Hornitos

Hornitos was one of the nation’s most famous ghost towns, with an early population of 15,000. It had the first Wells Fargo Express Office in the county, and $40,000 in gold was sent daily to the Mint by armed stage coach. Joaquin Murietta, called California’s most colorful bandit, used it as a playground. During the greatest Gold Rush of all time, Mariposa County was the biggest county in the world. Hornitos is Spanish for “Little Ovens,” a name given because the Mexican burial tombs were shaped like square ovens, and Hornitos’ oldest landmark was the cross on the hill.

Hornitos, California · United States