Nevada County History Digest

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.

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

The Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission and the Grass Valley School District will host the dedication ceremony of a plaque commemorating the Kentucky Flat School as a historical landmark on May 23.

Dick and Mac McDonald came to California to seek opportunities in the movie business and wound up owning a drive-in BBQ restaurant in San Bernardino. On May 15, 1948, they opened their revamped restaurant with a Speedee Service System featuring hamburgers.

The Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission has designated the Rome Power House—the first and only hydroelectric generating plant on the South Yuba River—as a historical landmark.

Howard Kenton Potts died April 21 in Provo, Utah, according to Randy Stratton, whose late father was Potts’ shipmate. Stratton noted that the remaining survivor from the Arizona is Lou Conter, who is 101 and lives in Grass Valley.

Once home to a thriving lumber industry, Northstar California Resort has seen many changes. This past winter, the resort has been celebrating 50 years of operation and the people that helped shape the mountain enjoyed by skiers and riders from across the globe.

The Cal-Neva Lodge & Casino irreversibly changed the history of north shore Lake Tahoe when it opened in 1926.

“The Lake of the Sky” is grabbing attention this winter for more than one reason. Emerald Bay froze completely, including the inlet, for the first time in many years.

Join the Truckee Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Truckee on March 21 at 7 a.m. as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the incorporation of the town.

Little is written about the Grosh Brothers. They left from the East to find gold in the West in 1849. And they did find riches but they lost it while trying to claim it.

In 2004, Bob Moore put together the concept of the Sierra Avalanche Center and enlisted a volunteer to help with winter forecasting duties. It became officially stamped as a nonprofit in the 2003/04 season. Next year will be its 20th anniversary.

After acquiring nearly 50 years of institutional knowledge about Lake Tahoe’s environment, retired Tahoe City Public Utilities District Engineering Consultant David Antonucci decided to write a book about all he’s learned.

Lake Tahoe has been a sought-after destination location for years, and has quickly grown since development began in the 1960s.

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument will protect sacred Native American sites, wildlife.

Californians are accustomed to being battered by many of nature's whims. Less familiar are volcanic eruptions like the one currently taking place at Hawaii's Mauna Loa. But California's own volcanoes are capable of violent fury.

State and tribal officials gathered Nov. 14 at the state capitol to break ground on a new monument that will replace the statue of Father Junipero Serra.

Beauty drew Brieanne Mirjah D'Souza to Eureka.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom recently joined the California Museum in announcing the 15th class of inductees into the California Hall of Fame. They join 138 Californians previously inducted for embodying the state’s innovative spirit.

Tahoe-Truckee, like any region in America that’s steeped in decades of history, isn’t immune to stories of supernatural sights and sounds. Here are some stories of history, mystery and lore associated from all sides of the lake.

Low-income patients who need specialized cancer treatment often struggle to get it. Advocates say a new law is a small step toward improving services for those patients.

A new Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission plaque dedicated to the Chinese Narrow Gauge Rail workers was commemorated last month by members of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum.

Lake Tahoe has endured many different eras of history, and all are woven into the fabric of its unique landscape. One way to take a trip back in time is to visit the iconic mansions and rustic cabin museums around the lake’s shores.

Truckee’s 19th-century history could be described as a series of fires with calm periods in between. Much of old Truckee has been rebuilt several times. The fire on Front Street in October of 1882 was one of the costlier infernos.

Influential local resident George Whittelll’s yacht has turned 82. Thunderbird has been a focal point of the attached lodge and the surrounding area for generations, with tours available through the Thunderbird Lodge Preservation Society.

In nine books, preeminent California chronicler Kevin Starr ranges from the state’s pre-Columbian setting to the 21st century. His knowledge, scholarship and exquisite writing are as breathtaking as one’s first view of Yosemite Valley.

Truckee used to be a land of plentiful dairies, producing around 60,000 pounds of butter each year. During the 1880s, most West Coast families used Truckee dairy products. Judy DePuy, a member of the Truckee-Donner Historical Society, sheds some light on the region's dairy farm history.

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Humbug History Day returns on June 11. The event commemorates California’s past with volunteers in period costume interpreting the historic heritage at North Bloomfield (formerly Humbug) California, the state park’s semi-ghost town.

U.S. Air Force Lt. David Steeves was heralded as a hero and then accused of being a communist during a rollercoaster of a life. His memory is interesting and integral to the Sierra region.

In the mid-1970s, if you were a Tahoe/Truckee music lover, that probably meant listening to KSML, “The Radio Voice of the Secret Mountain Laboratory.” On local airwaves from late ’74 until early ’77, it was a countercultural alternative to traditional radio.

There are approximately 6 million items in the inventory of the California State Library. Four million of those are books, and nearly 2,000 of those are law books.

Archaeologist and historian Mark Selverston reviews Dr. Tanis Thorne’s new book, “Nevada City Nisenan,” which weaves together archival data, historical records, maps, photographs and illustrations to describe how the indigenous Nisenan people lived before the Gold Rush.