Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California

In 1863, the Mariposa Mining Company of New York was established to organize mining operations on the 70 square miles of John C. Fremont's Mariposa estate in Mariposa County, California. The estate encompassed Bear Valley and was encircled by Mount Bullion on the east and the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada on the west. The Merced River ran along the northern line of the property. The Mariposa Mining Company operated, with some difficulty and constant litigation over title to the estate, until 1874, when it was bought out by the newly formed Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California, which assumed complete ownership of the Mariposa estate. This new company owned and managed all facets of life on the estate, including the mines, water power, quartz mills, mill dams, engines, ore houses, dwellings, and stores. The principal mines on the estate were the Princeton, Josephine, Pine Tree, Linda, Green Gulch, Mariposa, and Mount Orphir mines. Ore was treated at the Orphir Mills, located on the Merced River and powered by means of the Benton Dam (and, after 1900, by the Benton Mills hydroelectric power plant).

From the description of Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California records, 1863-1923. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 26754892

Administrative History

In 1863, the Mariposa Mining Company of New York was established to organize mining operations on the 70 square miles of John C. Fremont's Las Mariposas Estate in Mariposa County, California. The estate encompassed Bear Valley and was encircled by Mount Bullion on the east and the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada on the west. The Merced River ran along the northern line of the property. The Mariposa Mining Company operated, with some difficulty and constant litigation over title to the estate, until 1874, when it was bought out by the newly formed Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California, which assumed complete ownership of the Mariposa Estate. This new company owned and managed all facets of life on the estate, including the mines, water power, quartz mills, mill dams, engines, ore houses, dwellings, and stores. The principal mines on the estate were the Princeton, Josephine, Pine Tree, Linda, Green Gulch, Mariposa, and Mount Orphir mines. Ore was treated at the Orphir Mills, located on the Merced River and powered by means of the Benton Dam (and, after 1900, by the Benton Mills hydroelectric power plant).

From the guide to the Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California records, 1863-1924, (The Bancroft Library.)