Bear Valley (formerly Haydenville, Biddle's Camp, Biddleville, Simpsonville, and Johnsonville)[6] is a census-designated place[4] in Mariposa County, California, United States.

[3] The place was originally called "Haydenville" in honor of David, Charles, and William Hayden, gold miners.

[6] The place later bore the names "Biddle's Camp" and "Biddleville" in honor of William C.

[6] In 1847, John C. Frémont, a veteran of the Bear Flag Revolt, decided to settle down in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Desiring a ranch near San Jose, he sent $3,000 to the American consul Thomas O. Larkin.

Instead of his intended purchase, he was sold Rancho Las Mariposas, consisting of 44,387 acres (179.6 km2) in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills around Bear Valley.

After the beginning of the California Gold Rush in 1848, Fremont moved his grant's borders into the hills.

[8] Bear Valley is in west-central Mariposa County in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.