{"nrhp_refnum":"77000306","name":"Mariposa County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5088 Bullion St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mariposa","county":"Mariposa County","state":"CA","lat":37.489022273000046,"lon":-119.96734344899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Law","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood-frame county courthouse at 5088 Bullion Street in Mariposa, California, built 1854-55 by P. V. Fox and A. F. Shriver, with later additions including a brick vault, clock tower and rear building.","why_significant":"It is described as the oldest courthouse in active use as a courthouse west of the Mississippi. Mariposa was one of California's original 27 counties, and the courthouse hosted important litigation, including a landmark 1859 mining law case on surface and mineral rights. It is also an early, simple example of Greek Revival design with Gothic Revival touches.","narrative":"Built in 1854-55 at 5088 Bullion Street in Mariposa, this two-story wood-frame courthouse has served county government for more than a century and is described as the oldest courthouse in active use as a courthouse west of the Mississippi. Builders P. V. Fox and A. F. Shriver, who came to California from the Northeast during the gold rush, drew on the public buildings they remembered from home. The contract price was $9,000. Timber was cut from a pine forest within a mile of the site. The design is an early, simple Greek Revival, with corner pilasters, a plain frieze and a pedimented gable. A clock imported from England was installed in a cupola in 1866. Later additions include a brick vault and a rear building from 1934. The courthouse hosted a major 1859 mining law case settling that landowners held mineral rights as well as surface rights. It was also called a shrine to the state's bench and bar.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899, 1900-","architect_builder":"P. V. Fox & A. F. Shriver","architectural_style":"Greek Revival (early, simple form), with Gothic Revival tower elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition, altered, on its original site; still in use as a county courthouse with county offices on the first floor.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.803399-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000306.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000306/693695e931-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000306/693695e931-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mariposa_Courthouse_CA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mariposa_Courthouse_CA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"91000560","name":"Mariposa Town Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/mariposa-town-historic-district-91000560/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859756","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariposa_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q43401498"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/mariposa-county/mariposa-county-courthouse-77000306/"}