Amador County, California

Amador County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson. Amador County, located within California's Gold Country, is known as "The Heart of the Mother Lode." There is a substantial viticulture industry in the county.

History

thumb|left|upright|Amador County is named after [[José María Amador, a Californio miner who found gold in the area in 1848.]]

thumb|left|Dr. [[Charles Boarman (pioneer)|Charles Boarman (1828–1880), son of Rear Admiral Charles Boarman, and his family settled in the area. He served as the first county physician and coroner from 1863 to 1880.|upright]]

thumb|The former Amador County Courthouse consists of two buildings: the second courthouse (built 1864) and the Hall of Records (1893), that were enclosed and combined in 1939 with an [[Art Deco exterior.]]

thumb|High-grade Gold-quartz ore from Amador County

Amador County was created by the California Legislature on May 11, 1854, from parts of Calaveras and El Dorado counties. It was organized on July 3, 1854. the son of Sergeant Pedro Amador (a Spanish soldier who settled in California in 1771) and younger brother to Sinforosa Amador.

In 1848, Jose Maria Amador, with several Native Americans, established a successful gold mining camp near the present town of Amador City. In Spanish, the word amador means "one who loves". Some of the Mother Lode's most successful gold mines were located in Amador County, including the Kennedy, Argonaut, and Keystone.

During the outbreak of Civil War the county organized Company C, 1st California Infantry and Company D, 4th California Infantry. Not everyone supported the Union; in April 1862 when the stars and stripes flew from a house a local judge cursed at it.<gallery>

File:Company C, 1st California Infantry flag.jpg|Company C, "Amador Volunteers"

</gallery>There are numerous gold mines in Amador County including the Argonaut Mine, the Kennedy Mine, the Central Eureka, and the Lincoln. The Kennedy Mine in Jackson was the deepest gold mine of its time. The federal government closed all of the Mother Lode's mines in 1942 because they were considered non-essential to the war effort.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in California by land area and second-smallest by total area. Water bodies in the county include Lake Amador, Lake Camanche, Pardee Reservoir, Bear River Reservoir, Silver Lake, Sutter Creek, Cosumnes River, Mokelumne River, and Lake Tabeaud. Thirty-seven miles of the North Fork and main Mokelumne River were added to the California Wild and Scenic Rivers System on June 27, 2018, when Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown signed Senate Bill 854.

Amador County is located approximately southeast of Sacramento in the part of California known as the Mother Lode, or Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada.

Amador County ranges in elevation from approximately in the western portion of the county to over in the eastern portion of the county, the tallest point being Thunder Mountain. The county is bordered on the north by the Cosumnes River and El Dorado County and on the south by the Mokelumne River and Calaveras County, on the west by Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties, and the east by Alpine County.

Adjacent counties

El Dorado County – north
Alpine County – east
Calaveras County – south
San Joaquin County – southwest
Sacramento County – west

National protected area

Eldorado National Forest (part)
Mokelumne Wilderness (part)

Demographics

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

! colspan="3" | Population and crime rates

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Population

| 107 || 2.80

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" |  Homicide

| 459 || 12.00

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" |  Motor vehicle theft

!scope="col" data-sort-type="number"| Violent crimes

Due to the low population of the area, there are few schools with small class sizes. In total for public schools, there are two high schools, two junior high schools, and six elementary schools. These numbers are in addition to two independent study schools, one charter school, and one continuing education school for adults. There are no colleges or universities within the county's borders.

Transportation

Major highways

20px|link=|alt= State Route 16
20px|link=|alt= State Route 26
20px|link=|alt= State Route 49
20px|link=|alt= State Route 88
25px|link=|alt= State Route 104
25px|link=|alt= State Route 124

Public transportation

Amador Transit provides service in Jackson and nearby communities. Connections to Calaveras County and a daily commuter bus to/from Sacramento leave from the Sutter Hill Transit Center in Sutter Creek.

Airport

Amador County Airport is a general aviation airport located near Jackson.

Communities

Cities

Amador City
Ione
Jackson (county seat)
Plymouth
Sutter Creek

Unincorporated communities

Amador Pines
Buckhorn
Buena Vista
Camanche North Shore
Camanche Village
Carbondale
Clinton
Drytown
Enterprise
Fiddletown
Kirkwood
Lockwood
Martell
New Chicago
Pine Acres
Pine Grove
Pioneer
Red Corral
River Pines
Roaring Camp
Sutter Hill
Volcano

In popular culture

"The Luck of Roaring Camp" is a short story by American author Bret Harte. It was first published in the August 1868 issue of the Overland Monthly and helped push Harte to international prominence. Harte lived in this area during his "Gold Rush" period, and possibly based the story in a mining camp on the Mokelumne River.

The Gold Rush rock music festival took place at Lake Amador on October 4, 1969. Performers included Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, Bo Diddley, Albert Collins, and Taj Mahal.

Notes

References

External links