Site of First Amateur Astronomical Observatory of Record in California

Amador County · Snake Ridge Road, 1.7 miles North of Volcano · location approximate

On the knoll behind this marker George Madeira built the first amateur astronomical observatory of record in California and there discovered the Great Comet of 1861 with a three-inch refractor telescope.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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