Mariposa

Mariposa is a settlement in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California and also serves as the administrative center of Mariposa County. The town sits at about 594 meters (1,949 feet) above sea level among oak woodlands and pines and stretches along the main road through gently rolling terrain.

The settlement emerged during the California Gold Rush as a mining camp and was designated the county seat in 1851. The courthouse built in 1854 still fulfills its original purpose today and is considered the oldest continuously operating courthouse west of the Rocky Mountains.

The museum displays tools and photographs from the Gold Rush era and keeps alive memories of the first settlers in the region. Visitors can follow how miners lived and worked back then and what role gold played for this town.

Route 140 runs through the town and connects it with Yosemite National Park further east. Accommodations and restaurants sit along the main road and are easy to reach on foot or by car.

The courthouse has never stopped working since its completion and kept its wooden interior from the mid nineteenth century. Visitors can see the simple courtroom and imagine how cases from the mining era were heard here.