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Friday, October 29, 2021

Aqua Fria

Agua Fria, today a true ghost town, was principally a placer mining camp divided into Lower Agua Fria and Upper Agua Fria. The name was derived from two springs of cold water about a quarter mile below Lower Agua Fria (the principal town). It may have been there that John C. Fremont's men discovered gold in 1849. In 1850 it was a booming trade center and final destination for many new arrivals in California. 

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I did a fair amount of prospecting (with permission) at the old townsite of Aqua Fria back in the mid '80s.
While I did recover a little gold out of the creek, most of my treasures from there were a few coins and relics I found.
I had procured a map of the town at the Mariposa County Library and the sites I got most of the coins from was where an old store stood, although the ground where the old whorehouse stood ran a close second. 
I've still got an 1850 half dime I found there laying around here somewhere. It was in pretty bad shape but was still identifiable after I got all the crud off of it.
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6 comments:

  1. MikeyOctober 29, 2021 at 8:35 AM

    It's hard to tell from the way he recorded it but the opening lyrics to Marty Robbins "Big Iron" are:
    "To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElmoOctober 29, 2021 at 1:11 PM

      There's also an Agua Fria in Arizona and one in New Mexico too.
      That stranger got around.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 29, 2021 at 12:01 PM

    I lived 3 miles from agua fria. That creek ran through my side yard. Do something with Hornitos. Blacksmith was named Studebaker. General store owner moved to Frisco and made chocolates. Yes, those chocolates.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 29, 2021 at 6:48 PM

    Did you find any old bottles still intact?
    I know someone who prospects for bottles (old privy's are good places; apparently it was common to shoot your empty whiskey, laudenum, or whatever bottle down the shitter) Some fetch some amazing prices.

    CC

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    Replies
    1. wirecutterOctober 29, 2021 at 7:41 PM

      None there at Aqua Fria but I have found a few over the years. A couple were whiskey bottles, but I've also got a beer bottle with ceramic lid and wire bail intact and an small medicine bottle. I sold the whiskey bottles to a collector in Sonora, but I've still got the beer and medicine bottle.
      And you're right about the outhouses. The collector that bought my bottles used to go to the old parts of towns and ask the homeowners is he could dig. He'd repair the lawn and give them half of what he found. Once he got permission, he'd look for a depression in the yard and start digging. He'd find all kinds of shit down there and a lot of old coins that fell out of people's pockets when they dropped their pants and sat down.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousOctober 29, 2021 at 11:41 PM

      Lol, you must be in novelist mode using that clever double entendre.
      MadMarlin

      Delete

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