Mark Twain Frog Cairn
Angels Camp, California
A small stone statue of a frog, perched on a rock cairn, helps you remember Mark Twain's first breakout story, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," about a Gold-Rush-era frog-jumping contest in Angels Camp, which now calls itself "Frogtown USA."
The first tourism-inspired frog-jumping contest was held here on May 19, 1928 (Mark Twain was long dead by then), and it proved so popular that annual contests are still held during the third week of May. The world record jump of 21 feet, 5.75 inches, set by "Rosie the Ribiter" in 1986, is still unbroken.
The Frog Hop Hall of Fame is a series of gold plaques along the sidewalks of Angels Camp, paying tribute to the contest's champion frogs and their handlers.