Agua Fria, California
Encyclopedia
Agua Fria is an unincorporated community
in Mariposa County
, California
. It is located 5.25 miles (8.4 km) northeast of Catheys Valley
, at an elevation of 2001 feet (610 m). Agua Fria is the former county seat of Mariposa County located approximately three miles west of Mariposa, California
.
's men discovered gold in 1849. In 1850, it was a booming trade center and the final destination for many new arrivals in California. It was Mariposa County's first Seat of Justice from February 18, 1850 to November 10, 1851. A post office was established October 7, 1851. In 1853, a 6-stamp quartz
mill
was established in Upper Agua Fria. The camp boasted a hotel
, express office, assayers, billiard room
, bowling alley, monte
and faro
banks
, about a dozen stores
, numerous tents and log cabin
s by the fall of 1850. The population started to decline by the mid-19th century, and the city suffered destructive fires and was never rebuilt. Agua Fria means "cold water" in Spanish
.
A post office operated at Agua Fria from 1851 to 1862.
with little to see but grassy meadows. It is accessible via Agua Fria Road to Mount Bullion and the site of Princeton. It's also a nice alternate route into Mariposa. The site today is private property, and is a California Historical Landmark
(#518).
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Mariposa County
Mariposa County, California
Mariposa County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It lies north of Fresno, east of Merced, and southeast of Stockton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,251 up from 17,130 at the 2000 census...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is located 5.25 miles (8.4 km) northeast of Catheys Valley
Catheys Valley, California
Catheys Valley is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California. It lies in Catheys Valley 22 miles northeast of Merced, and southwest of Mariposa, at an elevation of 1325 feet . As of the 2010 census, Catheys Valley had a population of 825...
, at an elevation of 2001 feet (610 m). Agua Fria is the former county seat of Mariposa County located approximately three miles west of Mariposa, California
Mariposa, California
Mariposa is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Mariposa County, California, United States. The population was 2,173 at the 2010 census, up from 1,373 at the 2000 census. Its name is Spanish for "butterfly", after the flocks of Monarchs seen overwintering there by early...
.
History
Agua Fria was mainly a mining camp divided into Lower Agua Fria and Upper Agua Fria. The name was derived from two springs of cold water about a quarter mile below Lower Agua Fria (the main part of town). It may have been here that John C. FremontJohn C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
's men discovered gold in 1849. In 1850, it was a booming trade center and the final destination for many new arrivals in California. It was Mariposa County's first Seat of Justice from February 18, 1850 to November 10, 1851. A post office was established October 7, 1851. In 1853, a 6-stamp quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
mill
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
was established in Upper Agua Fria. The camp boasted a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, express office, assayers, billiard room
Billiard room
A billiard room is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table...
, bowling alley, monte
Monte Bank
Monte Bank, Mountebank, Spanish Monte and Mexican Monte, sometimes just Monte, is a Spanish gambling card game and the national card game of Mexico. It ultimately derives from basset, where the banker pays on matching cards...
and faro
Faro (card game)
Faro, Pharaoh, or Farobank, is a late 17th century French gambling card game descendant of basset, and belongs to the lansquenet and Monte Bank family of games, in that it is played between a banker and several players winning or losing according to the cards turned up matching those already...
banks
Bank (card game)
Bank, also known also as "Polish Bank" or "Russian Bank," is the name of a comparing card game. An ordinary Anglo-American pack is used. Five or six players is a convenient number.-Rules:At the beginning, each player contributes an arranged stake to the pool...
, about a dozen stores
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, numerous tents and log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
s by the fall of 1850. The population started to decline by the mid-19th century, and the city suffered destructive fires and was never rebuilt. Agua Fria means "cold water" in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
A post office operated at Agua Fria from 1851 to 1862.
Present status
Agua Fria is a ghost townGhost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
with little to see but grassy meadows. It is accessible via Agua Fria Road to Mount Bullion and the site of Princeton. It's also a nice alternate route into Mariposa. The site today is private property, and is a California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
(#518).