Amador County (ⁱ/ˈæmədɔːr/) is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson. Amador County, located within California's Gold Country, is known as "The Heart of the Mother Lode". There is a substantial viticultural industry in the county.

History

Amador County is named after José María Amador, a Californio miner who found gold in the area in 1848.

Dr. Charles Boarman (1828–1880), son of Rear Admiral Charles Boarman, and his family settled in the area. He served as the first county physician and coroner from 1863 to 1880.

The former Amador County Courthouse consists of two buildings: the second courthouse (built 1864) and the Hall of Records (1893), that were enclosed and combined in 1939 with an Art Deco exterior.

High-grade Gold-quartz ore from Amador County

Amador County was created by the California Legislature on May 11, 1854, from parts of Calaveras and El Dorado counties. It was organized on July 3, 1854. In 1864, part of the county's territory was given to Alpine County.

The county is named for José María Amador, a soldier, rancher, and miner, born in San Francisco in 1794, the son of Sergeant Pedro Amador (a Spanish soldier who settled in California in 1771) and younger brother to Sinforosa Amador.

In 1848, Jose Maria Amador, with several Native Americans, established a successful gold mining camp near the present town of Amador City. In Spanish, the word amador means "one who loves". Some of the Mother Lode's most successful gold mines were located in Amador County, including the Kennedy, Argonaut, and Keystone.

There are numerous gold mines in Amador County including the Argonaut Mine, the Kennedy Mine, the Central Eureka, and the Lincoln. The Kennedy Mine in Jackson was the deepest gold mine of its time. The federal government closed all of the Mother Lode's mines in 1942 because they were considered non-essential to the war effort.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 606 square miles (1,570 km²), of which 595 square miles (1,540 km²) is land and 11.4 square miles (30 km²) (1.9%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in California by land area and second-smallest by total area. Water bodies in the county include Lake Amador, Lake Camanche, Pardee Reservoir, Bear River Reservoir, Silver Lake, Sutter Creek, Cosumnes River, Mokelumne River, and Lake Tabeaud. Thirty-seven miles of the North Fork and main Mokelumne River were added to the California Wild and Scenic Rivers System on June 27, 2018, when Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown signed Senate Bill 854.

Amador County is located approximately 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Sacramento in the part of California known as the Mother Lode, or Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada.

Amador County ranges in elevation from approximately 250 feet (76 m) in the western portion of the county to over 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in the eastern portion of the county, the tallest point being Thunder Mountain. The county is bordered on the north by the Cosumnes River and El Dorado County and on the south by the Mokelumne River and Calaveras County, on the west by Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties, and the east by Alpine County.

Adjacent counties

El Dorado County – north
Alpine County – east
Calaveras County – south
San Joaquin County – southwest
Sacramento County – west

National protected area

Eldorado National Forest (part)
Mokelumne Wilderness (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	10,930	—
1870	9,582	−12.3%
1880	11,384	18.8%
1890	10,320	−9.3%
1900	11,116	7.7%
1910	9,086	−18.3%
1920	7,793	−14.2%
1930	8,494	9.0%
1940	8,973	5.6%
1950	9,151	2.0%
1960	9,990	9.2%
1970	11,821	18.3%
1980	19,314	63.4%
1990	30,039	55.5%
2000	35,100	16.8%
2010	38,091	8.5%
2020	40,474	6.3%
2023 (est.)	41,811	9.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 census

**Amador County, California - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	30,325	29,725	79.61%	73.44%
Black or African American alone (NH)	938	1,215	2.46%	3.00%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	547	577	1.44%	1.43%
Asian alone (NH)	396	554	1.04%	1.37%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	63	73	0.17%	0.18%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	130	249	0.34%	0.62%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	936	2,067	2.46%	5.11%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	4,756	6,014	12.49%	14.86%
Total	38,091	40,474	100.00%	100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2011

Population, race, and income
Total population	38,244
White	33,454	87.5%
Black or African American	870	2.3%
American Indian or Alaska Native	889	2.3%
Asian	529	1.4%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	82	0.2%
Some other race	1,432	3.7%
Two or more races	988	2.6%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	4,677	12.2%
Per capita income	$28,030
Median household income	$56,180
Median family income	$69,521

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type	Population	White	Other	Asian	Black or African American	Native American	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Amador City	City	158	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Buckhorn	CDP	2,090	98.4%	1.6%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	5.6%
Buena Vista	CDP	435	68.5%	25.1%	0.0%	0.0%	6.4%	0.0%
Camanche North Shore	CDP	791	96.7%	3.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	16.9%
Camanche Village	CDP	704	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Drytown	CDP	138	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Fiddletown	CDP	121	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Ione	City	7,873	70.7%	14.6%	2.6%	9.7%	2.4%	25.3%
Jackson^†	City	4,626	90.7%	4.8%	1.2%	0.8%	2.5%	16.6%
Kirkwood^‡	CDP	158	96.8%	0.0%	0.6%	2.5%	0.0%	0.0%
Martell	CDP	140	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Pine Grove	CDP	2,573	93.0%	5.9%	1.1%	0.0%	0.0%	7.3%
Pioneer	CDP	1,226	82.1%	2.6%	0.0%	0.0%	15.3%	0.0%
Plymouth	City	1,055	94.0%	3.2%	0.6%	0.0%	2.2%	11.7%
Red Corral	CDP	1,757	84.4%	11.8%	2.3%	0.2%	1.4%	2.9%
River Pines	CDP	578	97.1%	0.0%	2.9%	0.0%	0.0%	6.9%
Sutter Creek	City	2,497	93.4%	1.5%	4.8%	0.0%	0.3%	5.3%
Volcano	CDP	184	99.4%	0.0%	0.6%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

