Angels Camp, California
city in Calaveras County, California, United States of America
Angels Camp (formerly Angel's Camp, Angels, Angels City, Carson's Creek and Clearlake), is the only incorporated city in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 3,667 at the 2020 census. It lies at an elevation of 1381 feet (421 m).
Established in 1849, the town was a quartz mining destination in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Over $100 million was generated from mining activities. Black Bart, Joaquin Murieta, and other outlaws were said to have spent time in the town. Mark Twain based his short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" on a story he claimed to have heard at the Angels Hotel in 1865. The event is commemorated with a Jumping Frog Jubilee each May at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds, just east of the city. Because of this, Angels Camp is sometimes referred to as "Frogtown."
The city is California Historical Landmark #287.
History
In May 1848, Henry Pinkney Angell, a native of Rhode Island, is said to have left Monterey, California with 92 men in search of gold.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Angels Camp, California” as city in Calaveras County, California, United States of America. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Calaveras County, California, United States of America. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2603725. VIAF identifies the subject as 157117428. The Library of Congress control number is n81092198. Authority coordinates are 38.068, -120.540. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1381, 1849 and 1865.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Angels Camp, California”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Angels Camp, California primary sources, Angels Camp, California archive and Angels research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Angels Camp, California”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Angels Camp, California” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.