Named after George Angel, who came to this part of California during the early 1850s, the Camp is hardly a ghost town today for it can boast a small residential community and business activity as well. The town gets its reputation from the stories of incidents which took place in the 1850s and 1860s featuring Joaquin Miller, Black Bart and others of notorious ilk who were featured in tales authored by Bret Harte and Mark Twain. Even though today Angel's Camp is not a ghost town in the truest sense, it still has much to attract the tourist. Ghosttowns.com

A few miles south of San Andres is Angel's Camp founded by George Angel in 1848 who had come to California as a soldier during the Mexican War. When news of the gold strike at Sutter's Mill reached Monterey, he was one of some ninety men who struck out for the Sierra. He built a trading post on what came to be called Angel's Creek. Within a year the hills at Angel's Camp were dotted with tents. Four years later the population reached 4,500 and Angel's Camp was one of the hubs of the Mother Lode. Information on historic buildings is provided at the Visitor Center at the south end of town. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.