Tag: Murphys
Murphys (formerly, Murphy, Murphy’s, Murphy’s Camp, Murphy’s Diggins, Murphys New Diggings, and Queen of the Sierra) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 2,213 at the 2010 census, up from 2,061 at the 2000 census.
John and Daniel Murphy were part of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party, the first immigrant party to bring wagons across the Sierra Nevada to Sutter’s Fort in 1844. They earned a living as merchants, but like many others, began prospecting when the California Gold Rush began. They first started in Vallecito, which was known as “Murphys Old Diggings,” before moving to another location in 1848 which became “Murphys New Diggings,” “Murphy’s Camp,” and eventually just “Murphys.”
The placer mining in this location was wildly successful. Miners were limited to claims of 8 square feet (0.75 m) and yet many were still able to become rich. The Murphy brothers themselves, however, made far more money as merchants than as…
