THE GROWTH OF AN INDUSTRY

At the end of WWII, Mariposa was a bit like the Mariposa of l926,
waiting for the tourists to come back after the war. For the most
part, the first travelers to Yosemite were driving prewar cars,
without air conditioning and on poor tires. Flats were common as
were thirsty tourists that would stop frequently for cold drinks,
water for the radiators, to fix flats and a rest room for the ladies.

Almost 10 miles after entering Mariposa County, there was a road side stop. The first is and was Rocky Village. Built by the Gordo's in lower Catheys Valley just west of the Day Ranch, the building today leans towards
disappearing. Just a few yards up the road was the site of the
Orange School, then past the Day Ranch towards modern Catheys Valley.
The cowboy bar at the corner of School House Road is rather modern
and had started across the street. The Old Highway turned by Coyote
Springs Ranch and the first Caps Light House was between Hwy 140 and
School House Road. Later, on the Old Highway stood the Three
Sisters, a chicken place which featured fried poultry and the three
sisters.

Back on Hwy 140 the next stop was the Oasis at Hornitos Road; then
the newly moved Cap's Lighthouse. Back on the Old Highway at
Bridgeport was a store/lodge/gas station/poker game run by Herb Reece
Sr., which was taken over by the Greenamyer family. The Old Highway
was the original route into Mariposa, although it crossed Mariposa
Creek at Mormon Bar and continued on to Bootjack, then to Elliott's
Corner, and over Chowchilla Mountain to Wawona. The town of Mariposa
was by passed for the most part and did not see the Highway until
l924.

The Catheys Valley, or Guadalupe Cut Off, was built about l934 with
money from private individuals and the County. Instead of going
around the south end of Guadalupe Mountain, it followed and older
road that had gone to Mud Springs, then on to Mt. Bullion, thus into
Mariposa. Actually Mt. Bullion had the more productive mine, the
Princeton, so shipping freight and vegetables to Mt. Bullion was far
more lucrative than to Mariposa. Soon the highway found its way into
Mariposa by today's route from Mt Bullion Cut Off, and that finished
the faster and better road to town, and thus Yosemite. Although Hwy
140 came to Mariposa in l924, it did not go through to El Portal
until l926 so travelers to Yosemite would by pass Mariposa, going
over Chowchilla Mtn., to Wawona.

After Cap's Light House was moved to the new cut-off, another rest
stop called Oak Lodge was built about three miles further up the
mountain. A few of the buildings still remain. Across the highway
was a swimming pool where we had our spring outings from grammar
school. Up the hill from Oak Lodge was Mountain View Grocery and
around the corner where the Mt. Bullion Cut Off started, was Alice
Melton's drink stand. Kenny Melton remembers his dad Bill, building the house and drink stand. I didn't know he was that old.

From the Mt Bullion Cut-Off on into town, on the new Hwy 140, there
were no businesses until one reached the Giant Orange just across the
bridge at the corner of Bootjack Road, a section of which from the
bridge down stream, had been Hwy 140 for a time before the cut off
was built. Fred Bradshaw had built the Tenaya Motel on the corner
where the Old Pioneer Center now rests. After the l937 flood washed
away John Menzies Service Station and Motel in El Portal, he and Fred
built the business at the lower end of Mariposa. The motel rooms
were built of round rock and the wall that divided the parking lots
between the motel and a pair of stucco apartment buildings had been
the foundation of the Fremont Company Store. The rooms were small
and the apartments as well. I believe that at one time or another
that we fought fire in each of the buildings. One of the original
buildings survives, along side Hwy 140, by the monument to Agua Fria,
opposite the entrance to Yaqui Gulch Road on Hwy. 140 at Carson Flat.
When the service station was built, a restaurant was added which was
closed during the war. The Giant Orange opened for a time but a
group eventually opened a health food restaurant in the building next
to the gas station which thrived until it was moved to the building
now housing Castillo's Mexican Restaurant. Eventually the motel was
owned by Angelo Cavagnaro who lived part time in one of the rooms at
the Gold Coin before the fire in l950. Angelo also drove school bus
to Hornitos and is well remembered by those of my generation.

In the middle of town the Fremont Motel, (Steam Heat) dominated the
downtown. It was built by Roy Hampton during the late l920's or early 30's. He was Alice Ellingham's father and a gruff crippled man who it was said
had suffered from Rabbit Fever. It seems that Roy was from Easton
near Fresno and when rabbit hunting had been scratched by one of his
catch that was not quite dead. His wife was also named Alice and she
was a hair dresser in Mariposa, her first shop being in the space
that is currently being occupied by the new Chappell/Mt. Bullion wine
tasting room downtown. (Welcome back to downtown, these two wonderful wine makers are a real addition to our commercial area. We always regretted the closure of the Radanovich Wine Tasting Room and applaud the new establishment).

The Mariposa Hotel Inn is going to re-open soon. Lynn Macarone is
looking forward to re-establishing the old hotel, known as the
Yosemite Hotel, Mariposa Hotel and Brochini's Boarding House. When
we first arrived in Mariposa in l943, Mammie and Emil Autrand were
running the hotel and had a fine Chicken Fried Steak in the dining
room upstairs in the front. They had started a sandwich shop called
the 49'er across the street that eventually became a bar. Behind
most of the restaurants and bars downtown there were small rooms or
cabins reserved for the tourists at first, then pensioners as the
years went on. There are still a couple of rooms behind Coast
Hardware that were once part of the Jim Duclich's Butterfly Market
and Restaurant.

