Placer gold was discovered in Carson Creek in 1848 by James H. Carson, whose name was given to the creek, hill, and town. More importantly, in 1850 the rich quartz lode located on the top of Carson Hill was proven rich, and miners flooded in. By 1851 a large settlement of Mexican miners at the base of the hill was referred to as Melones. In 1854 the Calaveras Nugget – the largest mass of gold found in the U.S. – was taken from the Comstock claim and weighed in at 195 pounds troy.
As part of extensive historical studies conducted prior to filling the New Melones Reservoir, research was focused on the location and character of the town of Melones. This early gold rush town was to lend its name to later mining ventures, a Stanislaus River town, and a 2.4 million acre-foot reservoir. The results were published in Las Calaveras in 1979 and are provided here.
Calaveras Heritage Council is fully committed to providing accessible facilities, elements and
channels of communication to all members of the public. As part of this commitment, Calaveras Heritage Council
has a policy of providing an accessible website compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and
commercial screen reading software. All features of the website are coded to allow individuals with vision and
other impairments to understand and use the website to the same degree as someone without disabilities. We welcome
feedback and can often resolve issues in a timely manner if they arise.
If you need any special assistance or accommodations:
Calaveras Heritage Council has designated a compliance officer for website disability-related accommodations.
The compliance officer has received training in website accessibility and updates the site in accordance with those best
practices. Contact our accessibility officer to report an issue.
Compliance Procedures and Reports
In addition to testing with users with a wide range of disabilities and coding our website to WCAG standards,
Calaveras Heritage Council regularly scans its website to ensure ongoing compliance, and makes timely
changes to any inaccessible changes, if any are found.
Linked Documents and Third Parties
Please note that this site may link out to third-party websites, such as state or federal agencies, that do
not have accessible content. This site may also include documents provided by third parties included in our
agenda packets, for example. While we cannot control the accessibility of content provided by third parties,
we are happy to assist any member of the public with reading and accessing content on our site.