History of Copperopolis - Copperopolis, CA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

"Originally known as Copper Canyon, Copperopolis was established in 1860 when copper was discovered here. Known as “Copper” to the locals, Copperopolis was a thriving copper mining town during the Civil War and the second largest copper producing area in the U.S. and provided most of the copper needs for the Union Army. Copperopolis no longer holds claim to any working mines, but historical artifacts from this era can still be seen with the buildings that have been restored, thanks to the perseverance and ingenuity of the townspeople.

Copper was discovered at a time when the Mother Lode gold mines were becoming inactive and the nation was involved in a civil war. After the ore was mined, it was loaded onto wagons and carted to Stockton. It was then placed on riverboats and taken to San Francisco. Then it was loaded onto sailing ships for the trip around the Horn to New York, Boston and Wales for smelting and processing. The U.S. Bureau of Mines credits the Copperopolis mines for removing 72,598,883 pounds of copper between the years 1861-1946. The mass of dirt and rock behind the buildings on the west side of Main Street are mine
The Discovery of Copper Marker and Honigsberger Store tailings. In the early 1900s the Calaveras Copper Co. built a smelter which saved the mine owners thousands of dollars and the copper months of travel. The raw ore was taken by a 4,000-foot-long electric tram from the mines to the smelt and crushed waste rock was brought back in the same cars and dumped over the sides of the trestle on its return trip thu (sic) building up the mounds. The tailings are historic artifacts.

Copperopolis started as a boomtown and grew rapidly for approximately seven years, (1860-1867) with an in-flux of speculators, prospectors, miners, and businessmen. Homes, hotels, saloons, livery stables, rooming houses, racetracks, 3 schools, churches, the Armory of the Union Guard and even a bowling alley were built. At its historic height, the number of residents living in Copperopolis was over 4,000, about the same as the population in 2010. The local newspaper, The Copperopolis Courier carried the news of the day. The people of Copperopolis named the original streets of their thriving town Union, Grant, Sherman, and Lincoln. There was a modest boom in 1888, also in 1909-1930. All copper mining ended by 1945.

Black Bart
Born in England in 1829 as Charles E. Boles, the legend of Black Bart began on Funk Hill, just outside of Copperopolis on July 26, 1875, when he robbed the Wells Fargo stagecoach strong box containing $160. After 26 successful robberies throughout California and Oregon, it was his return to Funk Hill that would end the legend where
Copperopolis began. After being shot on the hand during the robbery attempt, Black Bart was tracked down and arrested in San Francisco. Although he pleaded guilty to the robbery and was sentenced to six years in San Quentin, Bart always denied that he was either Black Bart or Charles E. Boles. After being released early for good behavior, Back Bart disappeared never to be heard from again.

Group that erected the marker: County of Calaveras Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: 660 Main Street Columbia, CA USA URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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