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Mariposa County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada
Morgage Terms
mountains. It lies north of Fresno and southeast of Stockton. As of 2000, its population
Real Estate Home Values
was 17,130. The county seat is Mariposa.
There are no incorporated cities in Mariposa County, though there are three communities recognized as census-designated places for statistical purposes.
Mariposa County was one
Mortgage Refinance
of the original counties of California, created at time of statehood. It was the largest of the state's original counties, but territory that was once part of Mariposa is now in twelve other counties: Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Mono, Thus, Mariposa County is known as the Mother of Counties. Part of the county's territory was given to Tulare County in 1852, to Merced County in 1855, to Fresno County in 1856 and to Mono County in 1861.
The county took its name from Mariposa Creek. The area was so named by Spanish explorers in 1807 when they discovered great clusters of butterflies ("mariposas" in Spanish) in the foothills of the Sierras. Some say these butterflies were really butterfly lilies.