La Grange, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
La Grange
French Bar
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Stage stop in La Grange Historic District.
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Stanislaus County |
| Reference #: | 414 |
La Grange is a small community in rural Stanislaus County, California. It's about 249 feet (76 meters) above sea level. In 2020, about 166 people lived there. La Grange is located along the Tuolumne River. You can find it near the La Grange Dam and the New Don Pedro Dam. Its exact location is 37°39′49″N 120°27′49″W / 37.66361°N 120.46361°W.
Discovering La Grange's Past
The name "La Grange" comes from French and means "the barn" or "the farm." This community and a nearby French settlement were also called "French Bar." La Grange was founded in 1852. This was around the same time French miners found gold in the Tuolumne River. By 1854, La Grange had more than 100 buildings.
La Grange became the main town, or county seat, of Stanislaus County in 1856. Besides its French residents, many Chinese people also lived there. At its busiest, thousands of people called La Grange home. However, it was known as a wild town. When the gold mines started to run out, La Grange began to decline. By 1880, gold mining had stopped completely. Gold dredgers, which are machines that dig for gold in rivers, also operated in the La Grange area until the early 1950s.
John Muir's Journey
On June 3, 1869, a famous naturalist named John Muir started a journey from La Grange (also known as French Bar). He went with a sheep herder and a group of sheep. Their goal was to reach the sources of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers. Muir wrote about this amazing trip in his book, "My First Summer in the Sierra."
In his book, Muir describes leaving French Bar. He moved with the sheep into the hills near Coulterville. He wrote about packing supplies and heading out in a cloud of dust. This experience deeply affected Muir. He wrote beautifully about the Yosemite area. His books were read by many Americans, including President Theodore Roosevelt. Muir became a key figure in the movement to protect nature and create Yosemite National Park.
La Grange Today: A Historic Place
Today, La Grange is a special place. It is listed as a California Historical Landmark and a historic district. This means it's an important historical site.
Even now, La Grange has a post office and a supermarket. There used to be a public elementary school, but it closed in 2015. However, Don Pedro High School still operates here. The oldest church in Stanislaus County, St. Louis Roman Catholic Church, is also in La Grange. It has a cemetery with old gravestones from the mid-1800s.
