Hornitos

Quartzburg's Law and Order Committee ran the Mexican and Californio miners out in 1850, and they walked two miles down Burns Creek and built a town. Hornitos means little ovens. The board credits bake ovens some Germans used; the register credits the graves, stone chambers raised above ground because the ground would not take a spade. Quartzburg then failed, its people moved down, and once they outnumbered the founders the town incorporated. An early ordinance ordered the bodies removed from the vaults.

What the plaque says

Hornitos Started in 1850 by outcast Mexicans from nearby Quartsburg and given the name Hornitos, meaning "little ovens", from the dome like rock and mud bake-ovens being used here by some Germans. The whites soon gained predominance. The population grew to many thousands, and it became one of the richest and toughest of early day mining camps. Here Joaquin Murietta, noted bandit chief had a hide-out and many friends. Wells Fargo and Co. established an office as early as 1852 to handle the millions produced by nearby mines. D. Ghirardelli of chocolate fame started his fortune by merchandising. Here, for over fifty years were enacted the annual religious customs of Old Mexico.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Bear Valley — 8.0 mi
• Agua Fria — 13 mi
• Coulterville — 15 mi
• Mariposa County Courthouse — 15 mi