Sierra County Historical Cemetery Survey

   Select Sierra County Tombstone Photographs (Brandy City, Morristown and Pike Cemeteries)

    Sierra County Reference Books, Look-ups

   California CAGenWeb Archives Project

  Sierra County Surnames and Interested Researchers

If you would like to visit another California county, click this link:
California Counties USGenWeb Selection List

You may access the USGenWeb Project from this link

You may access with World GenWeb Project from this link

If you have information on activities that might be of interest to readers of this page, please send the information to me at sierra@cagenweb.com and I will post it here.

Sierra County: A Brief History

Sierra County, California, with its rich California Gold Rush history, was created on 16 April 1852, from Yuba County, an original county.  The northernmost county in the Mother Lode, Sierra County was named for the part of the Sierra Nevada which in Spanish means "snow saw," which applied to this portion of the mountain chain with its jagged, serrated, saw tooth-like peaks.

The Maidu and Washoe Indians were the first residents of this area of the Sierra Nevada.  The discovery of gold in January 1848 at Sutter's Mill on the American River at Culluma (later changed to Coloma) drew those in search of the precious yellow metal.  Coloma is northeast of Sacramento, and only about  85 miles from Downieville.

Downieville began as a mining town with a few log cabins.  Gold was discovered in the North Fork of the Yuba River in November 1849.  In January of 1850, a Scottish immigrant, Major William Downie, camped his small party here calling it "The Forks."  Downie's party found the gravel beds rich with placer gold and within a year the area had boomed to a population of 5,000.  The town prospered and soon boasted a flourishing tent city with saloons and stores.  The town site was laid out and named Downieville, in honor of its founder.

By the mid-1850's, Downieville was one of the largest towns in California -- surpassed only by San Francisco, Sacramento, Grass Valley, and Nevada City.  It served as a trading center for the Northern mines. It missed becoming the state capital by only ten votes!  The population soared to 16,000 between 1848 and 1860.

One of the world's largest nuggets,  the "Monumental Nugget," was found in 1869 at Sierra City, just north of Downieville.  Gold production in Sierra County from lode mining operations totals nearly 3 million ounces, and placer gold production has been recorded at more than 2 million ounces.

A county of 959 square miles, Sierra County ranges in elevation from 2,200 to 8,900 feet.  With a current population of just over 3,300 it is California's second least populated county.  The county seat of Sierra County, Downieville, lies in a forested canyon in the middle of the Tahoe National Forest at an altitude of about 2,900 feet.  The small town of five or six blocks, located at the confluence of the Downie River and the north fork of the Yuba River, invites visitors to step back in time to the days of the gold rush.

Located in Northern California, Sierra County can be reached via several routes.  State Highway 49 leaves Interstate 80 at Auburn (about 30 miles east of Sacramento) and travels through Grass Valley and Nevada City enroute to Downieville.  State Highway 89 can be taken north from Interstate 80 at Truckee or south from Graeagle, off State Highway 70 between Quincy and Portola.  Further east on Highway 70, you can drive south on State Highway 49 from Vinton.  Downieville is about a two hour (100 mile) drive from Sacramento and Reno.

The beautiful 100,000 acre Sierra Valley is located in portions of Sierra and Plumas counties.  It is the largest alpine valley in North America.

Today, the county's industry includes gold mining, lumber, cattle, dairy, agriculture, tourism, and recreation.

Downieville is home to the Mountain Messenger, California's oldest weekly newspaper, published continuously since 1853.

Sierra County History

Several books about Sierra County people and places have been published.  (See also the "California Counties Biographies and Histories" in the "Other California Links" section below. 

