San Andreas was settled by Mexicans in 1848 and named after the Catholic Parish of St. Andrew. Its first newspaper was published there on Sept. 24, 1856. Fire destroyed the town on June 4, 1858, and again in 1863. It has been the county seat of Calaveras County since 1866. Joaquin Murietta used it as a rendezvous, and Black Bart, the notorious stage robber, was tried there and sent to prison. Known since early days as a mining camp, it produced gold from surrounding ancient river channels and placer mines that contributed greatly to the success of the Union during the Civil War.