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CALIFORNIA
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California has been visited by several nations since the
1540s. She was visited by Mexico, Spain, Russia and England up to
1792. Spain controlled California until 1822, when Mexico came into possession.
Mexico held power until 1848. In 1848, Mexico ceded California to the
United States. A gold strike at Sutter's Mill brought people to California
from all parts of the world. The Gold Rush increased the territorial
population from 15,000 to 250,000 souls.
The foreign born residence of California come from all
parts of the world. There are recorded emigrants from Mexico, Canada,
Italy, England & Wales, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, Poland,
Austria, France, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Yugoslavia,
Hungary, Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Lithuania and
Belgium and many of the African nations as well.
World War II brought many new families to California to
live as they went to the training camps in preparation of going to war.
Many others came to work in the ship yards and factories to build munitions and
equipment for the soldiers.
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COUNTY FORMATIONS
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| Name |
Date Formed |
Parent County |
County Seat |
| Alameda |
1853 |
Contra Costa & Santa Clara |
Oakland |
| Alpine |
1864 |
Eldorado, Amador, Calaveras, |
Markleeville |
| Amador |
1854 |
Calaveras |
Jackson |
| Branciforte |
18 Feb. 1850 |
Created by act of state Legislature but name changed to
Santa Cruz April of the same year. |
Refer to Santa Cruz County |
| Butte |
1850 |
Original County |
Oroville |
| Calaveras |
1850 |
Original County |
San Andreas |
| Colomo (See El Dorado |
1850 |
Original County. Name changed to El Dorado one month
later |
Refer to El Dorado |
| Colusa (See Colusi) |
1850 |
Original County (Originally named Colusi) |
Colusa |
| Colusi (See Colusa) |
1850 |
Original County -renamed Colusa. |
Refer to Colusa County |
| Contra Costa |
1850 |
Original County - originally named Mt. Diablo |
Martinez |
| Del Norte |
1857 |
Klamath |
Crescent City |
| El Dorado |
1850 |
Original County (Originally named Colomo) |
Placerville & Rescue |
| Fremont (See Yola and Yolo) |
18 Feb 1850 |
Created by act of state legislature. Later renamed
Yola and then Yolo. |
Refer to Yolo County |
| Fresno |
1856 |
Merced, Mariposa |
Fresno |
| Glenn |
1891 |
Colusa |
Willows |
| Humboldt |
1853 |
Trinity |
Eureka |
| Imperial |
1907 |
San Diego |
El Centro |
| Inyo |
1866 |
Tulare |
Independence |
| Kern |
1866 |
Tulare, Los Angeles |
Bakersfield |
| Kings |
1893 |
Tulare, Fresno |
Hanford |
| Klamath (see note) |
1850 |
Created from northern part of Trinity County. Mostly
mining land. Leadership is said to have been corrupt. County
abolished in 1875. Parts of the County went to Del Norte,
Humboldt, Siskiyou and Trinity) |
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| Lake |
1861 |
Napa |
Lakeport |
| Lassen |
1864 |
Plumas, Shasta |
Susanville |
| Los Angeles |
1850 |
Original County |
Los Angeles |
| Madera |
1893 |
Fresno |
Madera |
| Marin |
1850 |
Original County |
San Rafael |
| Mariposa |
1850 |
Original county |
Mariposa |
| Mendocino |
1850 |
Original County |
Ukiah |
| Merced |
1855 |
Mariposa |
Merced |
| Modoc |
1874 |
Siskiyou |
Alturas |
| Mono |
1861 |
Calaveras, Fresno |
Bridgeport |
| Monterey |
1850 |
Original County |
Salinas |
| Mt. Diablo (See Contra Costa) |
1850 |
Name changed to Contra Costa. |
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| Napa |
1850 |
Original County |
Napa |
| Nevada |
1851 |
Yuba |
Nevada City |
| Orange |
1889 |
Los Angeles |
Santa Ana |
| Oro (See Tuolumne) |
1850 |
Original County. Name changed to Tuolumne |
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| Patuah |
1852 |
Created on paper in 1852 on land that was to have been
ceded to California, but it never got passed the paper. California
never got the land so it was abolished in 1859. Land later became
Nevada. Carsonville would have been the County seat. |
(See Nevada) |
| Placer |
1851 |
Yuba, Sutter |
Auburn |
| Plumas |
1854 |
Butte |
Quincy |
| Redding (See Shasta) |
1850 |
Renamed Shasta |
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| Riverside |
1893 |
San Diego, San Bernardino |
Riverside |
| Sacramento |
1850 |
Original County |
Sacramento |
| San Benito |
1874 |
Monterey |
Hollister |
| San Bernardino |
1853 |
Los Angeles |
Mentone & San Bernardino |
| San Diego |
1850 |
Original County |
San Diego |
| San Francisco |
1850 |
Original County |
San Francisco |
| San Joaquin |
1850 |
Original County |
Stockton |
| San Jose (See Santa Clara) |
1850 |
Name Changed to Santa Clara |
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| San Luis Obispo |
1850 |
Original County |
San Luis Obispo & Templeton |
| San Mateo |
1856 |
San Francisco |
Redwood City |
| Santa Barbara |
1850 |
Original County |
Santa Barbara |
| Santa Clara (See San Jose) |
1850 |
Original County |
San Jose |
| Santa Cruz |
1850 |
Original County |
Santa Cruz |
| Shasta (See Redding) |
1850 |
Original County |
Redding |
| Sierra |
1852 |
Yuba |
Downieville |
| Siskiyou |
1852 |
Shasta, Klamath |
Yreka |
| Solano |
1850 |
Original County original County seat was Benecia. It
moved to Fairfield in 1858. |
Fairfield |
| Sonoma |
1850 |
Original County |
Santa Rosa |
| Stanislaus |
1854 |
Tuolumne |
Modesto |
| Sutter |
1850 |
Original County |
Yuba City |
| Tehama |
1856 |
Colusa, Butte, Shasta |
Red Bluff |
| Trinity |
1850 |
Original County |
Weaverville |
| Tulare |
1852 |
Mariposa |
Visalia |
| Tuolumne (See Oro) |
1850 |
Original County |
Sonora |
| Ventura |
1872 |
Santa Barbara |
Ventura (San Buenaventura) |
| Yolo |
1850 |
Original County |
Woodland |
| Yuba |
1850 |
Original County |
Marysville |
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For books on California History, visit the THE COUNTRY STORE.
Proceeds from sales of books through this link-over to Amazon.com will
help to support this website. |
CALIFORNIA HISTORY WEBLINKS
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California Genweb Project
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California History Website
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California Missions virtual tour. |
Exploring the California Gold Rush
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The California Gold Rush |
California Heritage Collection
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Native American Tribes in California |
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
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Women of the West |
California Historical Society
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California State Historical Landmarks by County. |
California Historical Societies.
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California State Library. |
History & Historical Resources
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California History Outline |
About CA - History - State of California
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California History Online- European Exploration- Voyages of Discovery |
California History Collection
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