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	Welcome to the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center The Museum was established as a 1987 Bonitafest event and was orginally located in a storefront along Bonita Road. In 1992, through the generosity of the Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District, the Museum moved into the old fire house located at 4035 Bonita Road. In 2006, thanks to the County of San Diego and the Bonita community, the Museum moved to its permanent location at 4355 Bonita Road, Bonita, CA 91902.

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GOLD FEVER! SWEEPS BONITA

It has been over 140 years since Gold was discovered in the mountains of San Diego, but now Gold Fever! is sweeping into Bonita. This time it’s Gold Fever! The Untold Stories of California’s Gold Rush, an exhibition that presents a treasury of Gold Rush era events, images and documents. This traveling exhibit, sponsored by generous donations from Las Primeras and the Sweetwater Woman’s Club, will open for an eight week run on July 20. Also on display will be photographs and artifacts of San Diego’s Gold Rush of 1868 on loan from the Pioneer Museum located in Julian.

The exhibit consists of twenty-four photo-mural panels that present text and representations of primary documents, photographs, daguerreotypes, and Gold Rush era paintings. The exhibit shows California before the fateful discovery of gold in the American River, the frenzied rush to the gold fields overland and by sea, the experience of vigilante justice, life in the rowdy gold camps, Gold Rush era commerce, and the shaping of California’s future. The exhibition spotlights the stories of individual Californios, women, Native Americans, and adventurers and gold seekers who emigrated from all parts of the world during the tumultuous and colorful Gold Rush era.

Las Primeras and the Sweetwater Woman’s Club have partnered to sponsor the visit of “Gold Fever! The Untold Stories of California’s Gold Rush” to the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center. The donations of these local service organizations will cover the cost of transporting and acquiring the exhibit as well as fund increased marketing and publicity. In addition, the sponsorship will assist with creating signage for and transportation of artifacts that will be on loan from the Pioneer Museum in Julian.

Founded in 1950, Las Primeras is an independent, all volunteer, organization dedicated to raising funds for charities that serve the changing needs of our community. In the past decade, Las Primeras has disbursed over one half million dollars to San Diego agencies. The Sweetwater Woman's Club, founded in 1911, promotes educational, cultural, and community welfare of the Sweetwater Valley and environs, and contributes to special projects each year.