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California County
Calaveras County, California
Mark Twain's jumping frog county and the Calaveras Big Trees - from Angels Camp's Jumping Frog Jubilee (Mark Twain's 1865 short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" made this Gold Rush town internationally famous, and the annual frog jumping contest has run since 1928) to Calaveras Big Trees State Park's extraordinary North and South Groves of giant sequoias, Murphys' wine country and Victorian charm, and a Sierra Nevada foothill county where Gold Rush heritage, literary fame, and exceptional natural landscapes intersect on Highway 49.
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Office: Calaveras County OES – (209) 754-6725 | co.calaveras.ca.us
Alert System: Calaveras Alert; CA Alert; Nixle; NOAA Weather Radio
Shelter Info: Calaveras County Fairgrounds (Angels Camp); school facilities; contact OES
FEMA Region: Region 9
Notes: Gold Country foothills county; San Andreas is county seat; extreme wildfire risk (2015 Butte Fire – 70,000 acres, 475 homes; 2021 Caldor Fire threatened borders; ongoing high fire risk); Calaveras River and Mokelumne River; earthquake risk; winter weather at elevation; Gold Rush history (Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”)
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
County Roads: Calaveras County Public Works – (209) 754-6401
Transit: Calaveras Transit – (209) 754-4450; limited fixed-route and demand-response; very auto-dependent
Notes: Hwy 49 (Gold Rush highway) runs through the county; Hwy 4 (Ebbetts Pass – closed in winter east of Tamarack) connects to the high Sierra; Angels Camp (the county’s largest city by population, named for a Gold Rush miner); San Andreas is the county seat; Murphys is a beloved wine/heritage town; Sacramento about 90 miles west; Stockton about 60 miles west
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Calaveras County Planning – (209) 754-6394
Services: County permits; Angels Camp has separate permits (only incorporated city)
Notes: Wine country development (Calaveras wine AVA – growing reputation); retirement community construction; wildfire-resistant construction critical; vacation property construction in the higher elevations; Angels Camp modest growth
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Calaveras County Veterans Services – (209) 754-6725
VA Medical: VA Northern California (Mather) – Sacramento; Stockton VA CBOC; very remote from major VA
Services: Benefits claims, VA healthcare; limited local resources
Notes: Rural foothills county; VA access requires significant travel; Columbia College (adjacent Tuolumne County) has some veteran student resources nearby
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Calaveras County Library – (209) 754-6510 | calaveras.ca.us
Branches: San Andreas, Angels Camp, Copperopolis, Mokelumne Hill, Valley Springs, West Point
Services: Books, e-books, public computers, Wi-Fi, California Gold Rush history collection (outstanding), Mark Twain heritage, children’s programs
Notes: Calaveras County Library’s Gold Rush and Mark Twain heritage collections are exceptional; the county’s history is deeply intertwined with the Gold Rush era and with Mark Twain’s brief time here (he heard the jumping frog story in Angels Camp in 1865 and wrote the tale that launched his career); the library serves a dispersed rural community across multiple branches
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Calaveras Big Trees State Park – parks.ca.gov | (209) 795-2334 (giant sequoia groves – the North and South Groves; one of California’s most accessible and beloved big tree parks; the North Grove has some of the most photographed sequoias in California); California Caverns (Cave City – guided tours through a cavern system that was the first major cave discovered in the West during the Gold Rush); Mercer Caverns (Murphys); Moaning Cavern Adventure Park (Vallecito); Murphys historic downtown (charming Gold Rush town with excellent wine tasting, restaurants, Victorian architecture); Angels Camp (the Jumping Frog Jubilee – annual May festival celebrating Mark Twain’s famous story with actual frog jumping contests; genuinely delightful); New Melones Lake (large reservoir; boating; camping); Lake Tulloch
Notes: Calaveras County may have the highest density of remarkable attractions per square mile of any rural California county; the giant sequoias at Calaveras Big Trees are stunning – the giant Discovery Tree (first sequoia known to Euro-Americans) was unfortunately cut down in 1853 but the stump remains; three major caverns open for public tours; Murphys is arguably California’s most charming Gold Rush wine town; the Jumping Frog Jubilee is one of California’s most beloved local festivals; the county is the embodiment of Mark Twain’s romanticized California
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Calaveras County GIS – co.calaveras.ca.us; CalFire fire hazard maps; New Melones reservoir management
Notes: County GIS; wildfire hazard severity zone mapping critical; New Melones Lake level monitoring; Ebbetts Pass road closure tracking
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: Calaveras County Animal Services – (209) 754-6509
Services: Stray intake, adoptions, owner surrenders, animal control; wildlife management (black bears increasingly common in subdivisions)
Notes: Black bear activity is increasing throughout Calaveras County as drought and development push bears into subdivisions; CDFW manages bear conflicts; mountain lion management; rural county with active wildlife
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Solid Waste: Calaveras County Public Works – (209) 754-6401; Angels Camp separate
Recycling: Curbside in Angels Camp; drop-off sites county-wide
Environmental: California SWRCB; USBR and Army Corps (New Melones Lake – irrigation and municipal water supply); Calaveras River and Mokelumne River watersheds; historic mining contamination (mercury from Gold Rush era); CalFire; Calaveras Big Trees SP
Notes: Historic mercury contamination from Gold Rush-era mining affects rivers and creek sediments throughout Calaveras County – California’s legacy gold mining mercury problem is one of the most significant historical environmental contamination issues in the Western US; mercury methylation in reservoir sediments (including New Melones) affects fish tissue; fishing advisories exist for many county waters; New Melones is a key irrigation and municipal water source managed by the Bureau of Reclamation; wildfire post-fire debris flow risk (2015 Butte Fire area) required debris removal; Calaveras Big Trees SP ecosystem protection from invasive species and climate change is an important conservation priority
About Calaveras County
Calaveras County has one of the most distinctive literary and natural identities of any California county – Mark Twain’s immortalization of Angels Camp and the presence of two groves of giant sequoias give it a dual claim to fame that drives significant tourism.
