A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
Nevada County | |
|---|---|
| County of Nevada | |
    Images, from top down, left to right: Downtown Nevada City, Donner Lake, a scene in Rough and Ready, the Bridgeport Covered Bridge | |
 Seal | |
| Motto: "We're Better Together"[1] | |
 Interactive map of Nevada County | |
 Location in the state of California | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Sierra Nevada |
| Metropolitan area | Greater Sacramento |
| Incorporated | April 25, 1851[2] |
| Named for | Nevada City, which is named after the Spanish word for "snow-covered" |
| County seat | Nevada City |
| Largest town | Truckee |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–CEO |
| • Chair[3] | Susan Hoek |
| • Vice Chair[4] | Ed Scofield |
| • Board of Supervisors[5] | Supervisors
|
| • County executive officer | Alison Lehman |
| Area | |
| • Total | 974 sq mi (2,520 km2) |
| • Land | 958 sq mi (2,480 km2) |
| • Water | 16 sq mi (40 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 9,152 ft (2,790 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 102,241 |
| • Density | 100/sq mi (41/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific Time Zone) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
| Area code | 530 |
| FIPS code | 06-057 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1682927 |
| Website | www |
Nevada County (/nɪˈvædə/ ⓘ niv-AD-ə) is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, its population was 102,241.[7] The county seat is Nevada City.[8] Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Sacramento-Roseville combined statistical area, part of the Mother Lode Country.
History
Created in 1851, from portions of Yuba County, Nevada County was named after the mining town of Nevada City, a name derived from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The word nevada is Spanish for "snowy" or "snow-covered."[9] Charles Marsh was one of the first settlers in what became Nevada City, and is perhaps the one who named the town. He went on to build extensive water flumes/ditches/canals in the area, and was influential in the building of the first transcontinental railroad and the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad.[10]
Nevada City was the first to use the word "Nevada" in its name. In 1851, the newly formed Nevada County used the same name as the county seat. The bordering state of Nevada used the same name in 1864. The region came to life in the Gold Rush of 1849. Many historical sites remain to mark the birth of this important region in California's formative years. Among them are the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City, the oldest theater built in California in 1865. It operates to this day and once hosted Mark Twain, among other historical figures. The Old 5 Mile House stagecoach stop, built in 1890, also operates to this day as a provider of hospitality spanning three centuries. This historical site still features "The stagecoach safe" that is on display outside the present-day restaurant and is the source of many legends of stagecoach robbers and notorious highwaymen in the California gold rush era. The gold industry in Nevada County thrived into the post-WWII days.
The county had many firsts and historic technological moments. The first long-distance telephone in the world, built in 1877 by the Ridge Telephone Company, connected French Corral with French Lake, 58 miles (93 km) away.[11] It was operated by the Milton Mining Company from a building on this site that had been erected about 1853. The Pelton wheel, designed to power gold mines, still drives hydroelectric generators today. Nevada City and Grass Valley were among the first California towns with electric lights. The Olympics, NASA, and virtually every television station around the country uses video/broadcasting equipment designed and manufactured by Grass Valley Group, founded in Grass Valley.
The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad, built in 1876, was the only railroad in the West that was never robbed, though its primary freight was gold. (Builder-owner John Flint Kidder's reputation made it clear that he would personally hunt down and kill anyone who tried.) The rail line closed in 1942 and was torn up for scrap.
In Grass Valley, the historic Holbrooke Hotel opened in 1851 and housed Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and four U.S. Presidents (Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, and James A. Garfield).
The community of Rough and Ready seceded from the Union for a time and became the Great Republic of Rough and Ready.
Nevada County is home to the Empire Mine State Historic Park, which is the site of one of the oldest, deepest, and richest gold mines in California. The park is in Grass Valley at 10791 East Empire Street. In operation for more than 100 years, the mine extracted 5.8 million ounces of gold before it closed in 1956.
In 1988, the 49er Fire was accidentally started near Highway 49 by a homeless local man who was suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia. The fire went on to burn well over 100 homes and more than 33,000 acres in Nevada County.[12]
The 2001 Nevada County shootings occurred on January 10, 2001, in which Scott Harlan Thorpe murdered three people in a shooting spree. Two of the victims were murdered in Nevada City and a third victim was killed in Grass Valley. Thorpe was arrested and declared not guilty by reason of insanity. He currently resides in Napa State Hospital.
Boundary dispute with Sierra County
Since the enactment of the statute in which the California State Legislature defined the common boundary between Nevada and Sierra Counties in 1874, no survey was conducted to determine where the straight line segment of the common boundary between the two counties ran. In particular, the statute, at the time codified as Section 3921 of the California Political Code, at the time stated:
...thence south on said state line (state of Nevada) to the northeast corner of Nevada County, a point east of the source of the South Fork of the Middle Yuba River; thence west to the source of, and down the South Fork of the Middle Yuba River to a point ten miles above the mouth of the latter.
