Catheys Valley

History

Cathey's Valley was named after Andrew D. Cathey, born in 1804 in Buncombe, North Carolina. He married Mary Deaver in 1828. Andrew was an adventurous young man in his early life. He decided to leave North Carolina on an exploratory trip to California with the Rowland-Hammond-Wills families from Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Their wagons loaded with household goods, they blazed a trail westward, settling in Benton, Arkansas. When the California Gold Rush began in 1849, many men left their families in search of gold. Andrew, his son Daniel, and son-in-law Benjamin Wills, traveled by river boat from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to New Orleans and then took a ship to the Isthmus of Panama. In Panama, they boarded a ship bound for San Francisco; from there they caught a stage overland to Indian Gulch in Mariposa County. In 1851, Andrew returned to Arkansas for his family. The Cathey-Wills, Rowland, and Hammond families organized a wagon train to California. Some of the families were those who had come from North Carolina earlier, leaving the Hammonds to start from Collegeville, Arkansas. Andrew Cathey was appointed captain of the Cathey-Wills wagon train. About twenty families traveled in covered wagons pulled by oxen. Horses were used to drive the approximate thirty head of cattle. It is said that only one steer was lost on the entire trip, and it was believed stolen by the Indians. A trip journal shows that they traveled to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where they re-grouped and purchased supplies for the trip that began on April 2. Rather than following the Santa Fe Trail, they traveled the southern route through Fort Bliss near El Paso, Fort Tucson, Arizona, then began following the Gila River. As the wagon train moved across the land, more people joined them. Special…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of , of which , or 0.24%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Acorn Woodpecker

  Melanerpes formicivorus (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  2,357
• mule deer

  Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817) · Mammalia
  2,260
• Western Gray Squirrel

  Sciurus griseus Ord, 1818 · Mammalia
  2,120
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  1,847
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,642
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  1,586
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,417
• Oak Titmouse

  Baeolophus inornatus (Gambel, 1845) · Aves
  1,373

Largest nearby schools

• Mariposa County High
  High · Mariposa · 448 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• Mariposa Elementary
  Elementary · Mariposa · 368 students · 26.3:1 ratio
• Sierra Foothill Charter
  Elementary · Catheys Valley · 132 students · 26.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.68 — 2026-08-28
  22 km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
• M 2.68 — 2026-04-29
  8 km NW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
• M 2.66 — 2026-03-21
  6 km WSW of Friant, CA
• M 2.55 — 2026-03-16
  20 km SW of Gustine, CA
• M 2.84 — 2026-03-07
  22 km SW of South Dos Palos, CA
• M 2.68 — 2026-02-22
  23 km SW of South Dos Palos, CA