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The History 0f Copperopolis, Calaveras County, California
by Rhoda and Charles Stone
DEDICATIONS TO:
James M. Stone &
Rose O'Hm Stone
Charles J. and Catherine Stone OUR
CHILDREN.
Alyce Wilson
Jane Leon Parish
John Stone (deceased 1948-1979) OUR
GRANDCHILDREN:
Aaron Wilson Stone
Brian Wilson
Suzanne Leon Rouse Moreno
Annie Leon
Daniel Leon
Joshua Stone Frazier
Sarah Stone Frazier
I
OUR GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN:
Aaron (Beck) Stone
Britany Skye Stone
Erika Momno
Jennifer Rouse
Contents
Introduction This book is devoted to the history of Copperopolis, a town that saw a sudden
birth brought on by the discovery of copper, which coincided with the onset of
the Civil War in 1860.
One of the interesting aspects of Copperopolis was its connection with the War,
producing about 19 million pounds of copper in the 1860's. This, although tiny
by modern mining standards, and little more than 10 percent of the total
Calaveras County copper production of some 155 million pounds up to the 1960's,
gave Calaveras County second place in national production, and was an important
factor in helping Union forces.
Copperopolis started as a boomtown and grew rapidly for approximately seven
years, (I860-1867) with the in-flux of speculators, prospectors, miners, and
businessmen. Homes, hotels, saloons, livery stables, a newspaper- The
Copperopolis Courier, rooming houses, race tracks, cemeteries, churches,
schools, a telegraph office, and an armory for the Union Guard were built. The
people of Copperopolis named the original streets of their burgeoning town
Union, Grant, Sherman, and Lincoln. Regularly scheduled orators spoke to large
public gatherings and rallies on the virtues of the Union, denouncing
Copper-heads in the local newspaper, and in January of 1866, an Emancipation
Ball was given by the "Colored People" of the community.
At its height, Copperopolis and vicinity had a population ranging from 2000 to
4000. The exaggerated figure of some writings about Copperopolis, giving a
figure of 10,000 people in those early days, is unsupported by factual evidence.
The population at the present time is less than 150 persons within the town
site. In 1988, 128 years after its founding, the town is made up of a few homes,
school, post office, store, and two fire houses, State and volunteer. There
still remain, in or near the town, two machine shop buildings, extensive waste
and slag dumps, tailings piles, and formations of the concentrator and smelter.
Although now it is just a small town, memories are locked in the hearts and
souls of people who lived and shared the thrilling experience of a mining town
such as Copperopolis.
A great deal of interest is still shown by the descendants of these people, as
well as by newcomers, and that is the purpose of this book - to give the present
and future generations a look into the colorful past of Copperopolis and its
surroundings. The tourists of today would be well rewarded if they took the time
to inquire into its fascinating and unique past.
We have made every effort to tell the history as
factual as possible, and to assemble such materials that we believe will help
our readers appreciate our history. In some of the writings of the past we must
take the narrator's observation of that time as they saw it, not as we believe
it to be.
Rhoda and Charles A. Stone
Copperopolis, California, 1988
"To
be ignorant of what happened
before you were born is to be
ever a child. For what is man's
lifetime unless the memory of
past events is woven with those
of earlier times." -Cicero
This poem was written by Poet Laureate of California, Gordon Norris, and printed
on the
Copper Centennial Celebration Program. October 22-23, 1960.
Copperopolis
Copperopolis dreams of the past -
And ghosts go by on the old stage road!
Of men and decades that could not
last,
Faded, and yet of the frontier code.
Dreams of the days when copper was king,
When strong grew giant and weak grew
bold,
When raw earth broke with a bronzen ring,
Raucous and lusty and richer
than gold! Of men who broke the wilderness - cars
And ghosts go by on the old stage road! -
Who left their drinks untouched on the bars
For the gossan cap of the copper
lode,
And Black Bart looted her stages then
As they climbed Funk Hill from Reynold's Ferry,
One man posing as eight or ten -
"Throw down the box! " - and they did not tarry! Copperopolis dreams in the sun -
As ghosts go by on the old stage road! -
Of days of fortune, of luck begun,
Of men and fate where the frontier strode. When Lincoln was shot, they marched next day,
Seven-hundred from Armory Hall
To the Presbyterian Church to pray -
And their sad hearts heard the dark sod fall. Thirty-six stars in their Stars and Stripes -
And ghosts go by on the old stage
road,
The Union Guard in their old tintypes,
Faded, and yet of the frontier
code. Their Civil War cannon rusts in the yard
Of the school now, waiting ft drum's far roll,
Waiting the call of ft Union
Guard
And the days that rang like a bronzen bowl. Copperopolis dreams aloud--
And Ghosts go by on the old stage road!-
Where long-felt silences seem to crowd
With the vanished horde of the copper lode. Yes, Copperopolis dreams, while days
And years go by, and decades fall,
Waiting
the key to the signet maze,
The earth of plenty, the ancient call. She dreams in the sun, dreams the stars
Of Geigers--whatever the fates uncode ! -
Of new frontiers the West unbars,
As ghosts go by on the old stage road!
Acknowledgments
A great deal of credit for this book should go to Willard R Fuller, Jr., who has
given much of his time to the Calaveras County Museum and Historical Society. His
suggestions, chapter by chapter, were instrumental to keeping the momentum going
in order to finish the project. Extensive work was done in 1984 by Judith Cunningham, then the Curator of
Calaveras County Museum, preparing an application for the inclusion of
Copperopolis in the National Register. Credit should go to Lorraine Webbenhurst and Priscilla Rollin of Copperopolis
for their work in the Calaveras County archives tracking down early assessments
in Copperopolis. Reatha Parcell Smith, who worked diligently to type up the items concerning
Copperopolis from the Copperopolis Courier Newspaper which made several items we
used easier to put into our book. To all the people who generously loaned pictures. To the Calaveras County Historical Society and our use of "Las Calaveras." To those who generously contributed their family histories. To Ellen and Howard Tower we give special thanks for their generosity in getting
the book into print. Without them the job would have been difficult, to say the
least. To Mary Clancy of Copperopolis who helped to edit the material in the book's
early stages. To Mr. Paul Moeller of Averys, for his cooperation and excellent work in
reproducing our photographs, To Peg and Linda Davies, Newport Gwent, South Wales, who made the necessary
arrangements for us to meet with the Lord Mayor of Cardiff and, to explore the
archives in Swansea and Cardiff. To Reg Emerson, of Copper Cove, who generously donated his time and talent to
the cover of this book, and fashioned our series of wine glasses for the
Community Center, as well as other art works. Thank you, Reg! To Dave Bonnot of Columbine Type & Design in Sonora and James Luly of Calaveras
Mss in Angels Camp for their help in the final stages of this project.
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