Mariposa Co., CA
AKA
Biddle’s Camp, Biddleville,
Campo del Oso,
Haydensville, Johnsonville, Simpsonville
(CHL #331)
Elevation
about 2100’
This major gold mining town located at the
junction of SH 49/CR J-16, 12 miles northwest of Mariposa grew to a population
of about 3000-5000 people. Some of the
folks included miners from
The first gold
was found about 1850 by Mexican miners who were consequently driven out. By 1851 the population had reached several
thousand. The placers were exhausted by
1852, and it was the hard-rock lode mines that kept the town alive.
The town was first named Haydensville,
after pioneer miners Charles, David and Willard HAYDEN, who owned and operated
the Great Johnson Vein in 1850. When the
first post office was operated between 1851 and 1852 it was also called Haydensville.
In 1852 the name changed to Biddle’s Camp or Biddlesville (after William C. BIDDLE).
In 1855 a 10-stamp mill operated in town.
In 1856 the town
was surveyed, subdivided and renamed Johnsonville.
During the 1850s it was also unofficially known as
Simpsonville, after Robert SIMPSON,
who with his partner Robert W. HAMMATH operated a general store in the growing
camp. When the post office was re-established on Jun 21, 1858, the name of the
town was changed again, this time to
(
In the early days, most of the buildings were
built of whatever construction materials that were at hand, such as adobe,
brush, and canvas. As lumber became available, wooden structures were erected.
There were saloons, stores, and even a Temperance Hall built of adobe.
This was also the heart of Colonel John C. FREMONT’s
Las Mariposas Land Grant “empire,” a 44,000 acre Spanish Land Grant rancho that
he purchased for $3,000 in 1847. From
1858-1861 he made this the headquarters for his vast mining enterprises,
and in 1859 operated a 8-stamp mill to process ore from his mines. He obtained a general store, converting it
into a company-owned general store called the Fremont Co. Store. He also purchased the large wooden hotel
known as the Oso House.
The Oso House had originally been built in 1850, and
was a large, two-story wooden structure with wide wrap-around balconies.
At its peak Bear Valley had a large number
of businesses including: a thriving
Chinese section, blacksmiths, the
aforementioned Oso House Hotel,
International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge (built in
1852), livery stable, “public houses”,
saloons (including the Bon Ton) and general stores (including the
c1851 Fremont Co. Store, 1850 Bear Valley General Store, and 1857
SIMPSON & TRABUCCO
Store – PHOTO!).
There was also NEWMAN’s
BUTCHER SHOP which was operated by Mr. NEWMAN, who married Margaret BIGLER, Joseph’s widow. It is long gone.
The OSO HOUSE was spared by the
great fire of 1888. However, it succumbed
to fire in 1937, at which time it was owned by Ed TRUE, the grandson of M. E. RICE. Nothing remains.
A school, and a
In 1949, the
In
1888, a major fire destroyed many buildings.
From an unidentified 1888 newspaper clipping.
Contributed
via e-mail from William Disbro (Apr 10, 2000)
(Surnames/building
names highlighted by me)
“Last Sunday about 8 o'clock A.M., a fire broke out in the building
formerly known as the Company Store, and now occupied by the Superintendent, Mr. James CROSS, as a residence. So sudden was the appearance of the fire, that it was impossible to ascertain the cause but it
was evident there was some defect in the flue in the upper story where the pipe
of the kitchen stove made its connection. When first discovered, it was so far
advanced that it was at once decided that all efforts to extinguish the fire
would be futile, and would be a loss of time in saving furniture and contents
of the endangered buildings. As stated by Mr. CROSS, every conceivable precaution had been used against the fire. The
flames commenced their work in the loft in the back part of the building, which
gave a favorable opportunity to carry out everything that could be saved, to
the front stairs, the principle ingress and egress to the building. As soon as
the alarm was given, a force of men was on the spot, and fortunately, a greater
part of the furniture was saved. With other things of value, was a fine new
piano weighing 1,100 pounds, which was picked up by the men and carried down
the winding stairs to the street without receiving a scratch of any importance.
The next building was the saloon and property formerly owned by Henry
PEARD, which only three days previous had been sold to John
TRABUCCO
for $2000. The building was across a street 60 wide,
between it and the Company store. The fire, despite all efforts soon crossed to the saloon premises
where with it and some other wood structures, it found ample food to make a big
blaze, severely threatening the Oso
Hotel owned by Mrs. M. E.
RICE, across the Main street about 80 feet wide. Fortunately the wind
was light, otherwise the Oso
Hotel would have been hard to save. As
it was, the fire swept along down the street consuming a lot of old wooden
houses till it reached the Odd Fellows Hall, a two story building occupied by John
THOMPSON, as a saloon, all of which, with the exception of a portion of the
Odd Fellows regalia and a part of the saloon fixtures and liquors, was
destroyed. The saloon just purchased by John TRABUCCO
was insured for $1,500. The billiards table and some
bar fixtures and liquors were saved. We understand that the billiard table
received a broken leg. The large stone building occupied by Mr. CROSS, was newly fitted up and repaired from top to bottom, about a year
ago at considerable expense. The loss to the Company will probably be $10,000, and loss in furniture to Mr. CROSS not less than $1,000 and may be more.
The saloon buildings were old, loss about $2,000. The Odd
Fellows' building was in good repair, which
together with their neatly furnished hall, is a loss
to the order of fully $3,000.”
Some of the remaining buildings
include:
The BON TON SALOON was
originally established and operated by Joseph BIGLER. After he died, his wife operated a bakery in
it until she married and sold to John TRABUCCO. He operated the saloon, and relocated the
Wells Fargo, and Company Express Office from the Oso
House to his saloon. It burned
in the fire of 1888, but was rebuilt. It
closed in 1900 when the TRABUCCOs moved to Mt.
Bullion. For a short time in
1929-1930 the old saloon was used as a cookhouse and dining room, but in 1930
it was damaged by fire. The next year
the building was fixed and the Pacific Mining Company used it as an
office. From 1933-1942 it was used as a
miners’ boarding house, but when the mines closed the building fell into disuse
and disrepair. In 1960, the building
again reopened as a café and museum. The
Bon Ton Café was owned and operated by Mrs. Harold TRABUCCO and her daughter
Barbara
The roofless, schist rock-walled jail (PHOTO!)
is still standing up near the school house,
which also remains.
Other
remains include some crumbling walls on the east side of the street (PHOTO!).
Mrs.
TRABUCCO’s
Store (PHOTO!). In January 2007, the old Trabucco Store
was for sale for $998,000.
…SEE
Schools
for a listing of the various schools in Mariposa County.
The
historical marker is located at milepost 29.2 in town.
·
Latitude:
37.5688237 / 37° 34’ 08” N
·
Longitude:
-120.1193489 / 120° 07’ 10” W
SOURCES: #1, 2, 6, 7, 11,
13, 14, WPA
Return
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Detailed
information on individual locations:
AGUA FRIA | BAGBY | BEAR
VALLEY |
COULTERVILLE | HORNITOS | MARIPOSA | MOUNT BULLION
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First
Posted: December 10, 2001
Last
Updated: January 21, 2007