Formed February 18, 1850 (8th county)
Mariposa County (17,128), Mariposa* (1,526)
The old country courthouse in the middle of this small community is perfect for the surrounding environment. Located at 8th and Bullion Streets, this structure was built in 1854. Perrin V. Fox designed this Greek Revival style courthouse. It is the only courthouse built in the county. An annex was added in 1900. California State Highways 49 and 140 are one block west of the facility. Mariposa County was a February 18, 1850 creation as an original county following California statehood. It is the 8th county. Mariposa is Spanish for “butterfly.”
Mariposa County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, controller, and treasurer (executive). It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.) A Superior Court Judge, clerk, and counsel serve Mariposa County (judicial.) The county is situated in the central part of the state in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Stockton, California is northwest and Fresno, California is south. The Merced River flows east to west through the county. The county center is 15 miles North-Northeast of Mariposa nearer Midpines. The county is surrounded clockwise by Tuolumne, Merced, and Madera counties. The county is shaped like a bowl of popcorn tipping to the northwest. The city of Mariposa is slightly west of the geographic county center. Mariposa is the county seat and the largest populated area. It is 8.9% of the county population. The county and county seat are pronounced MAR-I-POE-ZA.
The area of the county is 1451 square miles. It is 32 out of 58 in the state. It ranks 53 out of 58 in population in the state. It has a density of 11.8 persons per square mile making it 49 out of 58 in the state. Mariposa County has 0.0% of its population in its incorporated areas since it does not have any. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.
Mariposa (unincorporated)
