Below you’ll find published
reviews that will give you a good feel for the town. We’d just like
to add that what makes Murphys are the people.
Recent Reviews
Sunset Magazine,
“some of the best-preserved Gold-Rush era architecture in California”
“Most of the local Wineries
occupy historic buildings in town that give you a taste of Murphys Gold
Country heritage”
Great Towns of America
by David Vokac “A Guide to the 100 Best Vacation Getaways for a Weekend
or a Lifetime” “urban charms and unforgettable settings” “fun-filled
getaway with enough recreational and cultural highlights to make it a worthy
destination for a delightful vacation or for a new lifestyle”
California Downtown
Association. Laura Cole-Rowe, president of the statewide organization.
"They seem to have done everything right in Murphys, wonderful economic
development at its best," "You want a sense of walkability, with
clean streets, places to sit, attractive streetscapes and storefronts,
events to draw people in, and that is all there." “Murphys is not purely
a wine town, or a Gold Rush town, or a mountain tourist getaway -- it's
a combination of everything, each aspect complementing the other.”
Discover Travel,
“Murphys, Queen of the Sierra” by Lynn & Glen Pribus
“The town is an engaging
combination of historic stone buildings with tall iron shutters and new
architecture that echoes the historical look”. The Sperry & Perry
Hotel—now the Murphys Historic Hotel & Lodge—was built in the mid 1850s
to accommodate tourists, and it’s register contains such noted signatures
as Mark Twain, Horatio Alger, Charles Bolton (a.k.a. Black Bart) and Ulysses
S. Grant.
San Francisco Chronicle,
Kathleen Rhodes & Kevin Fagen
“Quaint wooden sidewalks
line vintage buildings from the 1800s, some with gingerbread scallops along
the rooflines, housing everything from the exotic Biga bakery to the specialty
Murphys Toy Store. Huge elm trees shade the way, and there are a dozen
gourmet spots to buy either hand-ground coffee or escargots, snails worthy
of Berkeley's gourmet ghetto.”
“A newly refurbished park
sports a lacy gazebo where bands play on sunny days, and a lazy creek meanders
alongside.”
“Murphys' downtown essentially
consists of Main Street which looks like an old-time Western movie set
without the false fronts.”
History
of Murphys Queen of the Sierra
The picturesque village
of Murphys is known today for its many natural attractions including caverns
for public viewing, a charming Main Street with friendly merchants and
unique shops, spectacular wineries, art galleries, gold panning, and world
class golf.
Daniel and John Murphy settled
in the area in 1848. From a small tent, the Murphy brothers did some very
shrewd trading and sold supplies at inflated prices, while using the local
Indians for labor on their claims. Rumor has it that both brothers were
millionaires before they turned twenty five.
Fifteen miles up the mountain,
A.T. Dowd put Calaveras on the international map when he discovered the
huge groves of Giant Sequoia Redwoods. Because their fame grew so quickly,
by 1855 the Sperry & Perry Hotel-now known as Murphys Historic Hotel
& Lodge-had been built to accommodate the multitude of travelers. The
old hotel register contains names such as Mark Twain, Horatio Alger, Ulysses
S. Grant, and Charles Bolton, aka Black Bart.
Murphys has a climate that
closely imitates that of some superb wine regions in France. There are
now sixteen wineries that have staked their claim within a four mile radius
of Main Street, ten of which have unique tasting rooms and other facilities
that are open to the general public.
Nine miles east of Angels
Camp off Highway 4 and offering amenities for your entire family, Murphys
remains a favorite place to get away from it all.
Murphys history from webpage
www.visitcalaveras.org
where you can find history on nearby towns.
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