| Official Name: | Mokelumne Hill |
| Settlement Type: | Census designated place |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Calaveras |
| Unit Pref: | US |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 3.082 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 3.079 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.003 |
| Area Total Km2: | 7.981 |
| Area Land Km2: | 7.974 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.007 |
| Area Water Percent: | 0.09 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation Ft: | 1473 |
| Elevation M: | 449 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 691 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Pacific |
| Utc Offset: | -8 |
| Coordinates: | 38.3006°N -120.7064°W |
| Timezone Dst: | PDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -7 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 95245 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 209 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature IDs |
| Blank1 Info: | , |
Mokelumne Hill (Mokelumne, Miwok for "People of the Fish Net") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 646 at the 2010 census, down from 774 at the 2000 census. It is commonly referred to as "Moke Hill" by locals. The town takes its name from the neighboring Mokelumne River, which in turn is Miwok for the "people of Mokel," the likely name of a Native American village in the area.
Mokelumne Hill was one of the richest gold mining towns in California. Founded in 1848 by a group of Oregonians, the placers were so rich that the miners risked starvation rather than head to Stockton to replenish their supplies (one finally did and made it rich by becoming a merchant). Soon after, gold was discovered in the nearby hills, so much so that miners were restricted to claims of 16square feet, and yet many of those claims were reported to have paid up to $20,000.
By 1850 the town was one of the largest in the area. Its population reached as high as 15,000 with people of all nationalities, particularly Americans, Frenchmen, Germans, Spaniards, Chileans, Mexicans, and Chinese. Besides racial tensions, the easy gold attracted criminal elements, and the town gained a reputation as one of the bawdiest in the area. Notorious bandit Joaquin Murrieta is said to have been a frequent visitor to the gambling venues. Violence was a major problem as well. In 1851, there was at least one homicide a week for seventeen consecutive weeks.
A June, 1851, incident in Mokelumne Hill has been dubbed California's French Revolution, or French War, by some historians. The previous year the State Legislature had passed the Foreign Miners' Tax Act of 1850. Frenchmen in the area revolted and refused to pay the tax. The Sheriff, also the Tax Collector, summoned a large posse to enforce the act, but the Frenchmen raised the French flag and proclaimed their independence. This prompted the Governor to direct a battalion of militia, commanded by William D. Bradshaw, to suppress the revolt. Disaster was averted when Bradshaw negotiated with the Frenchmen to stand down.[3] [4]
Also in 1851, the first post office was established in the town, and in 1852 the town became the county seat. In the same year a vigilance committee was formed and the worst of the crime was eliminated.
By the 1860s the gold started to run out and the town's population and importance diminished. When San Andreas became the new county seat in 1866, Mokelumne Hill's status declined even further. The town today is a quiet place, with much tourism due to its historic status. From 1959 to 1977 Mokelumne Hill was home to Lucile S. Davidson, known as "the shoe lady of Mokelumne Hill". She was in The Stockton 'Record' and later in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest privately owned glass shoe collection in the world.
Mokelumne Hill is registered as California Historical Landmark #269.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km), over 99% of it land.
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Mokelumne Hill has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.[7]
At the 2010 census Mokelumne Hill had a population of 646. The population density was 209.6sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of Mokelumne Hill was 571 (88.4%) White, 3 (0.5%) African American, 12 (1.9%) Native American, 4 (0.6%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 26 (4.0%) from other races, and 30 (4.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 66 people (10.2%).[8]
The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized.
There were 299 households, 63 (21.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 129 (43.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 31 (10.4%) had a female householder with no spouse present, 14 (4.7%) had a male householder with no spouse present. There were 24 (8.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 5 (1.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 99 households (33.1%) were one person and 38 (12.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.16. There were 174 families (58.2% of households); the average family size was 2.71.
The age distribution was 102 people (15.8%) under the age of 18, 39 people (6.0%) aged 18 to 24, 119 people (18.4%) aged 25 to 44, 245 people (37.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 141 people (21.8%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 51.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
There were 354 housing units at an average density of 114.9sp=usNaNsp=us, of which 299 were occupied, 205 (68.6%) by the owners and 94 (31.4%) by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 18.3%. 447 people (69.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 199 people (30.8%) lived in rental housing units.
In the state legislature, Mokelumne Hill is in,[9] and .[10] Federally, Mokelumne Hill is in .[11]