Adventure 051, Site 124 – San Andreas

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 051, Site 124 – San Andreas

California Landmark Number: 252

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 27, 2012

Location:

Latitude: 38° 11.769′ N

Longitude: 120° 40.855′ W

Address: NW corner of State Hwy 49 and Main St, San Andreas

Description:

We were coming southbound on Highway 49 when we saw the San Andreas marker. We stopped and it took Thing Two a while to cross the busy Highway 49 to get to the other side of the highway for a five second picture. The fake windows on the building behind the landmark depict what you could see if you could look through them onto the hills behind the building.

NO. 252 SAN ANDREAS - Settled by Mexicans in 1848 and named after the Catholic parish St. Andres, the town has been a noted mining camp since early days. Gold from the surrounding ancient river channels and placer mines contributed greatly to the success of the Union during the Civil War. The first newspaper was published here on September 24, 1846. Destroyed by fire June 4, 1858, and in 1863, San Andreas became the seat of Calaveras County in 1866. It was said to be a rendezvous for Joaquin Murieta - notorious stage robber Black Bart was tried here and sent to prison.
Location:  NW corner of State Hwy 49 and Main St, San Andreas



From HMDB:
San Andreas was settled by Mexican Gold Miners in 1848. By 1850 over 1000 tents dotted the hillsides. The first church, built in 1852 was a canvas structure with a simple cross over the door designating it a church of the Roman Catholic faith. It was named for St. Andrew (San Andreas) and the name of the town was taken from this church.
In August 1852 the large San Andreas Nugget was found in a claim just north of where the town is located and sold to the Wells Fargo company for $12,000. In 1859 over $500,000 in gold dust was shipped. The channels were producing gold, although lack of water hampered the efforts of the miners until the miner's ditches were completed.
Two infamous names from the Gold Rush often tied to San Andreas, are Black Bart and Joaquin Murieta. Handsome and debonair, Black Bart was a gentleman bandit who never harmed drivers or passengers and left bits of original verse behind signed "P08". Black Bart held up the Milton-Sonora stage at Funk Hill on November 3, 1883, leaving several articles behind in his hurried flight. One of which was a handkerchief with a laundry mark traced back to a San Francisco Laundry where the mark was identified as belonging to C.E. Bolton one of the city's leading citizens. He was arrested and brought back to San Andreas where he confessed to the robbery. His trial was held in the court room in San Andreas and he was sentenced to six years in San Quentin Prison. The jail where he was held still stands and is a part of the Calaveras County Historical Museum Complex.
In 1866, the County Seat was moved to San Andreas from Mokelumne Hill and in 1869, a county hospital was moved to the Gold Hill house.
Source: Calaveras County Visitors Bureau



References:

• Wikipedia
  
• Noehill
  
• Historical Marker Database (HMDB.org)
  
• Waymarking
  

Overall Landmark References:

• David Schmitt's California State Historical Landmark (Schmitt)
  
• Wikipedia: California's National Landmarks (WCNL)
  
• State of California's California Historical Landmarks (CHL)
  
• Wikipedia: California State Landmarks (WCSL)
  
• State of California Historical Resources (CHR)
  
• Noehill (NOE)
  
• Historical Marker Database (HMDB)
  
• WayMarking (WAY)