A series of books on the history of Sierra County was written by James J. Sinnott, a local historian and author, and a lifetime resident of the county.  Sinnott's books include:

Volume I.  Downieville, Gold Town on the Yuba

Volume II.  History of Sierra City and Goodyears Bar

Volume III.  Alleghany and Forest City, Treasure Towns

Volume IV.  Sierra Valley, Jewel of the Sierras

Volume V.  Over North in Sierra County

Volume VI.  A General History of Sierra County

Another local author, Katie Willmarth Green, has just published the 3rd edition of her book, Like a Leaf Upon the Current Cast, An Intimate History of Shady Flat, Neighboring Gold Rush Landmarks & Pioneer Families Along the North Fork of the Yuba River Between Downieville & Sierra City, California. [Self-published, 2004].  This Third edition is 323 pages, 80 pages longer than the Second edition.  It is a book chronicling the pioneer day happenings on the river corridor.

For additional information on the book (including ordering information), you may visit Katie's website at: 

http://www.sierragoldrushhistory.com/

Additional historical resources for this area of California are also available on Tim I. Purdy's website

Exploring Northeastern California History

http://www.citlink.net/~lahontan/home.htm

SIERRA COUNTY GOVERNMENT:
    Sierra County Offices
Courthouse
Post Office Box D
Downieville, CA 95936-0398
___________________________

Sierra County Clerk-Recorder
Courthouse
Post Office Box D
Downieville, CA 95936-0398
Telephone:  (530) 289-3295
Hours:  Monday-Friday, 9-12 and 1-4

RECORDS:     County Clerk-Recorder has birth records (1857-present), marriage records (1852-present), and death records (1864-present).  Some of the earlier vital records are incomplete.  An index is available.    The Recorder also has deeds, mining claims, and other records, generally dating from the 1850s.  Early voting registers (called Great Registers) are a great research tool and many are available.

Reminder:  Sierra County was created from Yuba County on 16 April 1852.  For records prior to this date, check with the Yuba County Clerk-Recorder's Office in Marysville.

    The Superior Court (Courthouse, 2nd floor) holds wills and probate, naturalization, and civil and criminal court records dating from the 1850s.

Sierra County in 1880:

According to Kirkham's A Genealogical and Historical Atlas of the United States of America (Everton Publishers, Inc., 1976),  known "places" in Sierra County in 1880 (and their populations) included:

Visiting Sierra County

Sierra County Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 436
Sierra City, CA  96125
1-800-200-4949
Website: http://sierracountychamber.net

SIERRA COUNTY MUSEUMS, HISTORIC PARKS AND SPONSORING SOCIETIES
  Downieville Museum:  Kevel Gutman, Director; 330 Main Street, Downieville (P.O.Box 484, Downieville, CA 95936), Telephone (530) 289-3423 for information. This is a  house  museum.  Most items are related to our mining history, and include a replica  collection of  1000 ounce gold nuggets that were found at the Ruby Mine above Downieville.  The  original nuggets (which still belong to Sierra County) are on display in  the Los Angeles  Museum (due to insurance and security requirements).  We also have many historic photographs of Downieville and environs dating to the 1860s.  Other  popular display items include a replica of a gold stamp mill, horse snowshoes, Indian and Chinese artifacts, as well as local personal and household items.  Call ahead for business hours.                                                        

Kentucky Mine Museum: P.O. Box 260, Sierra City, CA 96125. Telephone: (530) 862-1310                                                                                

Sierra Heritage Historical Society: Goodyears Bar, CA   http://www.goodyearsbar.com/?target=shhs.php      

Sierra County Historical Association: P.O. Box 141, Sierraville, CA 96126.  Telephone    (530) 994-3480.  This is a historical society and historic park.
Sierra County Historical Society, Kentucky Mine Historic Park and Museum:  P.O. Box  260, Sierra City, CA 96125, Telephone (530) 862-1310.  This is a historical society and historical park with a restored mine site.

