Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in both the Gold Country and High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,292. The county seat is San Andreas. Angels Camp is the county's only incorporated city. ''Calaveras'' is Spanish for "skulls"; the county was reportedly named for the remains of Native Americans discovered by the Spanish explorer Captain Gabriel Moraga. Calaveras Big Trees State Park, a preserve of giant sequoia trees, is in the county several miles east of the town of

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...

on State Highway 4. Credit for the discovery of giant sequoias there is given to Augustus T. Dowd, a trapper who made the discovery in 1852 while tracking a bear. When the bark from the "Discovery Tree" was removed and taken on tour around the world, the trees became a worldwide sensation and one of the county's first tourist attractions. The uncommon gold telluride mineral calaverite was discovered in the county in 1861 and is named for it.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

set his story " The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in the county. The county hosts an annual fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, featuring a frog-jumping contest, to celebrate the association with Twain's story. Each year's winner is commemorated with a brass plaque mounted in the sidewalk of downtown Historic Angels Camp and this feature is known as the Frog Hop of Fame. In 2015, Calaveras County had the highest rate of suicide deaths in the United States, with 49.1 per 100,000 people.

Etymology

The Spanish word ''calaveras'' means "skulls." The county takes its name from the Calaveras River; it was said to have been named by Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga, during his 1806–1808 expeditions, when he found many skulls of Native Americans along the banks of the stream. He believed they had either died of famine or been killed in tribal conflicts over hunting and fishing grounds. A more likely cause was a European epidemic disease, acquired from interacting with other tribes near the Missions on the coast. The

Stanislaus River The Stanislaus River is a tributary of the San Joaquin River in north-central California in the United States. The main stem of the river is long, and measured to its furthest headwaters it is about long. Originating as three forks in the high ...

, which forms the southern boundary, is named for Estanislao, a Lakisamni Yokuts who escaped from Mission San Jose in the late 1830s. He is reported to have raised a small group of men with crude weapons, hiding in the foothills when the Mexicans attacked. The natives were quickly decimated by Mexican gunfire. In 1836,

John Marsh John Marsh may refer to: Politicians *John Marsh (MP fl. 1394–1397), MP for Bath *John Marsh (MP fl. 1414–1421), MP for Bath *John Allmond Marsh (1894–1952), Canadian Member of Parliament *John Otho Marsh Jr. (1926–2019), American cong ...

, Jose Noriega, and a party of men went exploring in Northern California. They made camp along a river bed in the evening, and upon waking discovered that they had camped amid a great quantity of skulls and bones. They also gave the river the name Calaveras. Twain spent 88 days in the county in 1865, during which he heard the story that became "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" at the Angel Hotel. This story kicked off his career and put Calaveras County on the map.

History

Calaveras County was one of the original counties of the state of California, created in 1850 at the time of admission to the Union. Parts of the county's territory were reassigned to

Amador County Amador County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson. Amador County, located within California's Gold Country, is known as "The ...

in 1854 and to Alpine County in 1864. The county's geography includes beautiful landmarks, rolling hills, and giant valleys. It is also known for its friendly communities, and businesses such as agriculture management and construction engineering. It has numerous caverns, such as Mercer Caverns, California Cavern and

Moaning Cavern Moaning Caverns is a solutional cave located in the Calaveras County, California, near Vallecito, California in the heart of the state's Gold Country. It is developed in marble of the Calaveras Formation. It was discovered in modern times by gold ...

that are national destinations for tourists from across the country. Other attractions include a thriving wine making industry, including the largest of the Calaveras wineries: Ironstone Vineyards, mountain sports recreation and the performing arts. Gold prospecting in Calaveras County began in late 1848 with a camp founded by Henry Angel. Angel may have first arrived in California as a soldier, serving under Colonel Frémont during the Mexican War. After the war's end, he found himself in Monterey where he heard of the fabulous finds in the gold fields. He joined the Carson-Robinson party of prospectors and set out for the mines. The company parted ways upon reaching what later became known as Angels Creek. Henry Angel tried placer mining but soon opened a trading post. By the end of the year, over one hundred tents were scattered about the creek and the settlement was referred to as Angels Trading Post, later shortened to Angels Camp.

Placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (Alluvium, alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining, open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer minin ...

soon gave out around the camp, but an extensive gold-bearing quartz vein of the area's Mother Lode was located by the Winter brothers during the mid-1850s, and this brought in the foundations of a permanent town. This vein followed Main Street from Angels Creek up to the southern edge of Altaville. Five major mines worked the rich vein: the Stickle, the Utica, the Lightner, the Angels, and the Sultana. These mines reached their peaks during the 1880s and 1890s, when over 200 stamp mills crushed quartz ore brought in by hand cars on track from the mines. By the time hard rock mining was done, the five mines had producing a total of over $20 million in gold. The telluride mineral calaverite was first recognized and obtained in 1861 from the Stanislaus Mine, Carson Hill, Angels Camp, in Calaveras Co., California. It was named for the County of origin by chemist and mineralogist Frederick Augustus Genth who differentiated it from the known gold telluride mineral

sylvanite Sylvanite or silver gold telluride, chemical formula , is the most common telluride of gold. Properties The gold:silver ratio varies from 3:1 to 1:1. It is a metallic mineral with a color that ranges from a steely gray to almost white. It is c ...

, and formally reported it as a new gold mineral in 1868.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water. A California Department of Forestry report lists the county's area in acres as 663,000, although the exact figure would be . There are a number of caverns located in Calaveras County.

