Nature
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Originally named Tower Rock, May Rock is the largest outcropping of quartz along the Mother Lode. This 82 foot high formation contains no gold ore, as most gold ore within quartz lies at greater depths in the earth. It was part of Colonel John C. Fremont’s 1847 “Las Mariposas” 44,000 acre land grant and was later owned by Louis Trabucco. People came from Bagby, Bear Valley, Elkhorn, Hornitos, Mariposa, Quartzburg, and Princeton to celebrate May Day there, and it became the central gathering place for picnics, races, music, and a May Pole dance. Jessie Fremont was an early organizer of these events and gave it the name May Rock in remembrance of the May Day picnic held there. May Rock is currently owned by Robert Bondshu, a descendant of the pioneer Bondshu, Hope, Halstead, and McGregor families of Mariposa County.
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