Gold was first discovered along the Tuolumne River in Stanislaus County, California, in about 1850 by a group of men from France. They named their camp French Bar since they found the gold on a sandbar in the middle of the river.
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| Historic Louie's Place |
After a series of destructive floods along the river during 1851 and 1852, they moved about one mile upstream to get away from the flood plains. Their new community was founded in 1852. In 1856, the name of the town was changed to La Grange. One source says this was in honor of Lafayette's country home. Another source said it was in honor of General La Grange of France. (Joseph Burton Vasche) The name is French and means "the barn" or "the farm". The town prospered as both a mining and agricultural community.
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| Hammond and Bates Store |
By 1854, there were over 100 buildings in La Grange. For a time Bret Harte taught school here.
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| La Grange Stagecoach Stop-iron doors typical of 1850s |
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| Historic La Grange School |
La Grange became the county seat of Stanislaus County in 1856. Aside from its French population, the community included a significant Chinatown in its early years. At its height, the community had thousands of residents, but it was a largely lawless town. As the gold mining declined, so did the population. In 1862, Knights Ferry became the county seat.
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| Kingen Hotel |
On June 3, 1869, John Muir departed Le Grange (French Bar) with a sheep herder and a flock of sheep and headed for the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers. He writes the folloiwing in his book "My First Summer in the Sierra". In chapter one, Muir describes leaving French bar and moving with the flock into the hills near Coulterville. "This morning provisions, camp-kettles, blankets, plant-press, etc., were packed on two horses, the flock headed for the tawny foothills, and away we sauntered in a cloud of dust: Mr. Delaney, bony and tall, with sharply hacked profile like Don Quixote, leading the pack-horses, Billy, the proud shepherd, a Chinaman and a Digger Indian to assist in driving for the first few days in the brushy foothills, and myself with notebook tied to my belt. The home ranch from which we set out is on the south side of the Tuolumne River near French Bar, where the foothills of metamorphic gold-bearing slates dip below the stratified deposits of the Central Valley". In Many ways, this experience moves him so much, that he writes eloquently of the Yosemite area. His books are read by Americans including President Theodore Roosevelt. Muir becomes the face of a new conservation movement to save the Yosemite and creation of Yosemite National Park. [Source: "My First Summer In The Sierra", by John Muir - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 1917]
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| Tuolumne Gold Dredge west of La Grange |
By 1880, mining had ceased with the exception of gold dredgers which continued to operate until the early 1950s. The dredging field extends westward from the town of La Grange along the Tuolumne River for nine miles. This district also includes a dredging field two miles to the south, on an older river channel, and surface "diggings" to the north.
The above is a photograph of the Tuolumne Gold Dredge, also known as the "Gray Goose", in La Grange, California, taken in 1980 just before it was shipped to the Alaska gold fields.
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| St. Paul's Catholic Church |
La Grange is now a registered California Historical Landmark historic district. Today, a post office, a supermarket, an elementary school (as of fall, 2015, after a brief stint as a charter school, the public school was closed), and a High School (Don Pedro High School) still operate in La Grange. Also functioning is the oldest church in Stanislaus County, St. Louis Roman Catholic Church, with a cemetery containing tombstones dating to the mid-1800s. As of 2008 it has a population of 345.
What was a common occurrence in California counties held true for Stanislaus County. Its first county seat was Adamsville, a community along the Tuolumne River near where it joins the San Joaquin River, but it was shortly moved to La Grange in the eastern part of the county—the gold fields. The county seat was next moved a little farther west to Knights Ferry, also near where gold was found in Stanislaus county. In 1871, it was moved away from the gold-rich foothills to the brand new railroad town of Modesto in the valley. By then, the focus had turned from gold to agriculture. Modesto is still the county seat today.
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Sources:
La Grange Historical Plaque, State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Morada Parlor No. 199, Native Daughters of the Golden West, October 13, 1984
Display regarding La Grange and Gold Mining in Stanislaus County at McHenry Museum, Stanislaus County, California
https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/california/la_grange/
http://www.stancounty.com/board/unincorporated-cities/la-grange.shtm
Wikipedia, La Grange, California
Zina, thanks for an interesting post, also must say, that Cole is a nice lookin' cowboy! May I ask, where do you find your covers?
ReplyDeleteZina, this was an interesting post. I like that you traced the community from its origin to today. Certainly, the town has seen remarkable changes since gold was first discovered there.
ReplyDeleteCOLE is a handsome cover. Best wishes for continued success.