Adjacent counties

– north * Alpine County – northeast *

Tuolumne County Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora. Tuolumne County comprises the ...

– south *

Stanislaus County , image_skyline = , image_caption = Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford , image_flag = , i ...

– southwest * San Joaquin County – west

National protected area

Stanislaus National Forest Stanislaus National Forest is a U.S. National Forest which manages of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. It was established on February 22, 1897, making it one of the oldest national forests. It was named after t ...

(part)

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Calaveras County had a population of 45,578. The racial makeup of Calaveras County was 40,522 (88.9%) White, 383 (0.8%) African American, 689 (1.5%) Native American, 571 (1.3%) Asian, 79 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,534 (3.4%) from other races, and 1,800 (3.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,703 persons (10.3%).

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,554 people, 16,469 households, and 11,742 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 22,946 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.2% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.1% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. 6.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 15.7% were of German, 13.0% English, 10.7% Irish, 7.4% Italian and 7.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.5% spoke English and 4.0% Spanish as their first language. There were 16,469 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.85. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the county was $41,022, and the median income for a family was $47,379. Males had a median income of $41,827 versus $28,108 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,420. About 8.7% of families and 11.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The major Calaveras County employers include: 250–499 employees: * Calaveras County Government * Forestry & Fire Protection * Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital 100–249 employees: * Bret Harte High School * Ironstone Vineyards * Calaveras High School * Mark Twain Convalescent Hospital * Mountain Machinery

Government

Calaveras County is governed by a five-membe
Board of Supervisors
Supervisors are elected by district at the Consolidated Primary Election and serve for four years. Current Board of Supervisors: Gary Tofanelli (District 1); Jack Garamendi (District 2); Merita Callaway (District 3); Dennis Mills (District 4) and Benjamin Stopper (District 5). In January 2020 Merita Callaway was elected Chair of the Board and Ben Stopper was elected Vice Chair. Albert Alt is the County Administrative Officer and Sarah DeKay is the interim County Counsel. Both are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors.

Elections and politics

Voter registration statistics

= Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Calaveras County is in . In the State Senate, Calaveras County is in . In the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

, it is in . Past presidential elections in Calaveras County have displayed preferences for Republican candidates; the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, although Democrat Bill Clinton lost the county by only 17 votes in 1992. By contrast, recent elections have seen a sharp upswing in Democratic voter registrations.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 4 * California 12

State Route 12 * California 26

State Route 26 * California 49

State Route 49 The following highways are numbered 49: Australia * Queensland State Route 49 **Wide Bay Highway **Bunya Highway **Moonie Highway **Balonne Highway * Central Coast Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 49 * British Columbia Highway 49 * Manitoba High ...

Public transportation

Calaveras Transit ''Calavera'' (Spanish for ''skull'') or its plural ''calaveras'', may refer to: Culture * Calaveras, any of various skull-shaped things associated with the * Literary Calavera, traditional Mexican composition in verse Places * Calaveras Riv ...

provides service in Angels Camp, San Andreas, and other communities in the county. Intercounty connections are available to

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

(

), Jackson (

), and Lodi ( San Joaquin County).

Airports

Calaveras County Airport Calaveras County Airport , also known as Maury Rasmussen Field, is a public airport located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of San Andreas, in Calaveras County, California, United States. It is owned by the Coun ...

is a general aviation airport located just southeast of San Andreas.

Communities

Cities

Angels Camp is the only incorporated city located in Calaveras County.

Census-designated places

* Avery * Copperopolis * Dorrington * Forest Meadows * Mokelumne Hill * Mountain Ranch *

Murphys Murphys or Murphy's may refer to: * Murphys, California, United States, an unincorporated village ** Murphys Grammar School, on the National Register of Historic Places ** Murphys Hotel, one of the oldest hotels still operating in California, on ...

* Rail Road Flat *

Rancho Calaveras Rancho Calaveras is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2010 census, up from 4,182 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has ...

* San Andreas (county seat) * Vallecito *

Valley Springs Valley Springs may refer to some places in the United States: * Valley Springs, Arkansas, located in Boone County * Valley Springs, California, located in Calaveras County * Valley Springs, South Dakota Valley Springs is a city in Minnehaha Co ...

* Wallace * West Point

Other communities

* Glencoe *

Sheep Ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/ Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ...

* Cave City

Former settlements

* Camanche *

Cat Camp The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

* Poverty Bar * Sand Hill

Special districts

* Altaville Cemetery District * Altaville-Melones Fire District * Angels Camp Fire District * Bret Harte Union High School District * Calaveras County Air Pollution Control District * Calaveras Unified School District * Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Protection District * Copperopolis Fire Protection District * Ebbetts Pass Fire Protection District * Foothill Fire District * Jenny Lind Fire District * Mark Twain Health Care District * Mark Twain Union Elementary School District * Mokelumne Hill Fire District * Murphys Fire District * San Andreas Fire District * Vallecito Union Elementary School District * Valley Springs Public Utilities District * West Point Fire District.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Calaveras County.2010 Census
/ref> † ''county seat''

Notes

References

External links

*
Calaveras County Visitors BureauAngels Camp, Calaveras County, weatherArnold, Calaveras County, weatherCalaveras County Superior CourtMap of fire stations in Calaveras County
{{coord, 38.21, -120.55, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CA_source:UScensus1990 California counties 1850 establishments in California Populated places established in 1850