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Description of Alpine County – 1891
Lewis Publishing Company
From the Richard N. Schellens Collection of Historical Materials Vol. 71 – Section 16, Other Counties (Alpine-Vol. 6)
Donated by Walter Castor
Transcribed by Carolyn Feroben

The name of this county denotes its origin, the topography and scenery of the region it covers being of the most pronounced Alpine type. The word literally is derived from Alps, and this again from the Celtic root alp signifying white, referring to the snowy summits.

For boundaries, this county has the State of Nevada on north and east, Mono and Tuolumne Counties on the south and Calaveras, Amador, and El Dorado on the west. The county was organized by act of the Legislature March 16, 1864.

Few counties in California are better watered and timbered than Alpine. The two main forks of the Carson River, having many confluents, some of them large streams, traverse the county centrally from north to south. These streams serve the double purpose of furnishing conduits for floating down timber and fuel to the country below, and an immense water power, which can be made easily available for the propulsion of machinery. Although most of the timber in the valley and along the foothills has been cut away, the Comstock mines having obtained much of their timber and fuel here, the mountains further back are still covered with heavy forests, the inroads made upon them by the woodman being inconsiderable.

Alpine County was represented in the Legislature of 1885 by R. J. VanVoorhies, in 1887 by A. J. Gould, and for the other years see under head of Amador and other adding counties.