Markleeville (formerly Markleville) is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Alpine County, California, United States. The population was 191 at the 2020 census, down from 210 at the 2010 census.
History
thumb|left|The general store.
Jacob J. Marklee founded a toll bridge crossing the Carson River in 1861. He aimed to tap into the traffic from the silver mining boom at Silver Mountain City. On June 23, 1862, he recorded a land claim of 160 acres in Douglas County, Nevada. A boundary survey took place, and the property ended up being in California. In 1863, Marklee died after being involved in a gunfight. When the Comstock Lode discovery took place, the town of Markleeville was founded on the Marklee property. Today, the Alpine County Courthouse sits on the former property, which is listed as a California Historical Landmark.
A post office opened in Markleeville in 1863.
Demographics
Markleeville first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|189
|187
|style='background: #ffffe6; |168
|95.94%
|89.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |87.96%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.05%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|3
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|1.52%
|1.90%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|0
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.00%
|0.95%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.57%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|2
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2
|1.02%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.05%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|0
|6
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|0.00%
|2.86%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.66%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|3
|11
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9
|1.52%
|5.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.71%
|-
|Total
|197
|210
|style='background: #ffffe6; |191
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
The 2020 United States census reported that Markleeville had a population of 191. The population density was . The racial makeup of Markleeville was 90.1% White, 1.0% African American, 0.0% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.1% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the population.
There were 96 households, out of which 20.8% included children under the age of 18, 31.3% were married-couple households, 6.3% were cohabiting couple households, 21.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 40.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 52.1% of households were one person, and 33.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.99. There were 42 families (43.8% of all households).
The age distribution was 13.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% aged 18 to 24, 12.0% aged 25 to 44, 37.2% aged 45 to 64, and 29.3% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 57.6years. There were 110 males and 81 females.
There were 184 housing units at an average density of , of which 96 (52.2%) were occupied. Of these, 81.3% were owner-occupied, and 18.8% were occupied by renters.
Arts and culture
Markleeville hosts an annual bicycle ride called the Death Ride - Tour of the California Alps. The route goes over five mountain passes for a total distance of 129 miles and over 15,000 feet of elevation gain. In 2010, 3,500 riders participated and 2,417 completed the full course.
Markleeville hosts the Woollystar Music Festival annually, a three day event featuring folk and country music that began in 2012.