Agua Fria Road is an approximately 2.3-mile rural highway located in Mariposa County. This highway corridor is one of the oldest identifiable roadways in the state as it once served the original Mariposa County seat of Aqua Fria. The community of Agua Fria was founded in 1849 by Sonoran Miners and became the first Mariposa County seat in February 1850. The County Seat was not long lived in Agua Fria as it would be moved to Mariposa in November 1851. The community of Agua Fria would burn during a fire in 1866 and was never rebuilt.
Agua Fria Road and the site of Agua Fria can be seen south of the Princeton Mine (Mount Bullion) on the 1868 Whitney map of Sierra Nevada adjacent to Yosemite Valley.
Part 1; the history of Agua Fria Road and the first Mariposa County seat of Agua Fria
Mariposa County was incorporated on February 18, 1850, as one of the original counties following California becoming an American state. Mariposa County initially was by far the largest county by area in California which was centered around mining claims in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The original county seat was the now ghost town of Aqua Fria.
Aqua Fria was centered around claims struck by Sonoran miners in 1849. The town site was located near Agua Fria Creek near two cold water springs. At the height of the community, it boasted about a dozen stores, several gambling halls and a hotel. The Aqua Fria Post Office would open on October 7, 1851. Despite Agua Fria obtaining Post Office service the Mariposa County seat would relocate to Mariposa on November 10, 1851.
This Quirot & Company lithograph was produced between 1851-1853 and depicts the Aqua Fria town site (California Landmark Foundation). There are no known photos of Aqua Fria when it was an inhabited town.
After losing the Mariposa County seat the community of Aqua Fria began a quick decline. The community would be destroyed during a fire on June 22, 1866, and would never be rebuilt. Despite being then recently destroyed the community of Agua Fria appears on the 1868 Whitney map of the Sierra Nevada adjacent to Yosemite Valley. What is now Agua Fria Road (Upper and Lower) appears on the map connecting Princeton (now Mount Bullion) to the now ghost town Guadalupe.
Southbound Aqua Fria Road begins at California State Route 49 in Mount Bullion.
Agua Fria Road becomes a single lane highway and passes through the location of Upper portion of the Aqua Fria town site. The roadway crosses over a small bridge and picks up the course of Agua Fria Creek.
Agua Fria Road continues south through what was Lower Agua Fria and terminates at California State Route 140. The state highway corridor (then Legislative Route Number 18) was relocated here in 1932. Aqua Fria Road was once continuous with that is now Yaqui Gulch Road.
Two historical plaques regarding the history of Aqua Fria can be found on California State Route 140 a short distance east of Aqua Fria Road.
As of 2025 a new historical plaque can be found at the Aqua Fria town site.
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