Museum Notes: Where was Merced Bottom?

One day, my co-worker Timmie Bressler asked me where Merced Bottom was. She was very curious since she had been seeing references to Merced Bottom in Merced County Board of Supervisors minutes from the 1850s. I had no clue. Would that be the bottom of the county or the bottom of Merced River?

The bottom of the county did not really make sense since the county is pretty flat. The bottom of the river is a possibility. The Merced River coming down from Yosemite runs from Merced Falls all the way to Hill's Ferry on the San Joaquin River. The river reaches its low point once it enters the plains of Merced County; thus, the bottom of the river, of course, is in Merced County. However, the river's course in the county is pretty long and runs through Merced Falls, Snelling, Ballico, Cressey, Delhi, Livingston and Hilmar. Where exactly was the area of Merced Bottom that the founding fathers referred to back in 1855?

Historic maps do not show the area of Merced Bottom, nor do the early board minutes specify the location. On the other hand, it was common knowledge to the county officials of that era where Merced Bottom was as they frequently referred to it in their discussions of highway construction and farmland irrigation.

Sarah Lim -

My research leads me to the conclusion that Merced Bottom was a general area centered in Snelling that stretched as far east as Merced Falls and as far west as Hopeton when the county was organized in 1855. Snelling, Merced Falls and Hopeton were the cradles of Merced County because their fertile lands were well irrigated by the water from Merced River.

The settlement in the Snelling area began with the arrival of John M. Montgomery and Samuel Scott in the late spring of 1851. They each established their own ranches along the Merced River area and built a "house of entertainment" in what is today's Snelling. Then the Snelling family who came in the fall of 1851 bought the place and operated it under the name of Snelling's Hotel; thus, the area became known "Snelling's Ranch."

Other farmers who started their ranches along the bottom of the Merced River include Peter Sharer, Bird Strickland, S. R. Gwin, G. W. Halstead, William Hamlin and Albert Ingalsbe. Since there were not any official names of the towns, at least not until the establishment of a post office such as Snelling's Ranch post office in 1853, Forlorn Hope (later known as Hopeton) post office in 1854, and the Merced Falls post office in 1856, this area may have often been referred to as Merced Bottom prior to the organization of the county.

So after the county was organized, a road known as Merced Bottom Road was built and it appeared to run through the property of Samuel Scott which was about two miles south of Snelling.

If anyone knows more about Merced Bottom, please contact me at the Courthouse Museum.

Sarah Lim is the director of Merced County Courthouse Museum. She can be contacted at 723-2401 or info@mercedmuseum.org