Amador County bills itself as "The Heart of the Mother Lode" and lies within the Gold Country. The Spanish word amador translates to lover in English.

Amador County was created by the California Legislature in 1854 from parts of Calaveras and El Dorado Counties. In 1864, part of the county's territory was given to Alpine County.

The county is named for Jose Maria Amador, soldier, rancher and miner, who was born in San Francisco in 1794. In 1848, Jose Maria Amador, with several Native Americans, established a successful gold mining camp near the present town of Amador City.

Some of the Mother Lode's most successful gold mines were located in Amador County, including the Kennedy, Argonaut and the Keystone.

"The Luck of Roaring Camp," a short story by Bret Harte, was first published in the August 1868 issue of the Overland Monthly. Harte, who lived in this area for several years, possibly used a mining camp on the Mokelumne River as a model for the fictional Roaring Camp.

Adapted from Wikipedia