La Grange

La Grange lost the county seat by twenty-nine votes. The miners of French Bar moved a mile upstream after the floods of 1851 and 1852, and in December 1855 the county's voters brought the seat here from Empire City; the supervisors bought a two-story frame building for $1,700. In 1861 Knights Ferry beat La Grange, 422 to 393, and the records left. Beside the state bronze, the Clampers set their plaque in a dredge bucket, one of a chain of a hundred that worked the river flats from 1938 to 1949.

What the plaque says

La Grange This area has seen four phases of mining - placer, tunneling, hydraulic, and dredging. This bucket, one of a chain of 100, holds 12 c.f. and is from one of the world's largest dredges. The Tuolumne Gold Dredging Co. started operation of this dredge on June 15, 1938 and continued until 1949 when it was abandoned about 3 miles south of here. Other and smaller dredges operated on the river west of La Grange. Dedicated Oct. 29, 1977 Estanislao Chapter No. 58 E Clampus Vitus La Grange French settlers originally established the community of French Bar along the Tuolumne River in 1850. After the destructive floods of 1851-52, citizens of French Bar relocated one mile up stream above the flood plain. Renamed La Grange, the new town prospered as a mining and agricultural community, and served as the county seat of Stanislaus County from 1856 to 1862. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 414 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Morada Parlor No. 199, Native Daughters of the Golden West October 13, 1984

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Snelling Courthouse — 10 mi
• Jacksonville — 13 mi
• The Willms Ranch — 14 mi
• Wells Fargo Express Company Building — 14 mi