Chinese store sits across the road from the Mormon workers cabin in Coloma

When I first visited the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park as a young schoolkid, I was especially fascinated by the two small buildings known as the Chinese Stores. I think it was partly because these two small buildings are authentic structures from the 1850s, not replicas. I liked to imagine the Chinese miners going in and out of the stores, socializing and sharing letters from home. It made history seem a little bit more real to me, and that’s why I still enjoy visiting the Chinese stores, even today.