Facts in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Calaveras County is located in the foothills of Northern California called "the Gold Country." A jumping frog contest has been a featured event at the annual Angel's Camp county fair since the 1930s. The event commemorates Mark Twain's story, and since the jumping frog contest has become widely known as a tourist attraction, it can be said that Mark Twain's frog really is "celebrated."

American author Mark Twain was skillful at accurately reflecting 19th century speech patterns and vocabulary of rural areas.

Twain heard a version of the story in 1865 while he was staying at the Angel's Hotel in the mining town of Angel's Camp in Calaveras County, California.  In other versions of the story, Twain uses the fictitious name of "Boomerang" for Angel's Camp.