Dogtown
Unincorporated community
Dogtown is located in California
Dogtown
Dogtown
Location in California
Dogtown is located in the United States
Dogtown
Dogtown
Dogtown (the United States)
Coordinates: 37°42′08″N 120°07′41″W / 37.70222°N 120.12806°W / 37.70222; -120.12806
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyMariposa County
Elevation
[1]
2,582 ft (787 m)

Dogtown is a former settlement in Mariposa County, California, United States.[1] It was located on Maxwell Creek 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Coulterville,[2] at an elevation of 2582 feet (787 m).[1]

Dogtown was a major hydraulic mining center in the late nineteenth century. At its peak, the town boasted numerous hotels, saloons, a dance hall, and a red light district. The town was supposedly named for the many stray dogs that roamed the area during the Gold Rush. A dam failure flooded much of the townsite in 1899; by 1989, only "scattered building foundations and half a dozen wooden structures on the verge of collapse" remained at the site.[3]

Several unrelated communities and mining camps in California also had the name Dogtown during the nineteenth century; including one in Mono County, one in neighboring Merced County,[4] another in Butte County (now Magalia), one in Calaveras County,[5] and a later settlement in Marin County.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dogtown, Mariposa County, California
  2. ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 766. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  3. ^ Hillinger, Charles (April 9, 1989). "How Dogtown got its name". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, CA. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Thome, Joe (October 15, 1987). "Merced's Dogtown chronicled". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, CA. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Raymond, Rossiter W. (1873). Silver and Gold: An Account of the Mining and Metallurgical Industry of the United States, with Reference Chiefly to the Precious Metals. New York, NY: J.B. Ford and Company. p. 73.
  6. ^ "Town gets a barking name". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, CA. May 13, 1976. Retrieved December 8, 2023.


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