Mariposa is known as "The Mother of Counties." In 1850 when California received statehood it was divided into 27 counties. However, the original Mariposa county encompassed one fifth of the state. In the beginning it was the largest and most important county in the state. To this day it holds the record as the largest county in the world. Eleven present day counties or portions thereof were birthed out of "the Mother of Counties." Portions of Los Angeles and San Bernadino counties three hundred miles to the south were included in the original Mariposa county.

  As one of the original gold camps of the 49er Gold Rush days, Mariposa has a significant amount of "firsts" to it's credit. It was also the home of General John Charles Fremont who was the catalyst that led the Bear Flag Revolt and opened the way for California to become American soil. Fremont's Mariposa home was nick-named "the Western White House. He was the first governor and the first senator of California.

   Some believe that the way God initiated natural history He may parallel it spiritually.

   For more on this, please read our page "Why Mariposa"

MARIPOSA was 1 of the original 27 counties that formed The State of California, Feb.18, 1850. It was the greatest in size, comprising one fifth of the entire state, It's boundaries Los Angeles and San Diago to the south, Toulumne to the North,