Site of First Mining in California

Here, along Arroyo de los Alamitos Creek in 1824, Luís Cabolla and Antonio Suñol first worked New Almaden ore in an arrastra. In constant production since 1845, more than a million flasks of quicksilver valued at over 50 million dollars ...

The Oregon-California Trail

From the early 1840s to 1865 the Oregon-California Trail was the most important route for settlers traveling west. Wagon trains camped at the Iowa, Sac and Fox Mission to take advantage of the spring and the blacksmith. They were followed ...

First Road to Southern California

Here crossed the first road to Southern California opened for wagons by Capt. Cooke, who passed here in command of the Mormon Battalion, Nov. 1846 – later it became the California Emigrant Road – from 1858-1861, the route of the ...

The California - Oregon Trail

1840s & 1850s

Each spring thousands of emigrants camped in these hills and meadows waiting for new grass to support their teams along the trail. Wagons lined St. Joseph streets to the east waiting for two to three days to be ...

California, 31st State

September 9, 1850

1579 • Francis Drake sailed along coast and claimed California for England

1848 • James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill

1849 • The Gold Rush began. California became known as the Golden State. Its gold fields attracted thousands ...

California State Mining and Mineral Museum

The California State Geological Society started collecting mineral specimens in 1865. In 1880, the California State Mining Bureau was founded. This plaque is dedicated to the miners and founders for their foresight. Todays collection displays specimens from all over the ...

The Old Spanish Trail and The California Road

An arduous 1,200-mile route between Santa Fe and Los Angeles, the "Old Spanish Trail" passed through Mountain Meadows during its heyday, between 1830 and 1848. The trail served traders who loaded their pack mules with woolen goods from Santa Fe ...

A Shrine to Justice in California

In honor of the sesquincentennial of the Mariposa County Courthouse and recognition of its continuous use since 1855.

In June 1857 Biddle Boggs vs. Merced Mining Company made legal mining history and the 1861 cases of Moore vs. Smaw and Fremont ...

The Townsite of Agua Fria, California

This mining town became the seat of justice of Mariposa County when on February 18,1850, the State Legislature divided the state into 27 counties. Mariposa County the comprised one-fifth of the entire state and included what are Mariposa, Tulare, Merced, ...

California Volunteers' Memorial

Erected by

the Citizens of San Francisco

in Honor

of the

California Volunteers

Spanish-American War

1898

“First to the Front”

Marker is on Dolores Street near Market Street, in the median.

Courtesy hmdb.org