Ridleys Ferry is a former settlement in Mariposa County

Mariposa County, California

Mariposa County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It lies north of Fresno, east of Merced, and southeast of Stockton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,251 up from 17,130 at the 2000 census...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It was located on the south bank of the Merced River

Merced River

The Merced River , in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley. It is most well known for its swift and steep course through the southern part of Yosemite National Park, and the...

 opposite Bagby

Bagby, California

Bagby is an unincorporated community in Mariposa County, California. It is located on the north bank of the Merced River northeast of Hornitos, at an elevation of 830 feet . Lake McClure covers the original town site....

.

Thomas E. Ridley operated a ferry at the place from 1850 to 1852. The settlement endured during the 1850s and 1860s. John C. Fremont

John C. Frémont

John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...

 built a stamp mill at the place and renamed it Benton Mills in honor of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, his father-in-law.