Ridleys Ferry, California
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Ridleys Ferry, later Benton Mills, is a former settlement in Mariposa County, California.[1]
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]
References[]
Categories:
- Former settlements in Mariposa County, California
- Merced River
- Mining communities of the California Gold Rush
- 1850 establishments in California
- Former populated places in California
- Mariposa County, California geography stubs