Welcome To Mariposa County, California

This Site is part of California Genealogy: The CAGenWeb Project

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NOTE:  The County Coordinators do not always live in the County  or sometimes even in California and therefore are unable to assist with local research.

Lookups(Use your browsers BACK button to return from these sites)

  • Books We Own: Mariposa County
  • Mariposa County History & Genealogy: Lookup Volunteers
  • RootsWeb Message Board - Mariposa County

    • Queries Archive (1996-2005)
    Queries are no longer being added to this archive. Please post your query to one of resources below. If you wish to remove your email address or query from the archived queries, please contact the Webmaster.

  • CAMARIPO - Rootsweb mailing list for Mariposa County Genealogy
  • RootsWeb Message Board - Mariposa County

    • Vital records
    Birth, and death certificates can be ordered from the Mariposa County Recorder. Marriage certifcates can be ordered from the Mariposa County Clerk Records are also available on microfilm through Family History Centers. Birth and death records start in 1873, but many years are missing. Marriage records go back to 1851. Some records can also be found online:

  • Mariposa County History & Genealogy: Databases
  • Pre-1905 CA Death Index Project: Mariposa County

    • Bibliography
    Mariposa County has a long, rich history. Read more about it!

  • A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Merced, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa, California. 1892.
  • Barrett, Ila Goss. Memories of Coulterville. 1954.
  • Bunnell, Lafayette Houghton. Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 which led to that event. 1911.
  • Mendershausen, Ralph René. Treasures of the South Fork: trails and history along the South Fork of the Merced River at Yosemite's front door. 1983.
  • Pinkerton, Scott. Mariposa County Courthouse: "shrine to justice : a history. 1989.
  • Radanovich, Leroy. Mariposa County. 2005.
  • Shields, Allan E. A Yosemite adventure in 1863: and other tales of early days in Mariposa County. 1992.
  • Snow, Horace C. "Dear Charlie" letters: recording the everyday life of a young 1854 gold miner 1979.
  • Wood, Ramund Francis. California's Agua Fria; the early history of Mariposa County. 1954.

    • Other links

  • Guide to the Ghost Towns of Mariposa County
  • Mariposa County - USGenWeb - Archives
  • The CAGenWeb Project Archives
  • California 1852 Mariposa County State Census
  • California Death Index - Vital Search

    • A brief history of Mariposa County

    Mariposa County was one of the original counties of California, created at time of statehood. It was the largest of the state's original counties, but territory that was once part of Mariposa is now in twelve other counties: Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Mono, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, and Tulare. Thus, Mariposa County is known as the Mother of Counties. Part of the county's territory was given to Tulare County in 1852, to Merced County in 1855, to Fresno County in 1856 and to Mono County in 1861.

    The county took its name from Mariposa Creek. The area was so named by Spanish explorers in 1806 when they discovered great clusters of butterflies ("mariposas" in Spanish) in the foothills of the Sierras. Some say these butterflies were really butterfly lilies.

    This brief history is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mariposa County, California".

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    Since 2 May 2008.

    This Site was Updated 2 May 2008.

    Copyright © 1996-2008. This Web page is sponsored on behalf of the California USGenWeb Project by Supporters. Although believed to be correct as presented, if you note any needed corrections, changes, additions, or find that any links provided on this page are not functioning properly, please contact the Mariposa County Coordinator for prompt attention to the matter. All rights reserved.