Guide to the Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Photographic Collection
California State Parks Photographic Archives interns and Sam Skow
California State Parks Photographic Archives
© 2016
4940 Lang Avenue, Dock H
McClellan, CA 95652
Phone: (916) 263-0997
Fax: (916) 263-1007
URL: http://www.parks.ca.gov/
California State Parks. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Photographic Collection
Collection number: Consult repository
California State Parks Photographic ArchivesMcClellan, California 95652
- Processed by:
- California State Parks Photographic Archives interns and Sam Skow
- Date Completed:
- 2016
- Encoded by:
- Sam Skow
© 2016 California State Parks. All rights reserved.
Title: Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Photographic Collection
Dates: 1950-2011
Bulk Dates: 1960-1990, 2003, 2009-2011
Collection number: Consult repository
Creator:
California State Parks
Collector:
California State Parks
Collection Size:
503 images
Repository:
Photographic Archives.
California State Parks
California State Parks
McClellan, CA 92262
Abstract: The Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Photographic Collection contains 503 cataloged images that date from 1950 through
2011. Images depict the property as a state park.
Physical location: For current information on the physical location of these materials, please consult the Guide to the California State Parks
Photographic Archives, available online.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research by appointment.
Property rights reside with the repository. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records. For permission to reproduce
or to publish, please contact the Head Curator of the California State Parks Photographic Archives.
[Identification of item including photographer and date when available], Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Photographic
Collection, [Catalog number], California State Parks Photographic Archives, McClellan, California
Images primarily generated by California State Parks and transferred from Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park at various
times.
Further accruals are expected.
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park contains roughly 135 acres of natural, cultural, and historical resources. Located
in Amador County, the park is nestled in the Sierra Foothills about eight miles east of the city of Jackson and less than
two miles south of the census-designated place of Volcano. The park is accessible by car via Pine Grove Volcano Road.
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, named for its prominent outcropping of marbleized limestone containing roughly 1,185
mortar holes, has been occupied by humans for over 10,000 years. Prior to its designation as a park, the area served as home
to the Northern Sierra Miwok and provided ample sustenance in the forms of plants, fish, and local game, including deer, antelope,
and rabbits. Referring to the area as
Chaw’se, the Miwok word for “grinding rock,” the Miwok people established numerous village sites throughout the area, thriving for
millennia until the mid-nineteenth century.
With James Marshall’s 1848 gold discovery in nearby Coloma, the Miwok’s world was severely disrupted. That same year, the
first Euro-American prospectors—a group of Mexican-American War veterans—arrived in the area and established Soldiers Gulch
about 1.5 kilometers north of the present-day park. The next year, the William Wylie and Jacob Cook parties arrived and staked
their claims nearby. Within five years, the nearby settlement of Volcano grew to 1,100 individuals. By the 1870s, the area
encompassing the modern-day park was entirely surrounded by quartz-mining operations.
In addition to gold prospectors, Euro-American farmers and ranchers likewise entered the area and began exploiting its resources.
In 1852, prospector John Doble made note of grass- and barley-mowing occurring in the vicinity of the iconic grinding rock.
By 1868, the Else family owned the property, where they grew barley and other grains, raised cattle, and planted orchards.
They named the nearby stream “Else Creek” in their honor. In 1874, the same year that she formally filed a patent on the land,
Sophia Else sold the property to John Sullivan, an Irish immigrant who maintained the land with his brother, Jeremiah. In
1889, Sullivan deeded the property to Jeremiah’s children, who quickly sold the property to Serafino Scapuccino. In addition
to raising cattle, tending orchards, and developing truck gardens, Scapuccino constructed a protective fence around the grinding
rock and was even said to have welcomed local Miwok onto the property. When Scapuccino died in 1910, the land transferred
to his children, who continued to work its historic agricultural operations as well as preserve its cultural resources.
In the 1950s, James Scapuccino, Serafino’s son, grew concerned by the threats development posed to his land’s natural and
cultural features. Coordinating with Muriel Thebaut, member of the Volcano Chamber of Commerce, the two lobbied for the land
to be developed into a state park. In 1957, with the passage of Assembly Bill 96, funding was appropriated for the property,
and, in 1962, the State of California purchased the original 48 acres from Scapuccino. The following year, the Division of
Beaches and Parks classified the park a state historic monument, later reclassifying it a state historic park in 1970. Three
years later, Greenthumb Inc., coordinating with local Miwok contractors, reconstructed the traditional roundhouse that remains
there today. That same year, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
California State Parks, coordinating with the Chaw’se Association, maintains various natural, cultural, and historical resources
at Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park. In addition to the marbleized limestone grinding rock (the largest of its kind
in North America) and the reconstructed roundhouse, the park also contains a reconstructed Miwok village, the historic Scapuccino
house, and the Chaw’se Regional Indian Museum featuring a variety of Sierra Nevada Indian objects and exhibits. The park also
hosts numerous Native-American festivals and events, called “Big Times,” several times a year. The park also includes two
developed hiking trails, picnicking areas, and campgrounds. The park is open seven days a week, from sunrise to sunset.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Photographic Collection spans the years 1950-2011, with the bulk of the collection
covering the years 1960-1990, 2003, and 2009-2011. There is a total of 503 cataloged images, including 193 photographic prints,
scans, and negatives, 249 35mm slides, and 61 born-digital images. Photographs primarily originated from California State
Parks staff.
The collection mainly depicts the various natural and built features within the park. Features include: the famous grinding
rock, with mortar holes, petroglyphs, and platform; the reconstructed ceremonial roundhouse, featuring both interior and exterior
views; the reconstructed bark houses and teepees that comprise the park’s Miwok village; the Visitor’s Center and Chaw’se
Regional Indian Museum, featuring both exterior and interior views, including exhibits and the gift shop; the surrounding
meadow with cows and vegetation; and various campsites.
The collection also depicts various activities. In addition to visitors enjoying the park’s features and interacting with
DPR interpreters, volunteers with regalia performing traditional dances are also depicted. Other events include “Indian Days,”
held in 1977 and 1978, and the Department of Parks and Recreation Office of Interpretive Services’ 1990 site visit.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Amador County (Calif.)
California. Department of Parks and Recreation
Cultural resources
Doble, John, 1828-1866
Miwok Indians
National Register of Historic Places
Natural resources
Petroglyphs.
Volcano (Calif.)
Related Material at California State Parks
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Collection
Related Material at Other Repositories
John Doble Papers, UC Berkeley: Bancroft Library