The Mariposa Museum and History Center occupies a complex of buildings on Jessie Street in the centre of town and does a good job of covering the full sweep of local history — from the Miwok people who lived here before the Gold Rush, through the mining era, and into the ranching and timber economy that followed. The collection includes mining equipment, period photographs, original documents, and a reconstructed miner's cabin set up as it would have looked in the 1850s.
The Native American section is handled with care and includes basket-weaving, tools, and displays about the Miwok way of life that give the Gold Rush story its proper context. Gold-panning demonstrations run in season. A small gift shop sells local history books. Address: 5119 Jessie Street; modest admission fee.