Columbia State Historic Park in the Movies

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High Noon at Columbia State Historic ParkColumbia State Historic Park has a long and rich history in the movies, dating back to the 1920s. Columbia State Historic Park has hosted many classic film stars including Gary Cooper (shown at left) and Randolph Scott. Other more contemporary stars include Tom Selleck, Clint Eastwood, and Josh Brolin. All this history caught the eye of San Francisco-based magazine 7×7 recently and prompted us to include Columbia State Historic Park in our NEW movie locations tour brochure, along with Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, Tuolumne City, and Donnells Vista.

Here’s are some highlights of Columbia’s long career:

Useful links:
7×7: Hollywood Meets Gold Country
Complete Filmography of Tuolumne County
Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau
Western Films in Columbia
California State Park’s Columbia page

Tuolumne Location: Donnells Vista

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At 6200 feet above sea level, Donnells Vista point overlooks the Donnell Reservoir by 1300 feet and looks up 3000 feet for clear view of a unique landmark, the Dardanelles Cone. This is the beginning of a volcanic flow that … Continue reading →

Classic Tuolumne Film: The Shadow Riders

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The Shadow RidersIt’s been 30 years (and a month) since Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott teamed up with Tuolumne County favorite Ben Johnson in the CBS movie of the week (MOW) The Shadow Riders.

Based on a Louis L’Amour title, this Western told the tale of two brothers who fought on opposite sides of The Civil War returning home to find that Elliott’s girlfriend (and real-life spouse Katherine Ross) and family have been taken hostage by a renegade Confederate played by Geoffrey Lewis (a Clint Eastwood sidekick and father of actress Juliette Lewis).

Filming was done all over Tuolumne County, including Columbia State Park and Ratto Ranch. My favorite scene involves Railtown’s Sierra #3, where Selleck and Elliot peek up at each other from opposite sides of a freight car. The Shadow Riders is far from literature, but if you enjoy the ‘B’-movie Westerns of the 50s you’ll have a lot of fun with this one as well.

Oh, and The Shadow Riders should not be confused with The Sacketts, which had the same leads, is also based on a Louis L’Amour story, AND filmed in Tuolumne County three years prior! We’ll post soon about how the people involved with these films made the Wild West Film Festival happen.

Tuolumne Location: Tuolumne General Hospital

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The building formerly known as Tuolumne General Hospital is available for production until at least December of 2013. The three-story building has a classic brick-and-ivy exterior, and includes an emergency room, lobby area, patient rooms, operating rooms, nurses station and psychiatric ward. … Continue reading →

Coming Soon: The Ultimate Restoration of Sierra #3 on PBS

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*** UPDATE: Local Sacramento PBS station KVIE-6 to air A Star is Reborn: Sierra #3 on December 16th @ 1pm! ***

It has taken close to $1.5M from the State of California, two foundations, the people of Tuolumne County and train enthusiasts worldwide to fund its restoration. It took a Washington State design firm, key staffers and many more dedicated volunteers at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park to do the work. Now you can see the restoration of the 1891 Rogers class steam locomotive Sierra #3 — AKA “The Movie Train” — for yourself this fall on the new PBS program “Ultimate Restorations” (check your local listings for the time and station in your area).

Sierra #3 is probably the most widely-seen locomotive in the world, appearing in over 100 feature films and TV series, including High Noon, Unforgiven, Back to the Future III, and “Petticoat Junction“. After over 100 years in service, it’s boiler failed and needed replacement. Unfortunately, spare parts for these ‘Iron Giants’ are non-existent, so a new one needed to be fabricated. This episode of “Ultimate Restorations” tells the story of how a few talented individuals and many passionate volunteers got The Movie Train back on track.

Sierra #3 is now in service on selected weekends throughout the summer and into the fall. Buy you own ticket online at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park.