Columbia started life in 1850 when Dr. Thaddeus Hildreth and his brother set up the camp known as Hildreth s Diggins in the lovely Sierra foothills. More than 150 tumultuous years later, Columbia is an amazing example of a true gold rush community frozen in time. But this is no ghost town either the downtown area, with its plank sidewalks, ornate hotels, and saloons, is preserved as a California State Historic Park. The town today is a living, breathing, modern community at peace with both its past and its present. It s easy to imagine characters from the Old West swaggering through these...