Amador County is named afterJosé María Amador, aCalifornio miner who found gold in the area in 1848.Dr.Charles Boarman (1828–1880), son of Rear AdmiralCharles Boarman, and his family settled in the area. He served as the first county physician and coroner from 1863 to 1880.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 anArt Deco exterior.[7]High-grade Gold-quartz ore from Amador County
Amador County was created by the California Legislature on May 11, 1854, from parts ofCalaveras andEl Dorado counties.[8] It was organized on July 3, 1854.[8] In 1864, part of the county's territory was given toAlpine County.
The county is named forJosé María Amador, a soldier, rancher, and miner, born inSan Francisco in 1794,[9] the son of SergeantPedro Amador (aSpanish soldier who settled in California in 1771) and younger brother to Sinforosa Amador.
In 1848, Jose Maria Amador, with severalNative Americans, established a successfulgold mining camp near the present town of Amador City. InSpanish, the wordamador 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 ofCivil War the county organized Company C,1st California Infantry and Company D,4th California Infantry.[10] Not everyone supported the Union; in April 1862 when the stars and stripes flew from a house a local judge cursed at it.[11]
There are numerous gold mines in Amador County including theArgonaut Mine, theKennedy 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.[citation needed]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 606 square miles (1,570 km2), of which 595 square miles (1,540 km2) is land and 11.4 square miles (30 km2) (1.9%) is water.[13] It is the fifth-smallest county in California by land area and second-smallest by total area. Water bodies in the county includeLake 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 45 miles (72 km) southeast ofSacramento in the part of California known as the Mother Lode, or Gold Country in theSierra Nevada.
Amador County ranges in elevation from approximately 250 feet (76 m) in the western portion of the county to over 9,000 feet (2,700 m) 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.
Amador County, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
There were 12,759 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% weremarried couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 122.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 123.4 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,280, and the median income for a family was $51,226. Males had a median income of $39,697 versus $28,850 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $22,412. About 6.1% of families and 9.2% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
TheShenandoah Valley was once the principal viticultural region of California though not as well known as theNapa Valley AVA orSonoma Valley AVA viticultural regions.[34] With the discovery of gold, the area quickly became a mecca for those trying to make their fortune. In the process numerous wineries sprouted up, many of whose vineyards are still in use by wineries today. The decline of theCalifornia Gold Rush coupled with the onset ofProhibition devastated the wine-making region of Amador County. Today this area has been resurrected and is now home to over 40 different wineries. Amador County is known for itsZinfandel, but many other varietals are produced as well. Amador County has a high percentage of old Zinfandel vines. Some of the Zinfandel vineyards in this county are more than 125 years old[when?], including the original Grandpère vineyard, planted with Zinfandel before 1869 and believed to be the oldest Zinfandel vineyard in America.[35] This 10-acre (40,000 m2) vineyard is home to some of the oldest Zinfandel vines on earth, with proof of their existence dating to 1869 when it was listed as a descriptor on a deed from theU.S. Geological Survey. A grant deed in Amador County records further proves their existence in 1869.[citation needed]
The unincorporated areas of Amador County are patrolled by the county sheriff's department, which also operates the county jail and protects the courts. Municipal police departments within the county are at Ione, Jackson, and Sutter Creek.
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.[42] 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.
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.
"The Luck of Roaring Camp" is a short story by American authorBret Harte. It was first published in the August 1868 issue of theOverland 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 theMokelumne River.
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived fromthe original on May 31, 2011. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^[1], Judicial Council of California. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
^abWhittle, Syd (September 8, 2008)."1854 · Amador County · 1954".The Historical Marker Database. J. J. Prats. RetrievedMay 14, 2012. (historical marker placed by Board of Supervisors and Amador County Historical Society, 1954)
^The Army of the Pacific : its operations in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Plains Region, Mexico, etc., 1860-1866, by Aurora Hunt, p. 33
^abcdefghijklmnopU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
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![Company C, "Amador Volunteers"[12]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCompany_C%2c_1st_California_Infantry_flag.jpg)
