California State Mining and Mineral Museum

The California State Mining and Mineral Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, home to the state's mineral collection, with minerals and gems from all over the world. The museum also interprets the state's mineral resources and mining heritage. It is located in Mariposa, a city in central California, on the Mariposa County fairgrounds.[1]

California State Mining and Mineral Museum
Interior of the California State Mining and Mineral Museum
LocationMariposa County, California, United States
Nearest cityMariposa, California
Coordinates37°27′51″N 119°56′51″W
Established1999
Governing bodyCalifornia Department of Parks and Recreation

The museum houses a collection that was created in 1880, with the establishment of the California State Mining Bureau. Henry G. Hanks was the first California State Mineralogist and was tasked with managing the collection. The collection was housed in the Ferry Building in San Francisco until 1983. The collection opened in its current home at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds in 1986. The collection was transferred from the California Department of Conservation to the California Department of Parks & Recreation in 1999. At present, it is the only California State Park without any associated land. Today, the international collection holds over 13,000 minerals, rocks, gems, fossils, and historic artifacts.

Some of the museum's most popular exhibits include the crystalline gold Fricot Nugget, weighing 201 troy ounces (6.25 kg), the largest one found during the Gold Rush; a working scale model of a stamp mill which is over 100 years old, demonstrating the process of extracting gold from quartz rock; and a replica hard rock mine tunnel that allows visitors to experience how it felt to spend the day working in California's hard rock mines.

The California State Mining and Mineral Museum has artifacts from the Mother Lode, along with international gems, stones, and other precious artifacts.

Closure proposal

The California Mining and Mineral Museum was one of the 48 California state parks proposed for closure in January 2008 during the Arnold Schwarzenegger Administration as part of a deficit reduction program.[2]

References
  1. "California State Mining and Mineral Museum". CA State Parks. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  2. CBS5.com: List Of Calif. Parks To Close In Budget Proposal Archived February 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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