Mariposa County : Home of Yose - Index

Mariposa County : Home of Yose - Mariposa County - Home of Yosemite :: Visitor Guide and Business Directory - Index

Started in l854 was a newspaper that eventually became the Mariposa Gazette, oldest of weekly papers publishing in California.
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Mariposa County was formed as the largest county in the new State
of California when admitted as a state in September of l850.
Covering almost 1/5th of the state, Mariposa County eventually
became divided into all or part of eleven counties. A large part of
Mariposa County began as a Mexican Land Grant purchased for
Col. and Mrs. John C. Fremont in l846. When gold was discovered,
Fremont's Grant, located at the southern end of the Mother Lode,
became the destination for many early gold seekers. With the
granting of statehood in 1850, Mariposa County was formed. By
1851, the town of Mariposa became the county seat and by l854,
the handmade courthouse, still in use, was built (see photo at right).
It is now considered the courthouse of longest continuous use west
of the Mississippi River.
Yosemite / Mariposa Tourism Bureau ? www.homeofyosemite.com