Nelson Point is a former settlement originally created in the Quartz Township of

Butte County, California Butte County () is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County comprises the Chico, CA metropolitan statistical area. It is ...

, which later became

Plumas County, California Plumas County () is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county is ...

. It was a thriving

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

era mining camp, and one of the largest and most important communities in the region. Prospectors first reached Nelson Creek in early 1850. A miner called "Nelson" was credited with the discovery. The camp was established at the bottom of a rugged gorge located at . Later in 1850, two significant trails had been established and the population began to swell: one, from Marysville to Onion Valley via Nelson Point. The other was Bidwell's Bar to Buck's Ranch via Spanish Ranch. Lode mines kept the area prosperous through the 1880s, but eventually the community dwindled. When the Pauly Hotel burned in 1924, mail delivery to the town ceased. Nelson Point eventually faded into a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

References

External links

''Fariss and Smith's History of Plumas County California 1882''
Plumas County, California {{PlumasCountyCA-geo-stub