Editing Jackson, California (section)

==History==
[[File:2009-0724-CA-Jackson-AmadorCtyCourt.jpg|thumb|left|The 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.<ref name="CAcourt">[http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/trial/historic/amador.htm], Judicial Council of California, Accessed August 2, 2009.</ref> It was recently closed and legal activities have resumed in another, newer facility.]]

===Early history===
The area was inhabited by the Northern Sierra Indians, who occupied areas along creeks, spring, and seep areas, including permanent and seasonal drainages, flat ridges, and terraces. Therefore, areas along [[watercourse]]s are considered likely locations for [[prehistoric]] cultural resources.  Permanent villages were usually placed on elevations above seasonal [[flood]] levels. Surrounding areas were used for hunting and seed, [[acorn]], and grass gathering.

===Recent history===
Jackson, named after Colonel Alden Jackson, was founded in 1848 around a year-round [[spring (hydrosphere)|spring]]. Settlement of the region by American [[Settler|pioneers]] was stimulated by the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills around 1848. The settlement was named for a local lawyer who was liked by miners named Alden Appola Moore Jackson.  Although Amador County was an important mining center, its county seat of Jackson was not typical of the early gold camps. The camp grew quickly, as besides being a popular mining spot, it was also a convenient stopping place on the road from [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] to the Southern Mines. The camp became an important supply and transportation center for the neighboring towns, and by 1850, its population had reached an estimated 1,500. Jackson grew first as a watering hole for [[cattle]], then as one of the earliest and most durable of the [[mother lode]]'s hard rock mining areas. In 1854, Jackson became the county seat of newly formed Amador County, California. Previously, from 1851 to 1852, it had been the county seat of [[Calaveras County, California|Calaveras County]].

[[Placer mining]] gave out by the 1860s, replaced by hard rock mining. One of the town's most prominent historical landmarks, the [[Kennedy Mine]], began operation in 1860; at the time of its closure during [[World War II]] in 1942, it was the deepest [[gold mine]] in North America, at 1802&nbsp;m (5912&nbsp;ft). On August 27, 1922, 47 miners became trapped when a fire broke out in the Argonaut mine. All 47 men died in the fire, but the last body was not recovered until over a year later. The Argonaut mine incident was the worst gold mine disaster in US history.

In October 1942, the US government passed the War Production Board Limitation Order, which signaled the demise of gold mining in California. The government needed men for the war and gold was not considered a strategic war metal.