Sierra City
| Sierra City | |
|---|---|
| census-designated place | |
 |
|
 Sierra City
|
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| Coordinates: 39°34′24″N 120°38′13″W / 39.57333°N 120.63694°WCoordinates: 39°34′24″N 120°38′13″W / 39.57333°N 120.63694°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 California
|
| County | Sierra |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.151 sq mi (5.571 km2) |
| • Land | 2.151 sq mi (5.570 km2) |
| • Water | 0.000 sq mi (0.001 km2) 0.01% |
| Elevation | 4,147 ft (1,264 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 221 |
| • Density | 100/sq mi (40/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| GNIS feature ID | 2583139 |
| U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sierra City, California | |
Sierra City is a census-designated place in Sierra County, California, United States. The elevation of Sierra City is 4,147 feet (1,264 m), and the town is situated in the canyon of the North Yuba River on California State Route 49, twelve miles northeast of the county seat of Sierra County, Downieville. The population was 221 at the 2010 census.
Before the California Gold Rush, only Native Americans had ventured into the area, which lies northwest of Lake Tahoe on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, and which lay between areas inhabited by Maidu, Nisenan, and Washo peoples (Pre-Contact Tribal Map). The area is now part of the Tahoe National Forest.
A settlement was established in 1850 by Philo A. Haven and Joseph Zumwalt, who were also involved with the settling of Downieville (Sinnott). In the Winter of 1852-53, however, an avalanche of snow destroyed the settlement, which was not rebuilt for several years. Ferdinand, Gustav, and Christian Reis purchased several mining claims near the Sierra Buttes and began to resettle Sierra City, which had a peak population of 3,000 during the decade after gold was discovered in California (1849).
Numerous hard-rock gold mines were developed on both sides of the North Yuba River Canyon near Sierra City. These include the Colombo Mine, the Independence Mine, the Keystone Mine, the Monumental Mine, the Great Sierra Buttes Mine, and the William Tell Mine. The Monumental Nugget, weighing over 106 pounds avoirdupois, was recovered in Sept. 1869.
Placer mining was also practiced and continues today on the banks of the North Yuba. On February 10, 1963, Alec M. Ostrom of Sierra City discovered a nugget weighing 8 troy ounces while placer mining (Sinnott.)
Historic buildings that remain in Sierra City include the two-story brick Busch Building, which the Wells Fargo Company occupied in the 19th century, and the Masonic Lodge, both of which sit on the town's main street, which is Highway 49. The town hall, a log structure, was built after World War II, and a new post office, dedicated in 1969, features stone work in which antique mining implements, including an ore-car, are embedded. The Bigelow House, a Victorian structure, is situated near the town's southwestern limits. The cemetery contains gravestones dating back to the 1860s.
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Wikipedia