Since the line had never been surveyed and the legislature never defined where the "point east of the source of the South Fork of the Middle Yuba River" was, the location of the straight air line between the state line and this point was unknown. As such, both counties claimed that the point east of the source, which itself was also unknown, was located in different places. This created a situation where a strip of land averaging 1.22 miles in width and around 31.29 square miles were under dispute, with Sierra County claiming that Nevada County was encroaching on their jurisdiction when attempting to levy property taxes. The trial court, that of Plumas County, sided with Sierra County, declaring that the disputed area had always belonged to Sierra County since the legislature defined the boundary in dispute by referencing Public Land Survey System lines. It also determined that the source of South Fork of the Middle Yuba River was that of several springs in the Sierra Nevada, contrary to the artificial English Lake, which ceased to exist after the failure of its dam in 1883, which is where the source of said waterway was in the eyes of Nevada County. The California Supreme Court affirmed the trial courts decision on December 28, 1908.[13]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 974 square miles (2,520 km2), of 16 square miles (41 km2) (1.6%) are covered by water.[14] The county is drained by Middle and South Yuba Rivers.[15]
The western part of the county is defined by the course of several rivers and the irregular boundaries of adjoining counties. When the county was created, the founders wanted to include access to the transcontinental railroad, so a rectangular section was added that includes the railroad town of Truckee.
Nevada County is one of four counties in the United States to border a state with which it shares the same name (the other three counties are Texas County, Oklahoma; Delaware County, Pennsylvania; and Ohio County, West Virginia).
Ecology
The county has substantial areas of forest, grassland, savanna, riparian area, and other ecosystems. Forests include both coniferous- and oak-dominated woodland types. Also, numerous understory forbs and wildflowers occur, including the yellow mariposa lily (Calochortus luteus).[16]
Adjacent counties
- Sierra County - north
- Washoe County, Nevada - east
- Placer County - south
- Yuba County - west
National protected areas
- Tahoe National Forest (part)
- Toiyabe National Forest (part)
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 16,446 | — | |
| 1870 | 19,134 | 16.3% | |
| 1880 | 20,823 | 8.8% | |
| 1890 | 17,369 | −16.6% | |
| 1900 | 17,789 | 2.4% | |
| 1910 | 14,955 | −15.9% | |
| 1920 | 10,850 | −27.4% | |
| 1930 | 10,596 | −2.3% | |
| 1940 | 19,283 | 82.0% | |
| 1950 | 19,888 | 3.1% | |
| 1960 | 20,911 | 5.1% | |
| 1970 | 26,346 | 26.0% | |
| 1980 | 51,645 | 96.0% | |
| 1990 | 78,510 | 52.0% | |
| 2000 | 92,033 | 17.2% | |
| 2010 | 98,764 | 7.3% | |
| 2020 | 102,241 | 3.5% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 102,037 | [17] | −0.2% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[18] 1790–1960[19] 1900–1990[20] 1990–2000[21] 2010[22] 2020[23] | |||
2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2010[22] | Pop 2020[23] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 85,477 | 82,810 | 86.55% | 80.99% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 341 | 416 | 0.35% | 0.41% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 793 | 695 | 0.80% | 0.68% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 1,124 | 1,371 | 1.14% | 1.34% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 96 | 119 | 0.10% | 0.12% |
| Some other race alone (NH) | 122 | 617 | 0.12% | 0.60% |
| Mixed/multiracial (NH) | 2,372 | 5,797 | 2.40% | 5.67% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 8,439 | 10,416 | 8.54% | 10.19% |
| Total | 98,764 | 102,241 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2011
| Population, race, and income | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total population[24] | 98,392 | ||||
| White[24] | 90,896 | 92.4% | |||
| Black or African American[24] | 522 | 0.5% | |||
| American Indian or Alaska Native[24] | 1,184 | 1.2% | |||
| Asian[24] | 1,370 | 1.4% | |||
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander[24] | 188 | 0.2% | |||
| Some other race[24] | 1,785 | 1.8% | |||
| Two or more races[24] | 2,447 | 2.5% | |||
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[25] | 8,185 | 8.3% | |||
| Per capita income[26] | $31,607 | ||||
| Median household income[27] | $58,077 | ||||
| Median family income[28] | $69,807 | ||||
Places by population, race, and income
| Places by population and race | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Type[29] | Population[24] | White[24] | Other[24] [note 1] |
Asian[24] | Black or African American[24] |
Native American[24] [note 2] |
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[25] |
| Alta Sierra | CDP | 6,888 | 93.6% | 3.7% | 1.5% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 8.2% |
| Floriston | CDP | 35 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Graniteville | CDP | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Grass Valley | City | 12,793 | 87.4% | 4.3% | 2.0% | 0.9% | 5.4% | 14.7% |
| Kingvale ‡ | CDP | 158 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Lake of the Pines | CDP | 3,684 | 92.3% | 5.0% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 6.4% |
| Lake Wildwood | CDP | 5,666 | 94.8% | 3.3% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 1.6% | 8.7% |
| Nevada City | City | 3,081 | 88.4% | 3.2% | 6.0% | 0.8% | 1.5% | 10.5% |
| North San Juan | CDP | 158 | 60.8% | 39.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Penn Valley | CDP | 1,328 | 99.1% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.7% |
| Rough and Ready | CDP | 891 | 98.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Soda Springs | CDP | 126 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Truckee | Town | 16,009 | 91.0% | 6.0% | 1.9% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 18.0% |
| Washington | CDP | 19 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| ‡ Data for Nevada County area of this CDP | ||||||||