A little background on my home region, for region it truly is. I am a Californian, born and bred. But not from the California most people outside the state envision. My boyhood home is Mariposa, County and City. We had no beaches except on rivers. No palm trees, no city amenities. There are still no traffic lights in Mariposa, the only true city in the county (population: 1,769; elevation: 1,953). Main industries are tourism, recreation, US Forest Service and Cal Fire, ranching and mining. Future Farmers are a source of community pride (I was a member, won third high individual at the state finals in land judging competition my senior year, and our team came in second), as are high school athletics, and the county fair is where everyone comes together to reminisce, catch up with old friends, swap tall tales, check out the local arts and crafts exhibits, and see who won Grand Champion ram/steer/hog, etc. And our reunion was at the fairgrounds right in the middle of fair time.
Despite the rural setting, Mariposa County sees a lot of visitors each year, especially during the summer months. That’s because, as the last main town on State Highway 140, it’s where tourists stop for meals and supplies on their way to their true destination, Yosemite National Park. Yosemite occupies the eastern portion of the county. Sierra National Forest, ranches, small businesses and mining operations occupy the rest. Founded during California’s Gold Rush, there is still gold in them thar hills. Not as much as when John C. Fremont made his fortune there, but still there if you know where to look.
But the county and town are often overlooked and passed through by outsiders, which is a shame, since history and landscape shape the entire experience of a visit. The 49er Gold Rush brought “civilization” to a pretty rough community (most of that era were pretty rough). By the early 1850’s, law and order were in place, including California’s oldest courthouse, still in use, erected in 1854. In 1851 Major James Savage led a militia battalion seeking the Native Americans who had been raiding camps and trading posts, including one of his own. That battalion ended up entering Yosemite Valley, becoming the first non-native people to gaze upon her wonders. wasn’t it?