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History of Grass Valley and Nevada City
Our two cities share a rich and fascinating history. From the Native American tribes that once inhabited this area to the Gold Rush era and it’s famous personalities and innovators through to a period of decline and rebirth into the thriving cities you will find here today. There is no end to exciting tails to be told and discovered as you wind your way along our streets and neighborhoods. Come immerse yourself in the historic Gold Country.
Nevada City, Queen City of the Northern Hills
Nevada City was originally called Deer Creek Dry Diggins when it was just a mining camp. In the fall of 1849 Dr. A.B. Caldwell opened a general store and the mining camp started resembling a town. The town became Caldwell’s Upper Store. In 1850, the town was looking more like a city, with a cities’ problems. The citizens, under Mexican law, elected a mayor, or "Alcalde," to establish and keep order.
The new city needed an official name, so, in a canvas hotel at Main and Commercial streets, ballots were taken. The choice of “Nevada” which is Spanish for “Snow Covered” seemed appropriate to the crowd. On September 9, 1850 California was the 31st state to join the Union. In 1851, Nevada City became the County Seat when Nevada County was formed from a section of Yuba County. By 1856, 2081 votes were cast in the City of Nevada, only Sacramento and San Francisco polled more. In 1859, Silver was discovered in the Utah Territory. The first samples were assayed (weighed and assessed for value) at Ott’s Assay Office in Nevada (City). Many of Nevada’s residents headed over the Sierra to search for silver in what became known as the Comstock Silver Rush. Later, in 1864, that part of the Utah Territory was formed into the State of Nevada. In that year, the word “City” was added to Nevada, to distinguish the two for the benifit of all (particularly the Postal Service.)
After the initial gold rush, merchants, bankers and the like came to Nevada City and built homes in the style of the day. This was during the reign of Queen Victoria, and that style of architecture became known as “Victorian”. Colonial, Greek Revival, and "California Gothic" styles of architecture are well represented here as well.
Most of Nevada City burned to the ground on several occasions. Two of the most interesting buildings in the downtown area are fire houses that were built with more than utilitarian style. This also accounts for the prevalance of brick buildings featuring iron shutters.
What accounts for the preservation of Nevada City is the economic downturn it faced when the gold started petering out. By World War II, when the mines in Grass Valley closed, there was not much reason for building or refurbishing of old buildings, and the architecture of the period was spared urban renewal.
WPA projects in the post-war period gave Nevada City the art deco facades of the city hall and court house. In the late 1960s the residents and visitors of the area started recognizing the remarkable charm of the town. City ordinances were revised to disallow the historically inaccurate and downright tacky new storefronts and signage, and the city buried all the power lines littering the downtown area. Gas lights made from original 1800s molds were placed along Broad Street, and the Nevada Theatre was restored. Private restorations followed, and the result is the beautiful little city of Nevada City.
Nevada City is not only a museum of sorts in Itself, it is a hub of activity. Business, arts, sports, and entertainment of every variety occur on and around the streets of the town. There are lots of places to stay, first rate restaurants, and events that draw visitors from far and near. Whether it is for a weekend getaway or a two week vacation, Nevada City is a destination of choice.
Grass Valley, Quartz Queen of the West
When immigrants first came through, what is now known as Grass Valley, the meadows provided fodder for the horses, oxen and cattle. Thus the name "grassy valley" seemed appropriate. In 1849, a group of immigrants from Boston settled by the side of Wolf Creek. They build a store and cabins and named their settlement Boston Ravine. The main route through the area ran between Nevada City and Rough and Ready. The area that is now downtown Grass Valley was about halfway between the two settlements, so in 1850 it came to be known as Centerville. The Postal Service opened it's first office under that name. Ultimately the three settlements became one town and adopted the name Grass Valley.
Grass Valley's claim to historic fame is embedded in the vast amounts of gold discovered and extracted from its rich underground mines. Initially most gold was sifted from river gravel along the creeks in the area. Then in 1850, a settler named George McKnight discovered gold in the quartz rock along Gold Hill and the real boom began and hard rock mining was introduced. In more than 100 years of mining, the mines of Grass Valley made it the richest of all California gold mining towns. As word spread about the gold rush, prospectors flooded the foothills. The Empire Mine pumped out gold in huge quantities until World War II. Change accelerated in Grass Valley from the 1930's to the 1950's. While the Depression saw gold revenues soar, World War II forced the closure of the mines. As the town's dependence on a gold economy was shaken to its core, miners enlisted or left Grass Valley for higher-paying jobs in defense industries. At the war's end the cost of rehabilitating the mines, coupled with inflation costs, left the mine owners little choice but to "pull the pumps" and allow the huge maze of tunnels and shafts to flood.
Still, Grass Valley retained an entrepreneurial spirit, slowly diversifying and regaining its position as a retail center. It also managed to keep its history alive by either rebuilding crumbling old homes like Lola Montez's cottage (now the Chamber of Commerce) or by turning them into museums like the excellent Grass Valley Museum in St. Mary's Convent.
Today, the town thrives and the beautifully restored historic buildings in the downtown area remind us of the days gone by. Shoppers head for Grass Valley's downtown, located at Mill and Main streets. Noted for its many antique stores, the downtown has great bookstores, a toy store, an art center, charming gift and clothing shops and many fine restaurants. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Grass Valley, population 12,000, offers great weather, natural beauty and a relaxed lifestyle, and is an inviting, easy to reach getaway from many metropolitan centers. |
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