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Nevada County History Digest



The Story of Land, Water, and People Exhibition at

03/03/2024

The Story of Land, Water, and People, will be the 6th exhibit showing at ‘Uba Seo: Nisenan Arts and Culture in downtown Nevada City.

Nevada County Library’s Collection Historic Photographs Now Online

02/29/2024

The Nevada County Library announced a new searchable online database of digitized photographs from the collection of the Doris Foley Library for Historical Research in downtown Nevada City.

San Francisco Set to Apologize to Black Residents for ‘Systemic Racism’

02/16/2024

Members of the board gathered to put forward a resolution that takes responsibility for the history of discrimination against Black San Franciscans.

Changing Tides, Unchanged Charm

02/07/2024

In February 1984, Jan Adrian Suh embarked on a new venture, establishing Truckee Variety Co., which grew into a cherished haven of nostalgia in downtown Truckee.

Was L.A.’s Ellen Beach Yaw the Proto-Taylor Swift?

02/05/2024

She toured the world wowing audiences, and she captured the public’s imagination for decades. No, not Taylor Swift; Ellen Beach Yaw, also known as Lark Ellen.

Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe Raising Funds to Reestablish Homeland

02/01/2024

The Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe has a time-limited opportunity to purchase 232 acres on a Nisenan Village site called Yulića—the tribe’s best opportunity to re-establish a homeland in more than half a century.

New ‘Toothless’ Walrus Discovered Along California Coast

02/01/2024

An extinct species of walrus was unearthed in Santa Cruz County, evoking a time when California was teeming with odd creatures that feel closer to fantasy than reality, researchers said.

James Dean Made His Last Stop at This Lonely Gas Station

02/01/2024

James Dean’s last stop before he died in a car crash was at Blackwell’s Corner, a gas station in rural Kern County. His memory isn’t the draw it once was.

‘Just the Beginning’: California Reparations Backers Applaud Bills, Even Without Big Cash Payouts

01/31/2024

Lawmakers introduced a package of bills designed to tackle some forms of reparations. The measures may face budget constraints and opposition.

California Lawmakers Unveiled 14 Reparations Bills. None Call for Cash Payments

01/31/2024

The California Legislative Black Caucus released a list of 14 bills as a first set of reparations for the descendants of African Americans who were enslaved.

Iconic California Restaurant Closes Without Warning

01/10/2024

Pea Soup Andersen’s, a Buellton, Calif., restaurant just shy of its 100th birthday, closed suddenly. The restaurant's other location, near Interstate 5 in Santa Nella, remains open.

American Graffiti is Back: Cruising Now Legal Again in California, But So Are Speed Cameras

12/27/2023

Under new state laws, five cities will test cameras to catch speeding drivers and cruising bans will be lifted statewide. The first is supposed to improve road safety, but critics of the second say it will endanger the public.

California Presses Universities to Return Thousands of Native American Remains and Artifacts to Local Tribes

12/25/2023

State audits of the University of California and the California State University found both systems have failed to comply with decades-old state and federal laws mandating the return of Native ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. Only UCLA and Cal State Long Beach have returned a majority of their collections.

Tribe Acquires Vast Land in Northern California, Will Remove Dams

12/21/2023

The Hoopa Valley Tribe announced it is acquiring about 10,000 acres of land in Northern California for $14.1 million. As part of this, the tribe will remove dams along the Klamath River and restore salmon runs.

Who Gets the Water in California? Whoever Gets There First.

12/14/2023

Water fights have shaped California since its infancy as a state, when its abundance seemed limitless. Now, Californians are being forced to confront limitations, and the state that prides itself on creating the future is now reckoning with its past.

Carter Family Homesite is Nevada County’s Newest Historical Landmark

12/07/2023

The Carter Family Homesite at the intersection of Drummond Street and American Hills Road was designated as Nevada County Historical Landmark NEV 23-03. It commemorates two of the county’s African American pioneers.

