The town of Murphys is a magnet for tourists. The park's northern grove of giant sequoias first became a tourist attraction in the 1850s and is one of the longest, continuously operating tourist attractions in California. Photo: Ed WalshĬalaveras Big Trees State Park in Arnold is the biggest draw for tourists to the county. Vocalist and guitarist Jill Warren now calls Murphys home. Art is due May 23 for the May 29 opening and reception at Rosebud's Cafe in Jackson. Also coming up is the Safe Space Art Show celebrating "rural queer identity and artists" that includes all three of the tri-counties. The Alliance is also organizing the #Out4MentalHealth Tri-County Picnic and Skill Share event on June 19 in Sutter Creek. The Alliance this year plans a Pride in the Park day in Murphys September 3. The Tri-County LGBT Alliance representing Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne counties maintains a Facebook page with LGBTQ events and support groups. "There is a strong lesbian community here," Huberty said. He moved back to his family's roots with his partner, Grant Armstrong, and currently works as the executive director for the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau and is CEO of the Calaveras Chamber of Commerce. Huberty grew up in Sacramento but his ancestors emigrated from Luxembourg and Ireland to Calaveras County during the gold rush. Martin Huberty is running for the District 3 seat, looked upon as the most liberal district in the otherwise deep-red county. It also could soon elect its first openly gay member of the Board of Supervisors. The county, like much of rural California, has long had a live-and-let-live attitude toward LGBTQ rights. That translates into support for jobs that employ 2,400 people and nearly $6 million in state and local taxes. The Calaveras County Visitors Bureau estimates that about a million tourists a year visit the county, which has a population of only 45,000. At about a 2.5-hour drive from San Francisco, Calaveras County fits the bill.
Now one of Calaveras County's biggest cash cows is tourism, which was kept afloat during the COVID pandemic mostly by Bay Area residents who were looking for a getaway within easy driving distance. The area's population exploded following the 1849 California Gold Rush. But it was gold, not skulls that would put the region on the map. Early Spanish explorers reported seeing skulls of Native Americans along what is now called the Calaveras River. Calaveras County in the Sierra Nevada foothills gets its name from the Spanish word for skulls.