Ridleys Ferry, California

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Ridleys Ferry, later Benton Mills, is a former settlement in Mariposa County, California. [1]

Contents

It was located on the south bank of the Merced River, opposite the settlement of Bagby. [1]

History

It was on the Rancho Las Mariposas, an 1844 Mexican land grant acquired in 1847 by John C. Frémont. During the California Gold Rush Frémont built a stamp mill at Ridleys Ferry, and renamed it Benton Mills in honor of his father-in-law Senator Thomas Hart Benton. [1]

Thomas E. Ridley operated a ferry across the Merced River at the site from 1850 to 1852. [1]

The settlement endured during the 1850s and 1860s. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 742. ISBN   1-884995-14-4.

37°36′35″N120°08′09″W / 37.6097°N 120.1358°W / 37.6097; -120.1358