Native American Tribe to Get Back 40 Acres of Land from State

12/06/2023

The Fort Independence Indian Community is getting the Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at no cost in 2024. Native Americans had lived on this land for centuries before the hatchery’s construction.

California vs. Florida: Need-to-Know Facts About the Rival States Ahead of Newsom-DeSantis Showdown

11/28/2023

Political wonks in California, Florida and maybe a few states in between, will be glued to their screens Thursday night to watch Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron Desantis square off in a highly-anticipated Blue vs. Red State debate that’s been brewing since the summer.

Hundreds to Gather at Alcatraz at Sunrise on Thanksgiving

11/22/2023

Hundreds of people are expected at Alcatraz on Thanksgiving morning to commemorate Native Americans occupying the island from 1969-71. The event is known as the Indigenous Peoples Sunrise Gathering.

Capitol Gets its First Monument to California’s Indigenous Population

11/07/2023

A statue of Miwok elder William J. Franklin has been installed on California State Capitol grounds. The monument replaces a statue of Father Junípero Serra, which protestors toppled in 2020.

UC Berkeley to Relinquish More Than 4,000 Ancestral Remains

11/03/2023

Tribes like the Muwekma Ohlone have been asking UC Berkeley for decades to give back ancestral remains from burial sites around the Bay Area. The school is in the process of repatriating 4,400 remains and 25,000 tribal items.

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Celebrates Sesquicentennial

11/02/2023

The parish of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Nevada City was founded during the Gold Rush and burned to the ground along with the rest of Nevada City; it was rebuilt in 1873 and survives to this day.

Third and Final Edition of ‘Ghost Towns of Nevada County’ Out in Paperback

11/02/2023

Ever wondered how Gold Rush towns like You Bet, Gouge Eye and Snow Tent got their names? Answers to many such questions can be found in “Ghost Towns of Nevada County,” available for the first time in paperback on Amazon.

Remembering Robert Irwin: Influential Artist Dies at 95

10/30/2023

Robert Irwin, an artist and MacArthur genius grant recipient, died in San Diego at 95 on Oct. 25. Michael Govan, who heads the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, offers a colorful retrospective on Irwin's work.

Two Disneyland Voices Are Moving On

10/27/2023

Camille Dixon, the announcer for Disney California Adventure, and her husband, Bill Rogers, the voice of Disneyland, are moving on from this work. They have been at the parks for more than 40 years combined.

Sierra College NCC and Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe Come Together

10/20/2023

The Nevada City Rancheria, in partnership with Sierra College NCC, will celebrate Nisenan Heritage Day on Nov. 4.

California’s Wildfire Smoke and Climate Change: 4 Things You Need to Know

09/04/2023

California wildfires every year emit as much carbon as almost 2 million cars, posing a threat to efforts to battle climate change.

Ancient Fires Drove Large Mammals Extinct, Study Suggests

08/17/2023

In a new study published Aug. 17 in the journal Science, fossil records at La Brea Tar Pits indicate that the disappearance of California’s sabertooth cats, dire wolves and other large mammals nearly 13,000 years ago was linked to rising temperatures and fire activity spurred by people.

Truckee Donner Historical Society Saves Sierra Sun’s History

08/05/2023

The Sierra Sun archives were almost lost to history until the Truckee Donner Historical Society stepped in to save them.

Amateur Sleuth Searches in the Sierra for Zodiac Killer’s Tracks

06/05/2023

Fayçal Ziraoui flew to California from France, believing that the serial killer may have left a rock formation near Hell Hole Reservoir, west of Lake Tahoe in Placer County.

Town of Washington Unveils Chinese Community Landmark Plaque

05/24/2023

In the 1850s, over 20 percent of Nevada County’s population was Chinese and the Town of Washington had one of the county’s largest communities. Now, a plaque commemorating that area is at the head of China Alley.

NV County Supervisors May Approve Historical Designation for Truckee Chinatowns

05/22/2023

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday may approve a resolution that recognizes the Chinatowns of Truckee with a historical landmark plaque.

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