Murphys | Transports visitors to the mid-1850’s

Murphys, California

Murphys, California
A community that keeps pace with the times

A stroll down tree-lined Main Street transports visitors back to the mid-1800s with buildings bearing thick stone walls, iron shutters, and pastoral gardens with white picket fences.

Murphys’ rich and colorful past came alive in 1848 when John and Daniel Murphy established a trading post and gold mining operation in the area that is now their namesake.

Murphys was one of California’s richest “Diggins.” Such riches attracted fortune hunters and adventure seekers from around the world – gamblers, opportunists, ladies of easy virtue, and honest men, as well as renowned outlaws – among them Joaquin Murietta and Black Bart.

Today, Murphys is a hub of shops & restaurants that keeping pace with the times. A great destination for a weekend adventure. The townsfolk invite you to revisit the past while exploring the “new” upscale Murphys. Guided walking tours of the town’s great historic buildings, including the home of Albert Michelson, the first American Nobel Prize winner, are conducted every Saturday at 10:00 a.m., starting in front of the Old Timers Museum on Main Street.