizeable early farming and ranching technologies like the horse-drawn Self Raking Reaper and the Little Giant Thresher that was used to separate grain from the straw. Organizing these in a more meaningful way to better demonstrate how they worked is a key goal of the fundraising effort. Overall, funds raised will be used to:
• Increase access and safe navigation of the large exhibit space, bringing it into ADA compliance;
• Add a Blacksmith Shop and a General Store exhibit to the three existing Carpentry, Printing & Weaving artisan exhibits;
• Complete the extensive rework of the museum’s remarkable gem and mineral exhibit; and
• Enable the Museum to better showcase the extensive collection of Farming, Mining and Ranching technologies that were all pioneered during the Gold Rush.
The Angels Camp Museum has always had a strong bond with the community. That tie goes back to its very beginning in 1950 and continues to this day.
Almost 60 years later, the Angels Camp Museum Foundation was established as a 501(c)3 Non-profit, tax exempt organization to facilitate fundraising, volunteer recruitment and program development of the museum.
“For thirteen years the Foundation has supported the museum through specific projects and various campaigns,” said Karen Strand, Museum Foundation President. “The COVID-19 pandemic posed some real challenges for our museum which resulted in the co-location with the Visitor’s Bureau. It also helped strengthen and focus our commitment as the Museum Foundation to increasing our ability to preserve our important Gold Rush history and artifacts – including those that the Museum received from the now closed Old Timer’s Museum in Murphy’s. We couldn’t be more excited about our new website and fundraising program; the entire board is honoured to be part of this team effort.”
Individuals and companies wishing to support this fundraising campaign can visit the new Foundation website and make a donation on our campaign site.
About the Angels Camp Museum Foundation
The Angels Camp Museum Foundation supports the development and expansion of the collections, programs and resources of the Angels Camp Museum in Angels Camp, Calaveras County, California, and to establish it as one of the premier local history and educational museums in Northern California.
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