Angels Camp, California

The Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, was the hotel where the author Mark Twain heard a story that he would later turn into his short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".The hotel was originally a canvas tent erected by C. C. Lake in 1851, and replaced by a one-story wooden structure. It was rebuilt with stone in 1855, and a second story was added in 1857.In front of the building is the "Frog Hop of Fame", where commemorative plaques are embedded in the sidewalk for the winners of the annual Jumping Frog Jubilee frog jumping contest.The building, no longer operated as a hotel, is registered as California Historical Landmark #734. It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is currently an apartment complex.

The Calaveras County Bank is a historic bank building located at 1239 Main St. in Angels Camp, California. The two-story Classical Revival building was built in 1900 and designed by architects E. Depierre and Perseo Righetti of San Francisco. The bank's design features an iron boxed cornice with brackets on each end and stone pilasters on both sides. The second floor has three double-hung sash windows, while the first floor has a picture window flanked by two entrances; all three first floor openings are topped with rounded arches. The interior trim of the bank used a variety of different woods, a rarity in contemporary buildings in the area. The bank was the first to be incorporated in Calaveras County, and the building was the first in the county designed specifically to house a bank; until the 1920s, it was also the only bank operating in the county. In 1930, the Calaveras County Bank merged with the Bank of Italy and moved to a new building. The old bank building housed a meat market from 1937 to 1980 and later held a branch of the Central Sierra Bank.The Calaveras County Bank was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1985.

The Sam Choy Brick Store, Angels Camp, California, is the only building remaining from a large Chinese settlement during the California gold rush. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. After it served as a general store, its owner sold it to Angels Camp for use as a jail. The Sam Choy Brick Store is still owned by the city of Angels Camp.

The Utica Mansion is a historic house located at 1103 Bush St. in Angels Camp, California. Built in 1882, the house was originally a two-story stone building designed in the Federal style. Robert Leeper, then owner of the Utica Mine, built the house next to the Utica Mill. Leeper sold the mine to C. D. Lane in 1884; he sold the house to Lane four years later. Lane and two other investors began to buy up mining claims in Angels Camp, and their enterprise soon became profitable. With his investment earnings, Lane began to expand the Utica Mansion. Lane added a two-story addition to the west and north sides of the house and a veranda on the other two sides. He also improved the interior furnishings by adding new wallpaper and fireplaces with English tiles, repainting the woodwork, adding gold moldings to hanging pictures, and installing Axminster carpets. Lane lived in the house until 1895, when he left to pursue an investment in Alaskan mining.The Utica Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 1984.

Bret Harte Union High School is a public high school serving Angels Camp, California, the only incorporated city in Calaveras County, California. The school was established in 1905 and is named after American poet Bret Harte. The school's official address is 321 South Main, P.O. Box 7000, Angels Camp, CA, 95221. Some directories indicate that the school is located in the unincorporated community of Altaville, California, at 364 Murphys Grade Road, Altaville, CA, 95221,

Prince-Garibaldi Building is a historical building in Altaville, California in Calaveras County. Altaville, California is just north of the town of Angels Camp. The building was built by B. R. Prince and G. Garibardi in 1852 as a general store on the first floor. The building is built built by David Strosberger out of rhyolite tuff stones designed. In 1857 a second floor was added and used for the store owner's living space. For a time the building was the Prince Undertaking Parlor with a plumed horse hearse. The Prince-Garibaldi Building is a California Historical Landmark No. 735 of California State Route 49.Bartholomew Romaggi Prince, B. R. Prince, Bartolo Prince, was born on March 7, 1829, in Romaggi, Liguria, Italy. He came to California in 1852. He married Mary Ann Hanratty (1839-1890) born in Northern Ireland died in Altaville. Prince and Garabardi opened the goods store in Altaville. Later he opened a quartz mine looking for gold in the California Gold Rush. Prince opened and ran the Altaville Hotel (on Murphys Road), livery stable (Prince's Livery and Feed on Angels Camp Rd. and San Andreas Rd., now the site of Altaville Aquatic Center), the Murphys Toll Road (now Grade Road), and undertaking parlor. For a time he ran a silkworm firm, the silk he sold to Italy. His silk won prizes at the local Calaveras County Fair. Prince owned most of the town's commercial firm for 47 years. When he retired he moved to Stockton, California, he died June 7, 1905, at age 76. Edward R. Prince, Frank R. Prince, Tessie R. [Prince] Favinger, Mary L. Buhrer, Lawrence G. Preston [AKA Goldstone], Bartolo and Mary Prince children and inlaws were: Frank Romaggi Prince (1861–1907), Dante Prince (1864–1911), Mary Romaggi Prince Fischer (1866–1920), Domingo Romaggi Prince (1868–1890), Joseph Romaggi Prince (1873–1923), Theresa Romaggi Prince Favinger (1873–1962) and Edward Romaggi Prince (1875–1945).

