Community sponsored. Good collection of historical photos and things from the Indians, gold miners, Pony Express, railroads, water developers, growth of the area. On old Sutter street in a historic building. Exhibits show interrelationships of all the above events. Also see Power House State park.
It will take about 30 minutes to see all the tiny displays in this museum, taking you through early California and including the local politics and agriculture. It's well worth a stop, especially when the docents are dressed in historical costumes!
This is well worth the trip on the light rail and provides a good historical perspective. The whole historical precinct is well laid out and a worthy rival to Old Sac.
This little museum is small, but makes excellent use of every bit of space. There is gift shop with a large assortment of merchandise -- from vintage linens to old-time toys, to books about early California. The permanent exhibit depicts the history of Folsom and is full of information about gold mining life through the early 1900's. Another room has seasonal exhibits. Don't miss the quilt show in late summer and the holiday exhibit around Christmas. OH...don't miss the "Johnny" room while you're there. One of the volunteers has a great sense of humor! By the way, the museum is not limited to the building. Walk across the street to the Pioneer village to experience life in the gold rush era.
I have visited Folsom in November and found this little but accurate museum quite interesting to give a better sense of the Gold Rush. It has a good bookstore but no further amenities nevertheless it gives a better sense of how life was in Northern California at the time.
I had an hour or two to burn at the end of a business trip so I decided to visit the old section of Folsom. On a whim I went into the museum. While the exhibit is small and can be viewed in around an hour or less, it is effective in painting a picture of the Folsom of the past. What made the experience particularly good was the knowledge of the staff and their willingness and enthusiasm in sharing the history of this region to me as an out-of-towner with no base knowledge of this area. This is well worth a visit.
This Museum is typical of small town Gold Rush museums up and down the Mother Lode. It works as part of the Sutter St. Historical District.
Excellent presentation of enduring portions along with focused areas & ears highlighted & rotated periodically. Keeps up interest & freshness.Particularily like the Gold Rush & Gold Dredging period areas.It is also interesting to see the cutting edge tech that was developed & /or tested in this area. From proving the volitity of Tesla's AC current transmission thru world leading gold dredges to today's Intel & HP, et el.Great way to spend an hour or so. Interactive displays & cowboy roll playing makes it fun to learn!
This is a small museum, but packed full of the interesting history of Folsom. Displays give you the history of the mining days, the building of the railroad, the Folsom Prison and history of the first power sent to Sacramento. Of course you can also learn a bit about Johnny Cash! The docents are well informed and the special exhibits are well presented. The Quilt Show presented yearly in February is an excellent display of wonderful work.The gift shop is a good compilation of books, children's toys, homemade items and memorabilia at reasonable prices.
Small but worthwhile. Lot of artifacts and history in pictures. Plus there's always someone manning the museum who can provide a wealth of information. Just ask.