Campfire Gold Rush Recollections By 49er Bill Meissner “The Story of Willie” Part Two   In the Spring of ’51, I arrived in the California Gold Rush town of Columbia, or American Camp as it was called then.  As the camp grew its name kept changing.  Originally it was called Hildreth’s Diggings after the miner who discovered its gold deposits, with rapid growth, it was renamed American Camp.  Then because of its rich gold deposits, it was referred to as the [...]

Campfire Gold Rush Recollections By 49er Bill Meissner The following are gold rush recollections of a legendary prospector known as Willie Renssiem as recounted at nightly campfires by Bill Meissner.  Bill Meissner along with his wife Pat have owned and operated the 49er RV Ranch in the heart of Gold Country Columbia, California since 1980. The 49er RV Ranch is located ½ mile from Downtown Historic Columbia California, 15-minutes from Sonora and Jamestown which is popular for Railtown, which boasts the [...]