Welcome!

Welcome, friend, to the Merced County, California CAGenWeb genealogy and history web site. My name is Hereld Stuart, and I am the coordinator for this site. Feel free to search the web site, browse the links above, or post a query to other volunteers and fellow researchers. Also, please help me make this a great resource for those who have roots or an interest in the county of Merced.

If you are interested in becoming a county coordinator for another county in the California CAGenWeb, please e-mail the State Coordinator, Richard S. Wilson.

Brief History

The Miwok and Yokut tribes had claimed the area that is now Merced county for a few centuries, and in the early 1800's they repulsed attacks by the Spanish and by the Mexicans. However, when the California gold rush started in 1848, settlers from the United States (and other countries) began to pour into the area, sending the natives up into the Sierra foothills. The settlers discovered a beautiful valley, watered by several creeks and rivers. While very little gold was found in the Merced county area, stock-raising and farming flourished, especially after the Crocker-Huffman canal system was created. The river town of Snelling was chosen as the county seat when Merced was carved out of Mariposa county and established on April 19, 1855, but when the young city of Merced began to thrive due to the new railroad, the people of Merced county elected to move the county seat there in 1872.

Neighboring Counties

Click on the name of the county to see its web site.

The counties surrounding Merced county are: Mariposa County (northeast) Madera County (east) Fresno County (southeast) San Benito County (southwest) Santa Clara County (west) Stanislaus County (northwest) Tuolumne County (north)

Front Page links

LOCAL

• Merced County Genealogy & History - Alma Stone's great website, a result of her years of helping others with Merced County records, obituaries, and other information.
• Merced Post Cards - 24 postcards scanned by Lorraine Richards, with descriptions.
• Mariposa County Genealogy & Historical Research - Carolyn Feroben has done a great job putting together this site with tons of info for Mariposa County researchers.

REGION & STATE

• California USGenWeb Archives
• California Pioneers Project
• Cyndi's List - California
• California State Officials Biographies

UNITED STATES & BEYOND

• LDS Family Search Genealogy Website
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
• WorldGenWeb Project

You are visitor Number Since 2 May 2008.

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This Site was last updated on 18 Aug 2008.

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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 Merced County Coordinator for prompt attention to the matter. All rights reserved.