Moaning Cavern

Vallecito Bell Monument is a historical bell in Vallecito, California in Calaveras County. The Vallecito Bell was cast in 1853 in the town of Troy, New York. The bell was sailed around the Straits of Magellan of South America to California arriving in 1854. Citizens of Vallecito donated the money to purchase the bell for the city. At first, the bell was hung in a large oak tree and used to gather the town for meetings or emergencies. On February 16, 1939, a storm fell the oak tree. The Vallecito Bell Monument is now at the intersection of Church Street and Cemetery Lane in Vallecito. Vallecito Bell is California Historical Landmark No. 370. Vallecito was named Little Valley by Mexicans of California. The city of Vallecito was a California Gold Rush town, with many miners. The Murphy brothers discovered gold nearby in 1849. The site was called Murphy's old diggings. for a time.The Vallecito Historic District is California Historical Landmark No. 273.

Vallecito (Spanish for "Little Valley") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 442 at the 2010 census, up from 427 at the 2000 census. The town is registered as California Historical Landmark #273. Nearby is Moaning Cavern, the largest cave chamber in California, which the Miwok Indians used as a burial ground.

Twisted Oak Winery is a family-owned boutique winery in Vallecito, California specializing in wine made from grape varieties native to the Mediterranean regions of western Europe. The winery is located on a hilltop at 2280 ft (695 m) above sea level in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and most of the grapes for the wines are sourced from nearby vineyards in Calaveras County. The winery name and logo design are derived from a California Blue Oak tree on the property.

Parrott's Ferry is a historical cable ferry site in Columbia, California in Tuolumne County, California. The site of the Parrott's Ferry is a California Historical Landmark No. 438 listed on June 2, 1949. Parrott's Ferry was built by Thomas H. Parrott in 1860. The Ferry crossed the Stanislaus River connected the mining towns of Tuttletown and Vallecito. A bridge across the river was built in 1903, ending the need for the ferry. The ferry used a large wooden flat bottom boat, a type barge. In some summers the water level was too low for the ferry to operate, so a sandbag dam was built on the river to raise the water level at the ferry. Heavy duty cables were used to pull the ferry across the river. The site is now under water, when New Melones Lake was made with the New Melones Dam filled the New Melones reservoir-lake. A historical is near the former site of Parrott's Ferry at on the Parrott's Ferry Road (E18) and the Columbia-Vallecito Highway Bridge over the Stanislaus Rive, that is 5 miles Northwest of Columbia. The marker was placed there by the California Centennials Commission working with the Aronos Research Club of Sonora on Dedicated October 2, 1949.

The South Fork Stanislaus River is a major tributary of the Stanislaus River in Tuolumne County, California. The river flows for 48.5 miles (78.1 km) through rugged alpine and foothill areas of the Sierra Nevada. The river begins in Hay Meadow in the Emigrant Wilderness of the Stanislaus National Forest. It flows generally southwest, past Pinecrest, Cold Springs and Long Barn, then descends west through a canyon to the New Melones Lake reservoir where it meets the Stanislaus River.There are two dams on the South Fork: Strawberry Dam, which forms Pinecrest Lake, and Lyons Dam, impounding Lyons Reservoir, which provides municipal water supply to the Twain Harte area. Strawberry Dam is part of the Spring-Gap Stanislaus Hydroelectric Project, which uses water from the South Fork and Middle Forks of the Stanislaus River to generate power.

Douglas Flat (formerly, Douglasflat and Douglass Flat) is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1965 feet (599 m) and is located at 38°06′52″N 120°27′18″W. The community is in ZIP code 95229 and area code 209. Douglas Flat was a roaring mining camp of the early 1850s. In 1857 the Harper and Lone Star Claims produced $130,000 worth of gold. The so-called Central Hill Channel, an ancient river deposit from which vast quantities of gold have been taken, is located here. The town today is registered as California Historical Landmark #272.The first post office opened in 1879, and was closed for a time in 1891 before reopening. The town's name honors Tom Douglas, an 1850s merchant.

