Nevada City, California

Nevada City is a city in and the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, southwest of Reno and northeast of San Francisco. The population was 3,152 as of the 2020 census.

History

thumb|left|Nevada City by [[Julia Ann Rudolph]]

The settlement was originally a Nisenan village named .

European Americans first settled Nevada City in 1849, during the California Gold Rush, as Nevada (Spanish for "snow-covered", a reference to the snow-topped mountains in the area). Chinese immigrants as well as free and enslaved Black Americans also settled in the area during the Gold Rush. The town was later called Deer Creek Dry Diggins, and Caldwell's Upper Store. The Gold Tunnel on the north side of Deer Creek was the city's first mine, built in 1850. The first sawmill in Nevada City was built on Deer Creek, just above town, in August 1850, by Lewis & Son, with a water wheel. In 1850–51, Nevada City was the state's most important mining town, and Nevada County the state's leading gold-mining county. In 1851, The Nevada Journal became the first newspaper published in the town and county. The first cemetery in town, the Pioneer Cemetery, was founded around 1851 behind the Nevada City United Methodist Church, Nevada County's first denominational church.

The town of Nevada was incorporated on April 19, 1856. In 1864, the word “City” was added to its name to relieve confusion with the nearby state of Nevada, and the town has legally been known as Nevada City ever since. The former town of Coyoteville later became Nevada City's northwestern section.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , 99.83% of it land and 0.17% water.

Nevada, Missouri, is named after Nevada City.

Most of Nevada City lies on brown sandy loam soils of the Hoda series which developed on granitic rock.

Climate

Owing to its exposed location on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, Nevada City receives moderate to heavy rainfall for California at , though its climate is otherwise fairly typical for the state, classified as Mediterranean (Csa/Csb). Although exceedingly heavy snow falls on the nearby mountains, it rarely falls in the city. During a typical year, there are 31 days with temperatures of or higher, 75 freezing nights, and 60 days where the temperature fails to reach . The record high temperature is , set on August 14, 1933, and the record low is , set on January 21, 1937, and on December 9, 1972.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Nevada City had a population of 3,152 and a population density of .

The median age was 51.0 years. The age distribution was 13.6% under the age of 18, 5.5% aged 18 to 24, 23.9% aged 25 to 44, 27.6% aged 45 to 64, and 29.4% who were 65years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.7 males.

There were 1,465 households, out of which 19.5% included children under the age of 18, 34.7% were married-couple households, 8.5% were cohabiting couple households, 33.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 22.9% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 38.4% of households were one person, and 20.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.01. There were 734 families (50.1% of all households).

There were 1,623 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,465 (90.3%) were occupied. Of the occupied units, 58.5% were owner-occupied and 41.5% were occupied by renters. Of all housing units, 9.7% were vacant; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 1.8%.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported that Nevada City had a population of 3,068. The population density was . The racial makeup of Nevada City was 2,837 (92.5%) White, 26 (0.8%) African American, 28 (0.9%) Native American, 46 (1.5%) Asian, 0 (0%) Pacific Islander, 40 (1.3%) from other races, and 91 (0.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 205 persons (6.7%).

The Census reported that 2,829 people (92.2% of the population) lived in households, 56 (1.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 183 (6.0%) were institutionalized.

There were 1,356 households, out of which 317 (23.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 510 (37.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 155 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 79 (5.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 97 (7.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 15 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 488 households (36.0%) were made up of individuals, and 168 (12.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09. There were 744 families (54.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.67.

The population was spread out, with 517 people (16.9%) under the age of 18, 199 people (6.5%) aged 18 to 24, 720 people (23.5%) aged 25 to 44, 1,075 people (35.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 557 people (18.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.8 males.

There were 1,510 housing units at an average density of , of which 786 (58.0%) were owner-occupied, and 570 (42.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 1,678 people (54.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,151 people (37.5%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy

thumb|Commercial Street

Tourism

Nevada City's tourist attractions include:

Nevada City Winery was the first bonded winery to open in Nevada County after Prohibition.

Arts and culture

thumb|[[Nevada Theatre]]

thumb|upright|Fire House #1 Museum

thumb|Chamber of Commerce, formerly [[South Yuba Canal Office]]

thumb|[[Charles Marsh (railroad builder)|Charles Marsh house]]

Live music, theater and dance are performed at Miners Foundry Cultural Center, and the Nevada Theatre.

Museums

Firehouse No. 1 Museum
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad & Transportation Museum
The Miners Foundry Cultural Center has a small museum

Recurring events

Recurring and annual events include:

Mardi Gras, and Psychic Faire.
Constitution Day Parade, founded in 1967; one of the oldest and largest Constitution Day observances in the western United States.
Wild and Scenic Film Festival, founded in 2003, showcasing films about environmental issues, outdoor adventure, and extreme sports.
Nevada City Film Festival, founded in 2001.
Nevada City Storytelling Festival, founded in 1985.
Summer Nights, an outdoor street festival of art and music.
Victorian Christmas street fair.
Nevada City Classic, founded in 1960, a professional cycling race.

