Merced Falls | |
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  Merced Falls Location in California Show map of California Merced Falls Merced Falls (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:37°31′23″N120°19′57″W / 37.52306°N 120.33250°W /37.52306; -120.33250 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Merced County |
| Elevation | 348 ft (106 m) |
Merced Falls (Merced,Spanish for "Mercy") is anunincorporated community inMerced County,California.[1] It is located on the north bank of theMerced River 6 miles (9.7 km) east ofSnelling,[2] at an elevation of 348 feet (106 m).[1]Merced Falls was named for a set ofrapids on the Merced River.
A post office operated at Merced Falls from 1856 to 1957.[2] The town was founded here because in the California Gold Rush, the three main crossings of the Merced River on theStockton - Los Angeles Road were located within 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream of the rapids of Merced Falls. Closest to the falls wasPhillips' Ferry, thenBelts Ferry (later Murray's Ferry and Murray's Bridge and near what later became Merced Falls), and then Young's Ferry.[2] Murray's Bridge was washed away in theGreat Flood of 1862 but was later rebuilt.[3]
The rapids of Merced Falls was used in the 1890s to power severalwatermills located in the town. A pair ofsawmills in Merced Falls cut wood for theYosemite and Sugar Pine Lumber Company, which shipped lumber down from theSierra Nevada on theYosemite Valley Railroad. The city continued to function well into the 1920s as a hub for tourists travelling intoYosemite Valley via the railroad. With the construction of theCentral Pacific Railroad north-south across the Central Valley, many towns including Merced Falls that were not on the railroad fell into disrepair. The rapids themselves were inundated by McSwain Dam, built across the Merced River in the 1960s. Merced Falls is now surrounded byirrigated farmland, and the community itself is almost abandoned.
Municipalities and communities ofMerced County, California,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||