The Douglas Flat School is a historic school building on California State Route 4 in Douglas Flat, California. The school was built in 1854 to serve miners who settled in Douglas Flat during the California Gold Rush; the school site was the only place in Douglas Flat where mining was not permitted, as the mining rights on the property were reserved for the first teachers. The building was designed in a vernacular Greek Revival style, a popular style during the Gold Rush. The simple design of the school includes a pedimented gable in the front, an architrave set atop plain pilasters, a flat cornice, and a small belfry. The one-room schoolhouse first taught classes in 1856 and operated until 1956. It reopened in 1971 to become a kindergarten and later became a community center.The Douglas Flat School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1973.

Ironstone Vineyards is a winery that is noted for the production of several leading US wine brands, including Obsession Wines, Leaping Horse Vineyards, Christine Andrew, Stone Valley, and Drifting. As of 2004, Ironstone has been listed as the 17th-largest winery (in terms of cases sold) in the United States. Ironstone also sells significant amounts of wine in international markets including the United Kingdom, Canada, and 40 other countries. Ironstone has used a series of different names and bottle designs including "Kautz Ironstone Vineyards," "Ironstone Vineyards," "IronStone," and, most recently, "Ironstone 4th Generation Family Growers".

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).

Murphys, originally Murphys New Diggings then Murphy's Camp, is an unincorporated village located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 2,213 at the 2010 census, up from 2,061 at the 2000 census. A former gold mining settlement, the main street today is lined with over two dozen wine tasting rooms and surrounded by local vineyards. Nearby attractions include Calaveras Big Trees State Park, Bear Valley Ski Resort and historic Mercer Caverns. The world's largest crystalline gold leaf is displayed just south of town at Ironstone Vineyards. The town also hosts an annual Irish Days parade and street fair every March on Main Street, with some years seeing over 35,000 people in attendance.

The site of the Old Mining Camp of Brownsville is a California Historical Landmark on Pennsylvania Gulch Road east of the town of Murphys, California in Calaveras County. The Mining Camp of Brownsville was a California Gold Rush camp in Pennsylvania Gulch in from 1850 to 1870. The camp is named after Alfred Brown, who was the former owner of the Table Mountain Ranch. There were many rich mines in the area and Brownsville Mining Camp supported this activity. So rich was the area, the Brownsville Mining District limited the size of mines in the District. Each miner could claim and own only one wet and one dry site, no larger than 150 square feet (14 m2) each. Brownsville Mining District was in the area of Pennsylvania Gulches and Missouri Gulches 2 miles from Murphys. There are no remains of the camp, but nearby is the Brownsville Mining District Cemetery. A plaque monument was dedicated on July 19, 1953, by California State Park Commission with the monument base built by Christa Parlor No. 137 and Ruby Parlor No. 49 of the Native Daughters of the Golden West.Table Mountain Ranch was 1,300-acre ranch that started a mile east of the city of Murphys and ran to the Stanislaus River. The ranch's was bordered on the west by Coyote Creek. George Brown founded the ranch in the 1850, and supported the gold rush miners. George Brown sold the ranch in 1860 to William. Auditt and George March. In 1882 the ranch was sold to Leo Dolan and again sold in 1889 it was sold to William and Ethel Adams, mining engineer from Boston. After their divorce, William sold the ranch to Ethel's father. Ethel ran the ranch and had a herd of beef cattle, Jersey dairy cows, swine and horses. The ranch also became an orchard with English walnuts, almonds, French prunes, peachas, grapes and apples. Ethel died in 1927 and left the ranch to its foreman, Fred Kenney. Kenney operated the Dairy till 1940. Kenney raised cattle until 1963, in 1963 when Kenney sold the ranch to David Kentfield. Kentfield subdivided some of Ranch. Some Hollywood movies were shot on Table Mountain Ranch including: The County Chairman in 1935 with Will Rogers, The Farmer Takes a Wife in 1935 with Janet Gaynor and Henry Fonda, The Red House in 1947 with Edward G. Robinson, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954. Only raimaning building of the ranch is the Dairy barn on 70-acres, that is now the Indian Rock Vineyards at 38.1300°N 120.4381°W / 38.1300; -120.4381.