Nevada City's Rich History

For a journey back into California's golden past and for modern-day cultural and recreational diversions, Nevada City ranks with Northern California's best.

Bordering the Tahoe National Forest and located just minutes from many Sierra lakes and rivers, Nevada City is ringed by deep green pine-covered hills. Today, the town has a population is just 2,800 but it wasn't always so peaceful. In 1850, there were 10,000 boisterous souls living here, and in the general election of 1856, the 2,082 ballots cast in Nevada City were exceeded in the state only by Sacramento and San Francisco.

"People visiting here for the first time are struck by the old mining
town appearance," says Edwin Tyson, curator of the Nevada County Historical Society's Searls Library, located near the County Courthouse.

"Preservation of the town's historic appearance is important to the people of Nevada City," Tyson said. "If it weren't for the parking meters, you'd think you were back in time."

Tyson says the town's off-the-beaten-path location, on state highways 49 and 20, but away from the busy interstate highway system, has allowed Nevada City to retain its homespun charm.

Realizing the value of preserving city history for future generations, Tyson and other citizens were successful in 1985 in having the entire downtown area registered as a national historic landmark.

The historic district, including 93 buildings, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, eight individual buildings are listed on the register and the town also contains 18 state and local landmarks.

There is even a plaque in the National Hotel parking lot which is dedicated to the ladies of the evening and their unique contributions to the Gold Rush. The plaque was placed by the fun-loving fraternity of E Clampus Vitus.

As the county seat, Nevada City served for many years as the commercial, governmental and professional center of Nevada County. Since the turn of the century, however, it has gradually relinquished its domination of the retail trade to nearby Grass Valley and has in recent decades actively developed its tourism industry.

Today, visitors enjoy exploring the town's narrow streets and century-old buildings. Nevada City nightlife, featuring several noted restaurants and near year-around live theatre, attracts regular visitors from Sacramento and the Bay area.

Nevada City developed along the banks of Deer Creek in 1849. Early reports told of miners who pulled a pound of paydirt a day from gold deposits along the creek. The town was first known as Deer Creek Dry Diggins and later as Caldwell's Upper Store. Several major fires in the 1850s and early 1860s convinced the townspeople to use more brick in rebuilding their structures.

Civic leaders named the town Nevada, Spanish for "snow-covered," in 1850 and the next year the newly-incorporated city became the Nevada County seat. The town's name was later changed to Nevada City after its title was borrowed by the state to the east.

The town has had its share of firsts and famous people. Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover lived and worked here as a gold miner in his younger days. Three former U.S. senators, George Hearst, A. A. Sargent and William Morris Stewart, lived in Nevada City.

The consolidation of water companies that formed the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. occurred here and PG&E's first general office was located in the National Hotel. The area boasts several inventions in the fields of mining, water and electricity.

It was in May, 1853, that Professor Henry Durant, formerly of Yale University, met with a committee in Nevada City to formulate plans for an academy that was incorporated two years later as the College of California. It would later become the University of California, Berkeley.

In recent years, the Nevada City lifestyle has attracted a number of well-known writers, artists and musicians. The area also draws high-tech business entrepreneurs who are able to locate their enterprises away from the stresses of big city life.

While many California gold rush towns have disappeared into the pages of history, Nevada City has rebounded time and again to emerge as unique blend of yesterday and today. Nevada City's current cultural and economic renaissance is again proof of the town's indomitable spirit.

"After more than a century of pioneer heritage," says Edwin Tyson, "Nevada City remains the most complete gold town in California. It is a genuine small town and a living museum.