Amador City, California

Amador City, California
City
Historic buildings in Amador City
Seal
Nickname:  The gold country's hidden nugget
Motto:  "Essence of the California Gold & Wine Country"
Location of Amador City in Amador County, California.
Amador City, California Location in California Show map of California Amador City, California Amador City, California (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°25′10″N 120°49′27″W / 38.41944°N 120.82417°W / 38.41944; -120.82417
Country	United States
State	California
County	Amador
Incorporated	June 2, 1915[1]
Government
• Mayor	Sandra Staples[2]
• State Senate	Marie Alvarado-Gil (R)[3]
• State Assembly	Heather Hadwick (R)[4]
• U. S. Congress	Tom McClintock (R)[5]
Area [6]
• Total	0.31 sq mi (0.80 km2)
• Land	0.31 sq mi (0.80 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0%
Elevation [7]	920 ft (280 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	200
• Density	646.1/sq mi (249.46/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	95601
Area code	209
FIPS code	06-01514
GNIS feature IDs	1657922, 2409693
Website	amador-city.com

Amador City (formerly Amadore's Creek or South Amador) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 200 as of the 2020 census, up from 185 in 2010, making it the least populous city in California. Amador City is noted for being the smallest city in the state by area making up just .3 square miles in total. The current mayor is Sandra Staples.

Only two miles (3.2 km) from Sutter Creek on Old Highway 49, Amador City is the state's smallest incorporated city by area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²), all of which is land, making it the smallest city in California by size.

Amador City was originally settled in 1849 at what is now Turner Road and Amador Creek (an old wagon road between Drytown and Sutter Creek) by several groups of gold panners who were drawn to the area. One of the groups was the Sunol Group, which included José María Amador. José María Amador panned the creek, but his primary success was providing supplies that he brought from his rancheria in the San Ramon area. The creek, city and county eventually carried the name "Amador", the city taking its name from the county.^[8]

Early in 1851, gold quartz veins were discovered along the same creek but further west. Arrastras were brought to the area to crush the quartz. Shortly stamps mills were brought in to process the hard quartz that the gold veins were embedded in. By September two stamp mills were erected along Amador Creek. These stamp mills were so remarkable that it drew the attention of Eadweard Muybridge. He photographed the area and 3D images taken in 1851 were made of the stamp mills.

Amador City was incorporated as a city on June 2, 1915.

As of the 2020 census, Amador City had a population of 200. The population density was 645.2 inhabitants per square mile (249.1/km²). The median age was 46.5 years. 15.5% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.0% were aged 18 to 24, 28.0% were aged 25 to 44, 21.5% were aged 45 to 64, and 29.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.0 males age 18 and over.^[10][11]

76.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 23.5% lived in rural areas.^[12]

There were 95 households in Amador City, of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.9% were married-couple households, 8.4% were cohabiting couple households, 20.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11. There were 61 families (64.2% of all households).^[10]

There were 119 housing units at an average density of 383.9 units per square mile (148.2 units/km²), of which 95 (79.8%) were occupied. Of these, 54.7% were owner-occupied and 45.3% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 7.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.^[10][13][14]

In the California State Legislature, Amador City is in the 4th senatorial district, represented by Republican Marie Alvarado-Gil,^[3] and in the 1st Assembly district, represented by Republican Heather Hadwick.^[4]

In the United States House of Representatives, Amador City is in California's 5th congressional district, represented by Republican Tom McClintock.^[5]

Amador City is within the sole school district in Amador County: Amador County Unified School District.^[15]

There are currently no schools within Amador City's boundaries. The city is serviced by Amador High School, Ione Junior High and Sutter Creek Elementary.

On Main Street is the old Imperial Hotel, an example of historic Californian brickwork.^[16] A bridge replacement project completed in 2014 has beautified and revitalized the center of the city, providing patio dining at the Imperial Hotel, new public restrooms and improved access to the businesses in the area.

• Little Amador Railroad — Remnants remain of an incredibly detailed G-Scale model train set in a garden that featured miniature mines and mills and turn-of-the-century full-size mining equipment. It is currently unused.
• Amador City Cemetery — located behind the Imperial Hotel. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the 1.25-acre (5,100 m²) cemetery that dates back to the beginning of the town.^[17]
• Amador Whitney Museum — located in one of the oldest commercial buildings in town, dating back 1860, the museum collects and displays items related to history and culture of the Mother Lode region. The museum is named after Mr. Whitney, an antique dealer, who bequeathed the building to the city of Amador to be used as a museum.^[18]

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Amador City, California

• Official website