Editing Copperopolis, California (section)

== History ==
Unlike most of the mining towns in the Calaveras County, Copperopolis' claim to fame is not [[gold]], but [[copper]]. It was founded in 1860 by William K. Reed, Dr. Allen Blatchly, and Thomas McCarty, at the site of the second major discovery of copper ore in the region (the first was nearby [[Telegraph City]]).

William K. Reed and Thomas McCarty founded the Union Copper Mine (and later the Keystone & Empire mines). In 1862, Reed sold out his interest in the mines and built a toll road from Copperopolis through Telegraph City. It connected with a road running westerly into [[Stockton, California|Stockton]]. This road was called "Reeds Turnpike" and remained a toll road until 1865. Copperopolis was on the main stage road from [[Sonora, California|Sonora]] to [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]].

The town grew rapidly, as the need for copper during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] for material was great. The copper was sent to [[Stockton, California|Stockton]] and then to [[San Francisco]], where it was loaded onto ships and taken around [[Cape Horn]] before finally arriving in [[smelter]]s on the East Coast.

After the war ended, mining and shipping copper proved too expensive and the population dwindled as the mines closed. However, a [[Boston]] company purchased the mines in the 1880s and mining operations resumed. The town went through boom periods during the two World Wars, when demand for copper went up again. By the time the mines closed in 1946, according to the [[U.S. Bureau of Mines]], they had produced 72,598,883 pounds of copper worth over $12 million ({{inflation|US|12000000|1946|r=-6|fmt=eq}}). No copper mining has been done since.

The first post office was established in 1861.<ref>{{California's Geographic Names|761}}</ref>

Copperopolis has four buildings listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Calaveras County, California|National Register of Historic Places]]:

<gallery>
File:2009-0724-CA-052-CopperopolisArmory.jpg|[[Copperopolis Armory]]
File:2009-0724-CA-CopperopolisCongregational.jpg|[[Copperopolis Congregational Church]]
File:2009-0724-CA-052-HonigsbergerStore.jpg|[[Honigsberger Store]]
File:2009-0724-CA-052-ReedsStore.jpg|[[Reed's Store]]
</gallery>