Tuolumne County, California Genealogy

United States California  Tuolumne County

Parent County
18 February 1850: Tuolumne County was created as an original county. County seat: Sonora

Neighboring Counties

 * Alpine
 * Calaveras
 * Mariposa
 * Merced
 * Mono
 * Stanislaus

Archives and Libraries
The official records of Tuolumne County, one of California's 27 original counties, are located in the Carlo M. De Ferrari Archive. The building was designed in 1997 by Cooper Kessel, an East Sonora architect and built by Barham Industrial Constructors, Inc. in 1999. It was dedicated for public use on December 21, 1999, and officially opened on June 8, 2001

Address: 490 Greenley Rd., Sonora, Ca 95370

Phone: 209 536-1163

Email Contacts: [mailto:cdyer@co.tuolumne.ca.us cdyer@co.tuolumne.ca.us]   or www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov

Hours: By appointment, Monday through Friday

The archive was named in honor of Carlo M. De Ferrari, a third generation Tuolumne County native son and "Official Historian of Tuolumne County," a title bestowed in 1972 by the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors in reocognition of his extensive knowledge of local history and his dedication to its preservation.

The county archivist oversees general administration of the archive. All records accepted for preservation in the archive must have a historical connection to official county governmental business.

Over 250,000 records from this collection have been entered into the Archive's database for the public to access and query. The public can access the collection via the Tuolumne County's website at the following portal.

Carlo M. De Ferrari Archive (Tuolumne County Archive)

To begin searching the archives, click the Archive Index button. The User Id for the public is Research; no Password is needed.

Click the Enter button, then click Archives from the drop down list.

Press Go.

Tuolumne County Library Website

The current listing of books is available via the internet on the Tuolumne County Library web page. The books are available for researchers at the archive as reference material.

Historical Society
The Tuolumne County Historical Society, established in 1956, is home to the Tuolumne County Museum, Tuolumne County Historical Society and the Tuolumne County Genealogical Society.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for emigrant settlers included:


 * California Trail 1844 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California


 * Carson (River) Trail 1848 (aka Mormon Emigrant Trail) crossed the Forty Mile Desert past the west side of the Carson Sink to pick up the Carson River near Fallon, Nevada up to Hope Valley and Red Lake. The Devil's Ladder then climbed 700 feet (210 m) in half a mile so ropes, chains, and pulleys were required to lift the wagons. Carson Pass was followed by the relatively easy West Pass (Kirkwood, California) and then on to Pollock Pines, Placerville, and Sutter's Fort, California


 * Big Tree Road (Ebbetts Pass) 1851 from western Nevada to Markleeville, Murphys, Sonora, and Stockton, California
 * Sonora Road 1852-1854 from the Carson Trail south to the Walker River along the base of the Sierra Nevada until it ascends to Sonora Pass and then down to Strawberry and Sonora, California

Societies, Libraries and Museums

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Groveland California Family History Center
 * Sonora California Family History Center

Websites

 * Tuolumne County CAGenWeb
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site