Valley Springs, California

Double Springs, California, is a historical site of the former town in Calaveras County, now in Valley Springs, California. The town was built during the California Gold Rush. Double Springs was founded on February 18, 1850, two years after the start of the California Gold Rush. Double Springs grew so quickly that it was the seat of Calaveras County in 1850. The County seat was a coveted honor and a year later, in 1851, Jackson was able to claim the title, but only for a year. In 1852 by popular vote, Mokelumne Hill was able to become the County seat until 1866 when it move to San Andreas. The Double Springs was in what is called the California Mother Lode mining region. The Double Springs old courthouse was built in 1849, and was moved, its original spot is now rural land. A foundation mark was placed at the site of the old courthouse, installed by the Calaveras Chamber of Commerce. The courthouse is now at the Calaveras County Museum Complex in San Andreas. Double Springs received its name from two springs nearby springs that are between the low hills nearby. Alexander R. Wheat built a large house from squared sandstone in 1860, the house is still there. One of the other remains of Double Springs is a family cemetery. Double Springs site is about 3.6 miles east of Valley Springs and is mostly rural land near Youngs Creek. The site of Double Springs is a California Historical Landmark No. 264.

Campo Seco (Spanish for "Dry Field") is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It sits at an elevation of 564 feet (172 m) above sea level and is located at 38°13′38″N 120°51′12″W. The community is in ZIP code 95226 and area code 209. Founded by Mexicans in 1849, the mining camp was quite cosmopolitan, with forty different nationalities of miners. The town was almost destroyed by a fire in 1854, but as the placers were still producing, much of the town was rebuilt. Most of the buildings that are still standing date from after the fire. The town also contains the largest living cork oak tree in California, which was planted in 1858. The town today is registered as California Historical Landmark #257. The first post office was established in 1854.

New Hogan Dam is an embankment dam on the Calaveras River, a tributary of the San Joaquin River in central California. The dam lies east of Rancho Calaveras and impounds New Hogan Lake in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the 210-foot (64 m)-high dam was completed in 1963. In 1986, the Modesto Irrigation District contracted with the USACE to build a base load hydroelectric plant at the dam with a capacity of 3.15 megawatts. The original Hogan Dam was completed in September 1930 and named for Walter Byron Hogan -- a Stockton, California City Engineer and later City Manager.

New Hogan Lake is an artificial lake in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Calaveras County, California, about 30 miles (48.3 km) northeast of Stockton. It is formed by New Hogan Dam on the Calaveras River, whose North and South forks combine just upstream of the lake, and has a capacity of 317,000 acre⋅ft (391,000,000 m3). The earth-fill dam, completed in 1963, is 210 feet (64.0 m) high from the crest of the dam to the original streambed. The reservoir was first filled in 1965. There is a small hydroelectric plant at its base. It is owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and provides flood protection, drinking water, electricity and water for irrigation. There is also recreation available, such as boating, fishing, water skiing and camping.

Greasertown is a former gold rush settlement in Calaveras County, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of San Andreas, on the west side of the Calaveras River. It was first mentioned in a newspaper in 1851. When it caught fire the next year, "Spanish incendiaries" were blamed which so angered the locals that they drove out all the Hispanics they could find. However, it survived at least until 1868. It was submerged when the first Hogan Dam on the Calaveras River was built in the late 1920s. Greasertown was not renamed Petersburg; they were separate communities a mile apart. Petersburg was founded in 1858.

Burson is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 98 feet (45 m). Although unincorporated, Burson has the ZIP code of 95225.

Pardee Dam is a 345-foot (105 m)-high structure across the Mokelumne River which marks the boundary between Amador and Calaveras Counties, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Stockton.

Rancho Calaveras is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2010 census, up from 4,182 at the 2000 census.

Paloma (Spanish for "dove"; formerly, Fosteria and Frenchman's Ranch) is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1362 feet (415 m) and is located at 38°15′34″N 120°45′48″W. The community is in ZIP code 95252 and area code 209. Gwin Mine, Paloma, and Lower Rich Gulch were mined for placer gold in 1849, and quartz was discovered by J. Alexander in 1851. Property here was acquired by William M. Gwin, California's first U.S. Senator, in 1851. After yielding millions of dollars in gold, the Gwin Mine closed in 1908. The town today is registered as California Historical Landmark #295. The town's post office operated from 1903 to 1918, when the name was Fosteria - from the Foster family, early pioneers.

Jenny Lind is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 253 feet (77 m) and is located at 38°6′N 120°52′W. The community is in ZIP code 95252 and area code 209. Located on the north bank of the Calaveras River, Jenny Lind was a placer mining town as early as 1849. Most of the placer mining was done along the hillsides above the river; later the river was mined with dredgers. In 1864 the population was said to be 400, half of them Chinese. Being on the main road from Stockton, it was also an important freighting center for the area. The town is likely named after the Swedish singer Jenny Lind, although there are several tales about its naming. One story claims it was really named for Dr. John Y. Lind. Another says that the braying of pack mules prompted the miners to use the singer's name in sarcastic humor. Most likely, it was named in the singer's honor, although she never came to California.The town today is registered as California Historical Landmark #266.A post office operated at Jenny Lind from 1857 to 1944 and again from 1947 to 1951.

The Pioneer Cemetery, formerly known as the North Branch Cemetery, is a defunct cemetery established in c. 1851, and located along California State Route 12 in San Andreas, Calaveras County, California. It is the oldest known cemetery in Calaveras County.The site is listed as a California Historical Landmark (number 271), by the California Office of Historic Preservation since September 3, 1937.

Chili Gulch (also spelled Chile Gulch) is a gulch in Calaveras County, California. This five-mile gulch was the richest placer mining section in Calaveras County. It received its name from Chileans who worked it in 1848 and 1849, and was the scene of the so-called Chilean War. The largest known quartz crystals were recovered from a mine on the south side of the gulch. Chili Gulch is registered as California Historical Landmark #265.