Some Gold Districts in
Madera County

Bagby
Bagby was named after a hotel owner that lived there and the community that lived there were called Bagby’s. This district is not almost completely under water. The area is currently the Bagby Recreational Area and most of the activity that goes on there is fishing and boating. In 1920 the last mill burned and this ended a legacy of gold milling in the area. Bagby kept on operating as a river resort until the 1960s.

Buckeye
Buckeye used to be a gold quartz mining area that was located eight miles south of the town of Mariposa.

Cathey
This district was located close to Cathays Valley, which was around ten miles south of Mariposa on Highway 140. Placers in this area were worked on during the time of the gold rush and later on some hard rock mining was done here.

Clearinghouse
Clearinghouse is located north of the Merced River west of El Portal; the leading attraction of this area was the Clearing House Mine. The placers that are along the Merced River still produce gold for the people looking into doing some minor prospecting. The area above Briceberg has been very productive for prospectors that used portable suction dredges. This can be reached by taking highway 140 east off of highway 49.

Colorado
Some good sized nuggets have been found in the area of the Colorado Creek making it an attractive place to go to.

Coulterville
Coulterville continues to be popular and is still an active old mining town sustaining a number of businesses. This place proved to have major impact in the county and is located in the hills at the junction of SH 49-132, around 28 miles northwest of Mariposa, and a few miles northeast of Lake McClure. This area was a major gold mining and supply center during the gold rush and is still active today. The past mining town of Coulterville has a number of historic buildings and memories of the days of the 49ers.

Dog Town
Dog Town was part of the Kinsley Mining District, this old placer gold mining town was located northwest of Indian Gulch, west of Gentry Gulch, four miles east-southeast of Coulterville and 4 and a half miles northwest of Cat Town. Nothing remains in this town though.

Granite Springs
You will find Granite Springs Road by taking Highway 132 west out of Coulterville, which will lead you to the old lode-mining district. Granite Springs Road is located in the vicinity of Lake McClure and the Don Pedro Reservoir. Part of this district is also located in Tuolumne County. The biggest gold producer in this area was the Burr.

Gravel Range
The Tertiary channel gravels in Gravel Range were once worked on by hydraulicing. This area is made up of part of the Mariposa and Toulumne counties. The biggest part is Toulumne County, which is located north of Smith Station and around fifteen miles east of Groveland on Highway 120.

Greeley Hill
The Greeley Hill district is located east of Counterville on the Greeley Hill Road around five to seven miles. The Greeley Hill Mining District is a part of the bigger Kinsley Mining District.