1854 was a big year. The Republican Party was founded. A treaty between the U.S. and Japan opened trade between the countries. And in Europe, the UK and France entered the Crimean War. Amid that backdrop, workers in the foothills of California’s gold country were putting the finishing touches on a new building, one that still serves its original function, nearly 175 years later. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story of Mariposa County’s Courthouse.
The wood framed Greek Revival building on Bullion Street in downtown Mariposa looks pretty much as it did back in 1854. Back then the Gold Rush was still roaring and this mining town needed a respectable home for justice and the law. The county spent $9,000 on the two story structure, which is built with mortise and tenon joints, held together by wooden pegs. The courtroom on the second floor still has its original furnishings and pot belly stove.
Like any building it has seen some updates and renovations. The biggest was in 1866, when crews installed a clock and belltower. The clock was made in England and was shipped around Cape Horn. It was controversial at the time. A critic in the local newspaper reportedly questioned the need "to distinguish the exact time from a mile.” To this day, it sounds every quarter hour, and is powered by hand-cranking weighted cables.
To this day, the courthouse is still the site of trials and regular court proceedings for Mariposa County. It’s considered the oldest continuously operating courthouse west of the Rocky Mountains, and the oldest operating Superior Court west of the Mississippi.