Buildings and structures

The Nevada City Downtown Historic District included several sites on the National Register of Historic Places or which have California Historical Landmark status.

Government

Nevada City elects a five-member city council. Council members select the mayor and vice mayor from their ranks. Council members appoint residents to a five-member Planning Commission.

Nevada City launched a "Goat Fund Me" campaign to raise $25,000 to have goats graze through dense brush in the municipal greenbelt. Nevada City is considered particularly at risk of wildfire, a "very high fire hazard severity zone" because of its wooded steep hillsides, narrow streets, 19th-century Gold Rush-era homes, and thick tree canopy.

County, state, and federal representation

Nevada City is in Nevada County. The District 1 Supervisor is Heidi Hall.

In the state legislature, Nevada City is in , and .

Nevada City is in .

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Nevada City has 2,353 registered voters. Of those, 1,225 (52.1%) are registered Democrats, 384 (16.3%) are registered Republicans, and 297 (12.6%) have declined to state a political party.

Education

Nevada City is within an elementary school district, Nevada City Elementary School District, that operates three schools: Deer Creek (K–4), Seven Hills (5–8) and Nevada City Charter School (K–8). Other large schools in the area include Nevada City School of the Arts, Forest Charter School in Nevada City, ad Yuba River Charter School in Grass Valley.

The high school district that Nevada City is inside is Nevada Joint Union High School District. Other high schools in the area include Silver Springs High School, Ghidotti High School, Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning, Forest Charter, Bitney Prep High School, and Bear River.

Higher education

Other local schools include the California College of Ayurveda and Connected Communities Academy.

Notable people

Lexie Alford (born 1998), youngest person to travel to every country
Tina Basich (born 1969), professional snowboarder
Donald J. Butz, U.S. Air Force (born 1933), Major General
Jennie Carter (1830–1881) African-American journalist and essayist
Anthony Chabot (1813–1888), 19th-century businessman and entrepreneur; co-inventor of hydraulic mining in Nevada City
Peter Collier (1939–2019), political author, editor of RAMPARTS magazine
Joseph Cornell (born 1950), naturalist and author
Alela Diane (born 1983), singer/songwriter
Matt DiBenedetto (born 1991), NASCAR driver
Heather Donahue, actress, American writer
Eleanor Dumont (1829–1879), professional gambler
Dan Elkan (born 1978), singer-songwriter and producer
Alasdair Fraser (born 1955), Scottish fiddler and owner of Culburnie Records
Noah Georgeson (born 1975), musician, producer
Felix Gillet (1835–1908), pioneer California horticulturist
Oakley Hall (1920–2008), novelist
Robert M. Hunt (1828–1902), physician
Roger Hodgson (born 1950), singer/songwriter and ex-Supertramp member
Swami Kriyananda (1926–2013), spiritual teacher and founder of Ananda Village
Cliff Kushler, inventor
Charles Marsh, possibly Nevada City's first resident and namer of the town
Tully Marshall (1864–1943), actor
Jim McClarin (born 1945/1946), politician
John McEntire (born 1970), drummer, recording engineer, and music producer
Thomas Bard McFarland (1828–1908), associate justice of the Supreme Court of California
Stephen McNallen (born 1948), Germanic Neopagan leader and writer
Joanna Newsom (born 1982), harpist, singer/songwriter, and actress
Tim O'Connor (1927–2018), actor
John Olmsted (1938–2011), naturalist, co-creator of The Independence Trail State Park
Utah Phillips (1935–2008), folk singer, activist
Ed Reimers (1912–2009), actor and television announcer
Terry Riley (born 1935), composer
Gyan Riley (born 1977), guitarist and composer
Alexander Rossi (born 1991), professional race car driver, winner of the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016
Julia Ann Rudolph (), photographer who had a studio in the city from 1856 to around 1860
Aaron A. Sargent (1827–1887), U.S. Senator
Lorenzo Sawyer (1820–1891), Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court
Niles Searls (1825–1907), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Claus Sievert (1949–2009), printmaker, illustrator
Mariee Sioux (born 1985), singer/songwriter
Gary Snyder (born 1930), poet
Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight (born 1953), editor
Evan Strong (born 1986), professional snowboarder
Heinrich Sylvester Theodor Tiling (1818–1871), physician and botanist

In popular culture

Nevada City was the setting for the 2006 Hallmark Channel original movie, The Christmas Card.

Twin cities

Nevada City is twinned with Penzance, a seaside town in Cornwall, UK, and the nearby tin and copper mining town of St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, UK. The twinning is a result of Cornish migration during the Californian gold rush in which Cornish mining expertise migrated to the area. City Hall has a room dedicated to the twinning and houses Cornish memorabilia and items donated on various exchanges. Penzance Youth Wind Band has joined forces with Nevada Union High School's instrumental music department on two occasions.

References

External links

Nevada City Chamber of Commerce
Nevada City at Western Mining History. Accessed August 22, 2021.