Angels Camp (population ~3,800) was a significant Gold Rush mining community that Mark Twain visited in the winter of 1864-65, gathering the material for “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” – published in 1865, it became the first nationally successful short story by an American writer and launched Twain’s career. The annual Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee has celebrated this heritage since 1928, with frog jumping contests drawing contestants and spectators from around the world.
Calaveras Big Trees State Park contains two groves of giant sequoias – the North Grove (discovered by Europeans in 1852, one of the first sequoia groves known to the outside world) and the larger South Grove. The park’s accessibility from the Bay Area has made it one of California’s most visited state parks for sequoia viewing.
Murphys (population ~2,200) is the county’s wine tourism center – a charming Victorian downtown surrounded by vineyards producing Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and increasingly interesting Rhône varieties at elevations between 1,800 and 2,600 feet.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
The Calaveras County Assessor at 891 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas, CA 95249, phone 209-754-6356, assesses under Proposition 13 rules. No CA estate tax.
Courts & Legal
Calaveras County Superior Court at 400 Government Center Drive, San Andreas, CA 95249, phone 209-754-9830, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK-RECORDER (Deeds, Marriage Licenses)
891 Mountain Ranch Rd., San Andreas, CA 95249
(209) 754-6372
County Clerk
(209) 754-6376
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Calaveras County Superior Court (marriage licenses, will and estate case files – see Probate section above)
Local societies
Calaveras Genealogical Society, Calaveras County, CA
Calaveras County Archives, San Andreas, CA
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Calaveras County Superior Court 400 Government Center Drive, San Andreas, CA 95249-9794 Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:15 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
California recently increased its small-estate thresholds substantially, so check this first – more estates now qualify to skip full probate than in past years.
Small Estate Affidavit (personal property) – for estates with personal property valued at $208,850 or less (for deaths on or after April 1, 2025; holds through March 31, 2028). No court filing needed – present the signed affidavit directly to the bank or institution holding the property. Must wait at least 40 days after the death, and no probate proceeding can already be pending.
Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property, Primary Residence – for a decedent’s primary California residence valued at $750,000 or less (Judicial Council Form DE-310). Requires a 40-day wait, notice to heirs, and a probate referee appraisal.
Affidavit for Real Property of Small Value – for other (non-primary-residence) California real property valued at $69,625 or less (Form DE-305). Requires a 6-month wait.
Formal Probate – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds. California typically uses the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA), letting the personal representative handle most matters without a court hearing for each step.
California is a community property state – a surviving spouse already owns their half of community property, and can often use a simplified Spousal Property Petition (Form DE-221) instead.
If using the small estate affidavit (personal property)
Wait at least 40 days after the death.
Confirm total qualifying California personal property (excluding trust assets, joint tenancy, POD/TOD accounts, and beneficiary-designated accounts) is $208,850 or less, using date-of-death values.
Complete the affidavit under Probate Code § 13100.
Present it with a certified death certificate directly to the bank or institution – no court filing required. Collecting property this way makes you personally liable for the decedent’s unsecured debts up to the value received (Prob. Code § 13109).
IF USING THE PRIMARY RESIDENCE PETITION OR SMALL REAL PROPERTY AFFIDAVIT
Confirm the property qualifies and the applicable waiting period has passed (40 days for the primary-residence petition; 6 months for the small real property affidavit).
File the petition (Form DE-310) or affidavit (Form DE-305) with the Calaveras County Superior Court.
A probate referee appraises the property; heirs receive notice.
Once approved, the property transfers without full probate administration.
If formal probate is required
Deliver the original will (if any) to the court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death (Prob. Code § 8200).
File a Petition for Probate (Form DE-111) to admit the will and request appointment as personal representative.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (Form DE-150) or Letters of Administration.
If Independent Administration authority is granted, the personal representative can act on most matters without separate court hearings.
Notice to creditors and an inventory/appraisal (with a probate referee) follow, along with payment of debts and taxes.
The estate closes with a final petition for distribution.
What it costs
Small estate affidavit / real property affidavits: no court filing fee for the personal-property affidavit; filing fees apply to the DE-310 primary-residence petition and DE-305 small real property affidavit.
Formal probate filing fee: several hundred dollars, varying somewhat by county.
Personal representative and attorney compensation: statutory fee schedule based on estate size (Prob. Code §§ 10800–10810) – a percentage that declines as the estate grows.
No California state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
891 Mountain Ranch Rd., San Andreas, CA 95249
(209) 754-6500
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
CA Voter Registration
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Dept
(209) 754-6460
Medi-Cal
(800) 300-1506
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Calaveras County Public Health – (209) 754-6460
Services: Immunizations, WIC, STI testing, environmental health, vital records, restaurant inspections; behavioral health through Calaveras County Mental Health
Hospital: Mark Twain Medical Center (San Andreas) – (209) 754-3521; Dignity Health Stockton and Modesto for specialty care
Notes: Small community hospital in San Andreas; specialty care in Stockton or Modesto; rural foothills health dynamics; behavioral health and substance use services in demand; retirement community creates elevated healthcare needs
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: San Andreas
Population: 47,000
Area: 1,037 sq mi
Established: 1850
Tier: 3
Public Records
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