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.