Markleeville (formerly Markleville) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Alpine County, California Alpine County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of California located within the Sierra Nevada on the state border with Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,204, making it California's least populous county. T ...

, United States. The population was 191 at the 2020 census, down from 210 at the 2010 census.

History

Jacob J. Marklee founded a

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...

crossing the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine Count ...

in 1861. He aimed to tap into the traffic from the

silver mining Silver mining is the extraction of silver by mining. Silver is a precious metal and holds high economic value. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction requires the use of complex technologies. In ...

boom at Silver Mountain City. On June 23, 1862, he recorded a land claim of 160 acres in

Douglas County, Nevada Douglas County is a County (United States), county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,488. Its county seat is Minden, Nevada, Minden. Douglas County comprises the Gardnerville Ran ...

. A boundary survey took place, and the property ended up being in California. In 1863, Marklee died after being involved in a gunfight. When the

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the U ...

discovery took place, the town of Markleeville was founded on the Marklee property. Today, the Alpine County Courthouse sits on the former property, which is listed as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

. A post office opened in Markleeville in 1863.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land. The region comprising Markleeville is Alpine in appearance, with lush grassy valley areas. There is a hot spring, and a state park with a campground. Excellent hiking trails abound.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Markleeville has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated ''Csb'' on climate maps, though it approaches a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dsb''). Markleeville has warm to hot summers with only occasional rainfall, mostly from afternoon and evening thunderstorms; nights are usually well below . Winters are somewhat cold and often snowy. The average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . The average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 15.7 afternoons with highs of or higher and an average of 221.7 mornings with lows of or lower, including 5.4 mornings falling to or below , and 8.1 afternoons that do not top freezing. The record high temperature was on July 11, 1931. The record low temperature was on December 22, 1990. Average annual precipitation is . There are an average of 59 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest calendar year was 1996 with and the driest year was 1917 with . The most precipitation in one month occurred in January 1914 with . The most precipitation in 24 hours was on December 3, 1950. Average annual snowfall is , and snow depths of over were recorded during the very cold months of January 1916 and February 1922 – the average depth of snow on the ground in January being . The snowiest year was 1916 with , including in January 1916.

Demographics

Markleeville first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2000 U.S. Census.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Markleeville had a population of 191. The population density was . The racial makeup of Markleeville was 90.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.0% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.1% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the population. There were 96 households, out of which 20.8% included children under the age of 18, 31.3% were married-couple households, 6.3% were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 21.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 40.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 52.1% of households were one person, and 33.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.99. There were 42

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(43.8% of all households). The age distribution was 13.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% aged 18 to 24, 12.0% aged 25 to 44, 37.2% aged 45 to 64, and 29.3% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 57.6years. There were 110 males and 81 females. There were 184 housing units at an average density of , of which 96 (52.2%) were occupied. Of these, 81.3% were owner-occupied, and 18.8% were occupied by renters.

Arts and culture

Markleeville hosts an annual bicycle ride called the Death Ride - Tour of the California Alps. The route goes over five passes for a total distance of 129 miles and over 15,000 feet of elevation gain. In 2010 3,500 riders participated and 2,417 completed the full course of 5 mountain passes.

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Alpine County, California County seats in California California Historical Landmarks Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States) Census-designated places in California 1861 establishments in California Populated places established in 1861