Mariposa Lodge started as the Mariposa Auto Court. The entrance was
on Bullion St., next to a Standard Oil Station first owned by Robert
Camin who also started the Auto Court. Then the station was acquired
by Pearl and Gordon Greenamyer. Pearl also sold sandwiches at the
station. They parted with the station when the highway moved from
Bullion St, to Charles St.in l940. Doug McElligott acquired the
station and it moved to the present location of the Chevron, although
it continued to be called a Standard Station. A new building was
constructed during the ownership of John Walliser.
Bagby's Auto Court on 7th St. was constructed in the l930's by
Everett and Rhesa Bagby. The main building of today's River Rock Inn
is much older and had housed the Farnsworth family after the Higmans.
Information from the Higman family tells me that the building was the
original store structure at the corner of 7th and Charles, turned 90
degrees and became a residence. The Washburn barn had been on the
corner of 7th and Bullion and was torn down by Bagby.
On Bullion St. was also the Mother Lode Motel first started by Mr.
Erway and later owned by others including a Don Loomis. The first
buildings housed a store at the corner of 8th and Jones, which was
the end of Hwy 49. Hwy 140 went past on 8th St., then High School,
up along what is now known also as the Old Highway, joining Hwy 140
north of town. The Corner Store was run by Carl and Grace Kelly, so
it became known as Kelly's Corner Store...There were a number of
small family owned groceries in Mariposa at that time before the
coming of the Pioneer Market. Downtown was Trabucco's Shopping
Center, The Butterfly Market, Buchholtz's California Market, which
became the California Market, owned by Morrie Brown, changed to
Jack's California Market, which moved to the Trabucco location. The
Schlageters IGA Market became the Yosemite Market, which became
Sierra Stationery. Fred Bardini made a number of changes in Mariposa
with the Forty Niner Market being one, and then moving a series of
old buildings to Mariposa, all of which are in use today. Last but
not least was the first Pioneer Market at the south end of town, then
moving to the shopping center behind the Post Office.

A lot of changes have taken place in the last sixty-five years. At
the end of WWII there was no electricity in rural areas, nor many
telephones; the roads were mostly dirt or gravel, some with oil; the
old White buses, sold to the district by Emile Trabucco, brought
students to the High School, which had about l60 students; basketball
was played outdoors on a dirt court and football was played on a
field covered with sawdust, when sawdust was available. The new High
School, opened in l938, was our pride and joy and we had wrestling
classes in the old High School which had been condemned almost from
the day it was built in l918. The Sheriff's Office had two
officers, was open from 8AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday, had one
telephone, closed on weekends as was the rest of the county offices.
The 1858 stone jail on Bullion St., was still being used and most of
county government was contained in the l854 Court House. The welfare
department was in a small space behind the Drug Store in the Odd
Fellows Building and was run by one Director and a part time clerk,
later to grow a bit. The economy of Mariposa County was cattle and
subsistence farming. Yosemite National Park had been closed down,
although not closed entirely. The Ahwahnee Hotel was a hospital for
the Navy and most of the Curry Company employees were laid off. Fred
Patterson, who had been in charge of Yosemite Transportation, moved
to Mariposa to be in charge of the Bus Garage at the High School and
one could walk in any direction out of town for miles without seeing
an automobile.

Slowly the tourists returned to Yosemite and Mariposa, until today,
tourism is our major industry. So major in fact, that without the
tourist and the tax revenue left behind, the Sheriff's Office would
close at 5PM each day and be reduced to one telephone. Maybe not
quite that bad, but consider if we had lumber mills and gold mines
running again; that the Yosemite Valley Railroad carried logs to
Merced Falls and limestone to Merced; if cattle ranged most of the
county; and suddenly it was all shut down. How about that. If we
have a problem with our economy it is because we have very little
diversity. But to have modern diversity would mean a very different
county; one which most people would not like. One way or another
Mariposa County Government has controlled the growth of diversity
over the years by making it more than difficult. There is no
question that the economic conditions in Merced County have had an
affect on the progress of Mariposa County. But in the long run, it
has been the positive anti-growth part of our make up that has more
to do with our progress towards urbanization more than anything. New
people coming to Mariposa County can not understand why we would not
want change and growth. Maybe it is because of our affinity for the
environment that surrounds us. Maybe we see our land to be more than
inventory to be marketed. Maybe we see more value in small towns and
slow development. But one incident pretty much spells it out for me.
In l938 or so, the State of California told Mariposa County that the
1858 jail had to be replaced, in essence condemning it for further
use. We got around to it in l965.

We are now faced with the need to strengthen the economy in this
county. Think about it. County government has to sell bonds to
cover the costs of retirement programs for its employees. That means
that not only are we indebt for past decisions but we will be in debt
for the future. Our county has choices. Either scale down the size
of our government to be able to meet our obligations, or, boost the
economy in order to have the resources to pay the bills. Both come
with undesirable results. Not a good place to be.

Leroy Radanovich

Leroy Radanovich Email:
Leroy Radanovich

To learn much more about Mariposa County along with
historical photos:
A signed copy of "Images of America" - Mariposa County,
By Leroy Radanovich can be purchased at his web site:
Radanovich Galleria & Books






This is a early day photo of the Mariposa Mine in
Mariposa County that is mentioned in the article to
the left by Mr. Radanovich.

This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books










Mariposa in 1920

This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books









Mariposa County Courthouse written by Leroy Radanovich and
Scott Pinkerton is a book about the oldest courthouse in California that is still in use today.
The book is signed by Leroy Radanovich.
To purchase the book:
Radanovich Galleria & Books








Mariposa in 1860


This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books