Mokelumne Hill

A claim here was sixteen feet square. That is a patch you could pace out in five steps, and it was the rule because the ground was so rich and so crowded that nothing larger could be held. Corral Flat alone gave up more than thirty million dollars. The bronze also records what the register leaves out: a newspaper from 1850, three fires, grizzly bears baited against bulls for entertainment, and thirteen years as the county seat before San Andreas took it.

What the plaque says

MOKELUMNE HILL MOKELUMNE IS AN INDIAN WORD FIRST APPLIED TO THE NEARBY RIVER. EARLIEST SETTLEMENT AT HAPPY VALLEY BY FRENCH TRAPPERS. GOLD DISCOVERED BY DISCHARGED MEMBERS OF STEVENSON'S REGIMENT IN 1848. CENTER OF RICHEST PLACER MINING SECTION OF CALAVERAS COUNTY AND ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL MINING TOWNS OF CALIFORNIA. CORRAL FLAT PRODUCED OVER THIRTY MILLIONS IN GOLD. SIXTEEN FEET SQUARE CONSTITUTED A CLAIM. SO-CALLED FRENCH WAR FOR POSSESSION OF GOLD MINES OCCURRED IN 1851. "CALAVERAS CHRONICLE" ESTABLISHED IN 1850. FIGHTS BETWEEN GRIZZLY BEAR AND BULLS AMUSED EARLY RESIDENTS. AT ONE TIME HEADQUARTERS OF JOAQUIN MURIETTA. TOWN DESTROYED BY FIRES IN 1854, 1864 AND 1874. COUNTY SEAT OF CALAVERAS COUNTY FROM 1853 TO 1866. ERECTED BY CALAVERAS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. DEDICATED BY NATIVE DAUGHTERS OF THE GOLDEN WEST. JUNE 1937

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 24 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• I.O.O.F. Hall, Mokelumne Hill — steps away
• Calaveras County Courthouse and Leger Hotel — steps away
• Congregational Church — steps away
• Big Bar — 1.0 mi