The Altaville Grammar School in Altaville, California is one of the oldest grammar schools in California. It was built in 1858 of brick in the Greek Revival style and remained in use until 1950, when it was replaced by the Mark Twain Elementary School in Altaville. After its abandonment, it fell into disrepair, but was restored in 1989 by the Calaveras County Historical Society. The building serves now as an example of a typical schoolroom of the 19th century. The schoolhouse is registered as California Historical Landmark #499 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NPS-1979000471).

Altaville (Alta, Spanish for "Upper" and Ville, French for "town") is a former unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California, now located in the northwest portion of the city of Angels Camp. It sits at an elevation of 1,542 feet (470 m) above sea level and is located at 38°05′02″N 120°33′43″W, at the intersections of SR 49 and SR 4. The community is in ZIP code 95221 and area code 209. The town was established in 1852 on Cherokee Creek and was known variously as Cherokee Flat, Forks-of-the Road, Low Divide, and Winterton over its history. Notorious bandit Joaquin Murrieta supposedly spent so much time here that a mountain northwest of the creek was named Joaquin Mountain. Although gold was discovered here in 1854, it didn't last long, but the town survived due to its position as an important point for supplies and machinery. D.D. Demerest established a foundry here in 1854, and others soon followed. Most of the stamp mills and a large part of the mining machinery erected in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties were built at the Altaville Foundry. A brick schoolhouse was built at Altaville in 1858 and the townsite was established in 1873. A post office was established in 1904, closed in 1943, and re-established in 1944.Altaville was also the site of an archaeological hoax, the Calaveras Skull. The town today is registered as California Historical Landmark #288.

Carson Hill (also, Carson Flat and Melones and Slumgullion) is a ghost town in Calaveras County, California. It sits at an elevation of 1447 feet (441 m) above sea level and is located at 38°01′42″N 120°30′24″W, about 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southeast of Angels Camp. It was one of the most productive mining camps in the state, with nearly $26 million in gold and quartz found in the area. Carson Hill is registered as California Historical Landmark #274. The town was served by the Sierra Railway's branchline to Angels Camp until 1935.Unlike most of the places with "Carson" in their names in the American West, Carson Hill is not named after explorer Kit Carson, but instead it is named for Sgt. James H. Carson, a member of Colonel Jonathan D. Stevenson's Regiment of First New York Volunteers. He happened to be in Monterey when the California Gold Rush started. Carson first made his way to Weber Creek near Placerville and then moved south with the Angel and Murphy brothers (founders of Angels Camp and Murphys, respectively). After splitting up at what is now Angels Camp, Carson's group headed south and panned at a small tributary of the Stanislaus River, which they found incredibly rich in gold. They named this portion Carson Creek. Carson himself decided to move on to other locations, but was unsuccessful. He returned to Carson Creek, but never really cashed in on the success. He died in 1853 of rheumatism, near poverty. The Morgan Mine was one of the richest mines in the area, so much so that the miners didn't even have to dig. They would simply blow up a vein and collect the pieces. The mine was also where one of the largest nuggets in the state was discovered, a 195-pound troy block of gold that was worth $43,000 at the time. One of the Gold Country's more colorful stories is reported to have occurred here (although several other camps lay claim to a similar tale) during the early days of the rush. The tale goes that a man who had lost his life in a mining accident was being buried in the local cemetery. As the services were being held, one of the mourners noticed something glittering in the newly turned earth of the open grave. The ceremony was forgotten as everyone, the minister included, quickly located a claim. The town's former name was transferred to another place several miles away, Melones, California. The name Carson Hill was also used by the post office in the nearby town of Irvine.

Archie Stevenot (September 25, 1882 – August 1, 1968) was a prominent citizen in Calaveras County, California and Supreme Noble Grand Humbug of E Clampus Vitus. Born in Carson Hill, Stevenot helped found the California Chamber of Commerce and his family established the borax industry in the state. He also established the Mother Lode Highway Association in 1919 which was primarily responsible for the creation of State Route 49. As a result, the bridge across the Stanislaus River between Tuolumne and Calaveras counties on SR 49 is named the Archie Stevenot Bridge in his honor, and his birthplace has been declared a California Historical Landmark No. 769 (also found on SR 49).