For many years Calaveras slumbered, but beginning in the 1920s and continuing to the present, water storage and hydroelectric generation began to play major roles in the economy. Of prime importance was the establishment of the Calaveras Cement Company plant in San Andreas in 1927, the largest employer in the county for over 40 years. The centennial of the gold discovery, celebrated statewide in 1948, introduced another generation to the legends and lure of the gold country. Histories were written, pageants produced, and ghost towns and ruins were visited. The stories of Mark Twain and Bret Harte were republished, and films and documentaries drew attention to the region.

Today, Calaveras County, like the rest of the foothills, has recently experienced a rapid growth in population; the economy presently depends on employment by units of government, service industries, construction, tourism, and agriculture. Golf courses, residential development, and second homes sprout up amidst the wine grapes and olive orchards, cattle and sheep ranches, and pristine open space. Boating, fishing, camping, hiking, and biking, have replaced mining and logging. Yet still today, witnessing growth unprecedented since the days of the Gold Rush, Calaveras County relies on its history as a touchstone of its essentially rural character.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, by Samuel Clemins