Altaville, California

Altaville is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California, located in northwest portion of the city of Angels Camp. It sits at an elevation of 1,540 feet (467 m) above sea level and is located at coord|38.08389|N|120.56083|W|, at the intersections of SR 49 and SR 4. The community is in ZIP code 95221 and area code 209.

The town was established in 1852 on Cherokee Creek. Notorious bandit Joaquin Murrieta supposedly spent so much time here that a mountain northwest of the creek was named Joaquin Mountain. Although gold was discovered here in 1854, it didn't last long, but the town survived due to its position as an important point for supplies and machinery. D.D. Demerest established a foundry here in 1854, and others soon followed. Most of the stamp mills and a large part of the mining machinery erected in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties were built at the Altaville Foundry. A brick schoolhouse was built at Altaville in 1858 and the townsite was established in 1873.

Altaville was also the site of an archaeological hoax, the Calaveras Skull.

The town today is registered as California Historical Landmark #288.

Politics

In the state legislature Altaville is located in the 1st Senate District, represented by Republican Dave Cox, and in the 25th Assembly District, represented by Republican Tom Berryhill. Federally, Altaville is located in California's 3rd congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +7 [cite web | title = Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest? | publisher = Campaign Legal Center Blog | url=http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html | accessdate = 2007-10-20] and is represented by Republican Dan Lungren.

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