La Grange is a small unincorporated community in Stanislaus County, California, set along the Tuolumne River in the rolling foothills of the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of about 259 feet. Its present size is tiny, with roughly 140 residents, but its history is outsized: La Grange was one of the boomtowns of the California Gold Rush and briefly served as the Stanislaus County seat. The community's origins trace to a group of French sailors who, according to local history, jumped ship in San Francisco Bay and made their way to the gold fields, settling a promising spot on the Tuolumne River. The town grew rapidly during the Gold Rush, and in 1856 it became the county seat of Stanislaus County. At its height, La Grange held thousands of residents and included a significant Chinese community, and contemporary accounts describe it as a rough, largely lawless town. La Grange outlasted most Gold Rush settlements by pivoting to hydraulic mining and later dredging. A dam was constructed across the river a mile above the town to supply water for mining and irrigation, and the surrounding district remained an active gold-producing area into the 20th century, including a government-built dredge that operated along the river. The town's decline followed the waning of the mining economy, but its historic core and its association with the Mother Lode endure. Today La Grange sits near the La Grange Dam and the New Don Pedro Dam, with Lake Don Pedro reservoir just upstream. Students attend Lake Don Pedro Elementary School in the Mariposa County Unified School District. The community's setting, on the edge of the gold country and within reach of the Sierra foothills and Yosemite, keeps its historic character alive for residents and visitors alike.