Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Built in 1851, the Angels Hotel was the hotel where the author Mark Twain heard a story that he would later turn into his short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". In front of the building is the "Frog Hop of Fame", where commemorative plaques are embedded in the sidewalk for the winners of the annual Jumping Frog Jubilee frog jumping contest. The building no longer operates as a hotel and is an apartment complex. It is registered as California Historical Landmark #734 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, was the hotel where the author Mark Twain heard a story that he would later turn into his short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".
© OpenStreetMap contributors
The Utica Mansion is a historic house that was built in 1882 as a two-story stone building designed in the Federal style. Robert Leeper, then owner of the Utica Mine, built the house next to the Utica Mill. Leeper sold the mine to C. D. Lane in 1884; he sold the house to Lane four years later. Lane and two other investors began to buy up mining claims in Angels Camp, and their enterprise soon became profitable. With his investment earnings, Lane began to expand the Utica Mansion. Lane added a two-story addition to the west and north sides of the house and a veranda on the other two sides. He also improved the interior furnishings by adding new wallpaper and fireplaces with English tiles, repainting the woodwork, adding gold moldings to hanging pictures, and installing Axminster carpets. Lane lived in the house until 1895, when he left to pursue an investment in Alaskan mining. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Calaveras County Bank is a historic, two-story Classical Revival building that was built in 1900 and designed by architects E. Depierre and Perseo Righetti of San Francisco. The bank's design features an iron boxed cornice with brackets on each end and stone pilasters on both sides. The interior trim of the bank used a variety of different woods, a rarity in contemporary buildings in the area. The bank was the first to be incorporated in Calaveras County, and the building was the first in the county designed specifically to house a bank; until the 1920s, it was also the only bank operating in the county. In 1930, the Calaveras County Bank merged with the Bank of Italy and moved to a new building. The old bank building housed a meat market from 1937 to 1980 and later held a branch of the Central Sierra Bank. It was added to the National Register of Historic places in 1985.
Built in 1860, the Sam Choy Brick Store is the only building remaining from a large Chinese settlement that contained over twenty properties during the California gold rush. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. After it served as a general store, its owner sold it to Angels Camp for use as a jail, and it is still owned by the city of Angels Camp. No parking is available on Bird Way, so if you wish to see the store park on Main Street and walk.
O.A.R.S.
O.A.R.S. offers rafting trips on California's South Fork American River near Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, as well as on eight other California rivers.
Calaveras County's most popular annual festivity. Held at "Frog Town", the county fairground, this event draws thousands of visitors every May. The inspiration for the fair is taken from Mark Twain's short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in which two men gamble over whose frog can jump farthest. Sticking to the spirit of the story, visitors are able to compete in their own contest. The fair also features carnival rides, musical performances, food, a destruction derby, livestock auction, as well as a variety of exhibits.
Carson Hill is a ghost town located about 4 mi south-southeast of Angels Camp. It was one of the most productive mining camps in the state, with nearly $26 million in gold and quartz found in the area, including a 195 pound troy (160 lb) nugget that was the largest ever found in the state when it was unearthed in 1854. Carson Hill is registered as California Historical Landmark #274. The town was served by the Sierra Railway's branchline to Angels Camp until 1935.