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 in California History. 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 California 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 rush town in California. It is a genuine small town and a living museum.