Camanche (originally, Limerick; also, Clay's Bar) is a former settlement in Calaveras County, California. It lay at an elevation of 220 feet (67 m). Once called Limerick, the town became Camanche (after Camanche, Iowa) in 1849. Gold mining at nearby Cat Camp, Poverty Bar, and Sand Hill brought its population to a peak of 1,500. Mokelumne River water was brought in by Lancha Plana and Poverty Bar Ditch. A fire on June 21, 1873, destroyed Camanche's large Chinatown. Buhach, an insect powder made from a plant, was manufactured on the nearby Hill Ranch.