Washington Flat California, Merced River, February the 23, 1857 (Mariposa), dateline on folded letter addressed to Vermont and carried completely outside the mails, lengthy 3-page letter tells of getting $1,200 for a claim and wanting to sell the current claim for a $1,000, coming home for a visit next spring, and the prices he pays for supplies brought to his door, Very Fine. Estimate  $100 - 150. Washington Flat, on the north side of the Merced River above Bagby, was a very small mining camp from 1850. In 1859, John Fremont built a dam at Ridley's Ferry that flooded out all the remaining miners. $0 (Image)