Mariposa County, California: History
The county took its name from Mariposa Creek, named by Spanish explorers in 1806 when they discovered a large cluster of butterflies (mariposas in Spanish) in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Each year on the first weekend in May, residents celebrate the county's butterfly namesake at the annual Mariposa Butterfly Festival.
At the time of statehood in 1850, Mariposa County was the largest of the original 27 California counties by area, covering over 30,000 square miles (78,000 km2) or about one-fifth of the state. It became known as the "Mother of Counties" because its territory was ceded over time to eventually form all of present-day Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Kern counties; and parts of present-day San Benito, Mono, Inyo, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles counties.
The county's original seat was a now-nonexistent hamlet known as Agua Fria (Spanish for "cold water"), about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of present-day Mariposa on Agua Fria Road. The county seat then moved to Mariposa in 1854, resulting in the construction of the Mariposa County Courthouse, California's oldest court of law in continuous operation, whose grounds occupy an entire block. The courthouse, fronted by Bullion Street with Jones Street to the rear and 9th and 10th Streets on either side, is depicted on the Mariposa County Seal.
The territory now comprising Mariposa County was inhabited by the Southern Sierra Miwok, whose villages occupied the foothills and lower mountain slopes along the Merced, Tuolumne, and Chowchilla river drainages. The Yokuts occupied the San Joaquin Valley floor and adjacent foothills; early Spanish and American accounts applied the name "Mariposas" to the Yokuts bands near the creek. The two groups maintained trade relationships across the foothill boundary.
During the Gold Rush, the rapid expansion of mining camps into indigenous territories produced violent conflict. In December 1850, Governor John McDougal authorized the Mariposa Battalion, a state militia unit mustered on February 12, 1851, under Major James D. Savage. The battalion's pursuit of the Ahwahnechee leader Tenaya into the Sierra Nevada resulted in the first documented entry by non-indigenous people into Yosemite Valley, in March 1851. The conflict, known as the Mariposa War, ended with Tenaya's capture and the forced removal of Ahwahnechee to a reservation on the Fresno River.
Mariposa County lies at the southern end of California's Mother Lode region. During the California Gold Rush, large quantities of gold were found and extracted, first in local stream beds and later in hard-rock mines. One of the most notable beneficiaries was John C. Frémont, explorer and 1856 Republican presidential candidate, for whom the local hospital and Charles Street (more commonly known as "Highway 140") are named. Jessie Street in Mariposa is named for Frémont's wife, Jessie Benton Frémont, who accompanied him on extended visits to Las Mariposas between 1849 and 1861. …