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Tuolumne County Timeline 1851-1900 |
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| 1851, May 1 | City of Sonora incorporated by California legislature |
| 1852 | Tuolumne County population was 17,657 according to state census |
| 1852 | Turn Back Creek in Tuolumne area-first placer gold mining activities, along creek at Cherokee |
| 1852, Sept. | Clark-Skidmore party first pioneer settlers to successfully traverse Sierra Nevada with wagons. They crossed at Emigrant Pass and arrive in Sonora |
| 1853 | St. Patrick’s Catholic Church is started with an adobe structure; new church consecrated in 1863 nearby to west |
| 1853 | East Belt mineral lode discovered and produced such important mines as the Confidence, Payboy, Independence and Soulsby Mines |
| 1854, July 1 | "Union Democrat" newspaper was started in Sonora, continues to present |
| 1856 | Tong War in Chinese Camp area; estimated 2000 warriors battle; several casualties; no winner was determined |
| 1857 |
New Tuolumne County jail opens; later becomes the home of Tuolumne County Museum and Tuolumne County Historical Society |
| 1858 | Eureka Mine: Gold quartz lode discovered by Cornish men in vicinity of town of Tuolumne (East Belt) |
| 1859 |
St. James Episcopal Church “Red Church” opens; oldest Episcopal Church in California |
| 1862, May | First spontaneous celebration of the Battle of Puebla held in Columbia; initiating Cinco de Mayo tradition in California |
| 1864 | Sonora Pass Road opens as a toll road and later becomes State Highway 108 |
| 1864, June 30 | President Lincoln signed bill granting Yosemite Valley & Mariposa Grove to State of California, as inalienable public trust |
| 1864, Dec. 4 | Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) arrives at Jackass Hill, near Tuttletown |
| 1868 | John Muir arrives in California; his preservationist ideas lead to founding the Sierra Club |
| 1869, May 10 | Transcontinental Railroad completed; Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads connect the east to the west by rail meeting in Promontory, Utah with Golden Spike ceremony |
| 1874 | Big Oak Flat Road opened to Yosemite Valley; tourism flourishes |
| 1880 | Humbug Mine, the richest tunnel mine under Table Mountain on the east slope near Jamestown; closed in 1913 |
| 1880s | Big Oak Flat-oak tree, 11 ft. diameter, falls to ground. Early miners dug under its roots & later the fire of 1863 reduced it to massive trunk |
| 1884 | Hydraulic mining was outlawed because debris or tailings filled the river channels causing flooding in the central valley |
| 1889, May | Preliminary steps taken to organize the 29th District Agricultural Association; later officers and board of directors were recommended and approved by the Governor |
| 1890, Oct. | First 29th District Agricultural Association fair was held on property near Shaws Flat at pioneer race track (livestock) and Sonora Opera Hall (exhibits) |
| 1890, Oct. 1 |
Yosemite National Park formed |
| 1893 | Beginning of Second Gold Rush in Jamestown area - Old Rawhide Mine, owned by Captain W. A. Nevills, re-opened and struck an immense body of rich ore with three shafts and 40-stamp mill; rekindled interest in quartz hard rock mining |
| 1897 | Stanislaus Forest Reserve formed; 1905 renamed Stanislaus National Forest |
| 1897, Nov. 10 | Sierra Railway brings first passenger service to Jamestown connects Tuolumne County to other parts of U.S. through Oakdale |
| 1898, Jan. | Jamestown Branch Jail construction was completed in 1897 and accepted by the Board of Supervisors |
| 1898, Nov. 10 | Brick Tuolumne County Courthouse construction begins, replacing the 1853 wooden structure at the same site |
| 1899, May 31 |
West Side Flume & Lumber Co. is incorporated by Thomas Bullock |