• Join the Sierra County Mailing List (CASIERRA-L)  Click on this link and type subscribe in the subject line and the body.  Make certain you turn off all automatic signatures.
• Sierra County, CA 1885 Directory  [Lists town and residents in 1885 and a brief history of county.]
• Sierra County Chamber of Commerce Web Site
• Sierra County Government Website
• USGS Geographic Names Information System
• Map of the California Gold Country  (California State Parks)
• Sierra County, California State Historical Landmarks 

• California Death Index (1940 - 1997)
• Northern California Marriage Index (1850-1860) (Information only)
• California Marriage Index, Bride and Groom (1960-1985) (Information only)
• California Golden Nugget Library [California Research Databases]
• California Master County Index in the USGenWeb Project
• California Pioneer Project  [a list of settlers to California who migrated to or were born in California prior to 1880 (those included in the 1880 California Census)]
• The Argonauts of California (C. W. Haskins, 1890)  [Index page.]
• CA-GOLDRUSH "Most Wanted" Web pages devoted to queries on missing miners and early settlers in California (1840s-1880s).
• CA-GOLDRUSH is a mailing list for anyone who is interested in early California miners and settlers, especially in northern California, 1840's to 1880 (when many of the miners had returned to their native states, had perished, or had taken up other types of work).  To SUBSCRIBE: Click here CA-GOLDRUSH-L for the list version or here CA-GOLDRUSH-D for the digest version and enter NOTHING but the word SUBSCRIBE in the body text. If you use an automatic signature, please be sure it is turned off.
• NORCAL-L is a genealogy Mailing List.  To subscribe: click here [case sensitive entries - must be typed exactly as shown here].  Turn off signature block(s), and use no subject.  Subscribe should be the only word in the body of the message.  If you have any difficulty subscribing, contact list owner, Yvonne Bowers for assistance, but only if you have difficulty.
• NORCAL Genealogy Resource Center    State-wide California resources.
• The NORCAL Library - Surname lookups in books owned by generous NorCal volunteers and genealogical societies who are willing to do brief lookups for you.  Responses will be by e-mail only, with minimum data, confirming if a certain surname is or is not found in a book. (See USGenWeb policy on lookups on Reference Page.)
• California Land Patents Database (Federal Land Records -- indexed by county)
• Maidu Indian Information
• "New Light on the Donner Party"  
• California Counties Biographies and Histories -- Sierra County (part of California Pioneer Project) Surname indexes are contained in the following biographies:
• Surname Index to biographies in *History of California and Biographical Record of the Sierras* by James Miller Guinn, (1906).
• Surname Index to the *History of Plumas, Lassen and Sierra Counties--1882*
• Surname Index to *Biographical History of Northern California--1891 - Ver. 1*
• Surname Index to *Biographical History of Northern California - 1891 - Ver. 2
• Surname Index to biographies in *Biographical History of Sacramento Valley -- 1931* (Wooldridge).
• California State Library - Online Catalog
• California Library Directory, 1999 (California State Library) - Search by city, county, zip code
• California State Library, California History Section  [Guide to resources]
• Cornwall Connections
  This connection to many of the Cornish citizens who lived and worked in Sierra County as well as in other parts of California and the western U.S., is maintained by Roger & Roberta Peeples of Woodland CA. It has various links to Cornwall England and other sites that help with Cornish research and groups.
• U.C. Melvyl Online Catalog
• Where to Write for California Vital Records + Costs, etc.

• 1895 U.S. Atlas Project, a research tool for finding "lost" towns (after scrolling through part of the Livingston County MI GenWeb Project page).
• 1895 Map - Sierra County, California (from the above site)
• Cyndi's List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet (Aids/How-To's/Links, etc.)
• Finding Historical County Lines
• Finding a Funeral Home
• Finding cities/counties, etc. (National Association of Counties)
• Finding Soundex Codes for Your Surnames (RootsWeb)
• Definitions of Old Time Illnesses
• Old Time Occupations
• U.S. National Archives, Nationwide Facilities: Hours, Locations, Directions . . .
• Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois
• Social Security Death Index Searches (RootsWeb) 65 million names
• USGenWeb Archives Search Page
• The USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project
• The USGenWeb Project Homepage
• WorldGenWeb Project
• ZIP Code Lookup Site (US Postal Service)

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Rattlesnake Jack's

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Since April 9, 2008.

Last update by Chuck Knuthson:  20 December 2007