Tuolumne County Revisited by Zina Abbott

Sorry, dear readers, but I have worked all month trying to get caught up after being out with knee replacement surgery. As a last-ditch effort to get a blog post out while it is still August, I am sharing a post originally published on the Sweethearts of the West blog. With my next publication set in Tuolumne County, my hope is readers will find the review helpful.

On February 18, 1850, Tuolumne County was established by the California Legislature as one of the original twenty-seven counties. It was given its name and divided into the six townships of Sonora, Mormon Camp, Jacksonville, Don Pedro’s Bar and Tuolumne City. It had it white American roots in the gold rush.

 

1852 Columbia, California

The name Tuolumne is of Me-Wuk, or Mi Wuk, (the predominant Native American tribe in the region) origin. It has been given different meanings, such as "Many Stone Houses," "The Land of Mountain Lions." and "Straight Up Steep," the later an interpretation of William Fuller, a native Indian Chief. Vallejo, in his report to the first Legislature, said that the word is “a corruption of the Indian word talmalamne which signifies “cluster of stone wigwams.” The name may mean “people who dwell in stone houses,” i.e., in caves.

This is interesting, since the Mi Wuk tended to live in cedar bark shelters.

1851 California mining map showing counties

Originally, when the state was organized in 1850, Tuolumne County was far larger than it is now.  It extended from the summit of the Coast Range on the west. It was south of San Joaquin County and extended eastward to the summit of the Sierra Nevada Range. It included all of what is now Tuolumne County, Stanislaus County, and parts of other counties.

At the first California Legislature meeting in 1848-1849, what became known as the town of Sonora, which had been named after the Mexican state of Sonora, became the county seat of Tuolumne County. At first, due to the large number of gold miners from Sonora, Mexico, who had come to work the region, it was known as Sonora Camp.  When Malcolm M. Stewart, who represented the San Joaquin district in the Assembly, went to that first meeting, he called the town “Stewart, formerly known as Sonorian Camp.”  The name was changed back to Sonora by petition and an amendment approved by the State Senate on April 18, 1850.  By May 1851, the city of Sonora was incorporated.

On July 7, 1852, the first meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Tuolumne County was held.

 

In June, 1854, Stanislaus County broke off from Tuolumne County, and that county held its first elections. Tuolumne became much smaller in territory.

There is a Tuolumne City in Tuolumne County. However, Tuolumne City has never been the county seat.

The above is a 1935 map of Tuolumne County. At the time most of my stories take place, neither Stanislaus Forest nor Yosemite National Park existed. However, the phyical features shown on the map were there. From its early days, this county became known for its gold production, timber and lumber, and agricultural production.

Bret Hart Cabin and Hanging Tree in Big Oak Flat

The following is a list of early cities, towns, and communities in Tuolumne County. The names that are bolded are the ones in which I have set some of my books. Big Oak Flat, Chinese Camp, Columbia, Groveland, Jamestown, Long Barn, Mi Wuk Village, Moccasin, Pinecrest, Sonora, Soulsbyville, Standard, Strawberry, Twain Harte, and now, Tuolumne (Tuolumne City) formerly known as Summersville and Carters.

 

Wyatt, the hero in my next book, Wyatt’s New Bride, came from a logging background in Maine to join the California gold rush. Not long after he arrived, the easy placer gold was mostly gone. Choosing to not work underground as a hard rock miner, he returned to his former occupation of lumberjack, working in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Tuolumne County.

To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICKHERE

 

 

 

Sources:

https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1945&context=uop_etds

The Early History of Tuolumne County California.pdf

https://archive.org/details/historyoftuolumn00lang/mode/2up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuolumne_County,_California

https://www.tchistory.org/TCHISTORY/TCTimelines_1851_1900.htm

https://tchistory.org/california-statehood-establishment-of-tuolumne-county/

https://geographic.org/streetview/usa/ca/tuolumne/index.html

https://www.counties.org/county-profile/tuolumne-county