^† County seat
^‡ Data for Amador County area of this CDP

Places by population and income
Place	Type	Population	Per capita income	Median household income	Median family income
Amador City	City	158	$36,439	$63,036	$81,500
Buckhorn	CDP	2,090	$31,611	$50,365	$54,833
Buena Vista	CDP	435	$12,573	$32,944	$33,444
Camanche North Shore	CDP	791	$31,857	$58,309	$79,125
Camanche Village	CDP	704	$35,199	$98,333	$98,631
Drytown	CDP	138	$20,676	$21,172	$70,595
Fiddletown	CDP	121	$69,702	$65,192	$49,766
Ione	City	7,873	$14,946	$72,734	$79,775
Jackson^†	City	4,626	$24,945	$48,631	$63,028
Kirkwood^‡	CDP	39	$14,623	$7,188
Martell	CDP	140	$23,051	$50,962	$90,391
Pine Grove	CDP	2,573	$29,918	$52,917	$74,048
Pioneer	CDP	1,226	$32,153	$42,917	$92,600
Plymouth	City	1,055	$21,626	$38,333	$56,667
Red Corral	CDP	1,757	$20,145	$58,450	$57,803
River Pines	CDP	578	$30,626	$31,544	$38,875
Sutter Creek	City	2,497	$26,788	$46,316	$51,389
Volcano	CDP	183	$47,178	$89,688

^† County seat
^‡ Data for Amador County area of this CDP

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Amador County had a population of 38,091. The racial makeup of Amador County was 33,149 (87.0%) White, 962 (2.5%) African American, 678 (1.8%) Native American, 419 (1.1%) Asian, 77 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,450 (3.8%) from other races, and 1,356 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,756 persons (12.5%).

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
Place	Type	Total population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	Other races	Two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Amador County	County	38,091	33,149	962	678	419	77	1,450	1,356	4,756
Amador City	City	185	171	0	4	2	0	2	6	11
Ione	City	7,918	5,826	824	173	110	21	678	286	1,991
Jackson^†	City	4,651	4,090	32	94	60	4	185	186	520
Plymouth	City	1,005	850	3	18	6	2	70	56	183
Sutter Creek	City	2,501	2,272	10	34	65	5	40	75	219
Buckhorn	CDP	2,429	2,259	9	37	25	4	47	48	168
Buena Vista	CDP	429	365	1	23	0	0	12	28	35
Camanche North Shore	CDP	979	860	3	14	12	3	38	49	150
Camanche Village	CDP	847	762	0	9	8	4	31	33	121
Drytown	CDP	167	153	0	0	1	0	2	11	11
Fiddletown	CDP	235	215	0	5	1	0	8	6	22
Kirkwood^‡	CDP	61	59	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
Martell	CDP	282	234	0	14	0	5	14	15	36
Pine Grove	CDP	2,219	2,027	9	36	9	6	49	83	202
Pioneer	CDP	1,094	1,017	0	34	1	2	12	28	52
Red Corral	CDP	1,413	1,259	24	15	12	3	33	67	147
River Pines	CDP	379	324	0	5	4	0	8	38	31
Volcano	CDP	115	109	0	2	2	0	0	2	7
All others not CDPs (combined)	Others not CDPs	11,182	10,297	47	160	100	18	221	339	848

^† County seat
^‡ Data for Amador County area of this CDP

Economy

Amador Vineyard

The Shenandoah Valley was once the principal viticultural region of California though not as well known as the Napa Valley AVA or Sonoma Valley AVA viticultural regions. With the discovery of gold, the area quickly became a mecca for those trying to make their fortune. In the process numerous wineries sprouted up, many of whose vineyards are still in use by wineries today. The decline of the California Gold Rush coupled with the onset of Prohibition devastated the wine-making region of Amador County. Today this area has been resurrected and is now home to over 40 different wineries. Amador County is known for its Zinfandel, but many other varietals are produced as well. Amador County has a high percentage of old Zinfandel vines. Some of the Zinfandel vineyards in this county are more than 125 years old, including the original Grandpère vineyard, planted with Zinfandel before 1869 and believed to be the oldest Zinfandel vineyard in America. This 10-acre (40,000 m²) vineyard is home to some of the oldest Zinfandel vines on earth, with proof of their existence dating to 1869 when it was listed as a descriptor on a deed from the U.S. Geological Survey. A grant deed in Amador County records further proves their existence in 1869.

Education

There is one school district in Amador County: Amador County Unified School District.

Due to the low population of the area, there are few schools with small class sizes. In total for public schools, there are two high schools, two junior high schools, and six elementary schools. These numbers are in addition to two independent study schools, one charter school, and one continuing education school for adults. There are no colleges or universities within the county's borders.

In popular culture

"The Luck of Roaring Camp" is a short story by American author Bret Harte. It was first published in the August 1868 issue of the Overland Monthly and helped push Harte to international prominence. Harte lived in this area during his "Gold Rush" period, and possibly based the story in a mining camp on the Mokelumne River.

The Gold Rush rock music festival took place at Lake Amador on October 4, 1969. Performers included Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, Bo Diddley, Albert Collins, and Taj Mahal.

In the 1993 movie Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, a map of Amador County is shown, as well as many other California counties.

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 16
State Route 26
State Route 49
State Route 88
State Route 104
State Route 124

Public transportation

Amador Transit provides service in Jackson and nearby communities. Connections to Calaveras County and a daily commuter bus to/from Sacramento leave from the Sutter Hill Transit Center in Sutter Creek.

Amador County, California facts for kids

Contents

History

Geography

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

2020 census

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010

Economy

Education

In popular culture

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

Airport

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

See also