Map of Copperopolis CDP

Copperopolis is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 3,671 at the 2010 census, up from 2,363 at the 2000 census. The town is located along State Route 4 and is registered as California Historical Landmark #296.

Copperopolis CDP overview:
Name:	Copperopolis CDP
LSAD Code:	57
LSAD Description:	CDP (suffix)
State:	California
County:	Calaveras County
Elevation:	997 ft (304 m)
Total Area:	15.61 sq mi (40.44 km²)
Land Area:	15.59 sq mi (40.38 km²)
Water Area:	0.02 sq mi (0.06 km²) 3.09%
Total Population:	3,400
Population Density:	218.09/sq mi (84.21/km²)
ZIP code:	95228
Area code:	209
FIPS code:	0616210

Online Interactive Map

Copperopolis online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Copperopolis location map. Where is Copperopolis CDP?

Copperopolis location on the U.S. Map. Where is Copperopolis CDP. — Copperopolis location on the U.S. Map.

Copperopolis location on the California map. Where is Copperopolis CDP. — Location of Copperopolis in California.

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. This road was called “Reeds Turnpike” and remained a toll road until 1865. Copperopolis was on the main stage road from Sonora to Sacramento.

The town grew rapidly, as the need for copper during the Civil War for material was great. The copper was sent to Stockton and then to San Francisco, where it was loaded onto ships and taken around Cape Horn before finally arriving in smelters 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, which adjusted for inflation is worth approximately $160 million as of 2016. No copper mining has been done since.

The first post office was established in 1861.

Copperopolis has four buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Copperopolis Armory
Copperopolis Congregational Church
Honigsberger Store
Reed’s Store

Copperopolis Road Map

Copperopolis city Satellite Map

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 22.1 square miles (57 km), of which, 21.5 square miles (56 km) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km) of it (2.89%) is water.