Higgins Corner is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Nevada County,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
It lies at an elevation of 1427 feet (435 m).
Higgins Corner is located south of
Grass Valley.
History
Higgins Corner was named after a
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 ...
settler, Michael J. Higgins. The name, Higgins Corner was first recorded in the 1860s. Michael J. Higgins homesteaded 160 acres of land at Wolf Road. A long time resident (since 1955), Willard Shoellerman, states that the area has been called Higgins Corner for a century.
A Bill Higgins arrived in the area in the late 1800s; while he coincidentally shared the name Higgins, he was not related to Michael J. Higgins.
During the Gold Rush times, the Higgins Corner Bar was the meeting place that a gold-running gang used as their headquarters. This resulted in the kidnapping and eventual killing of several children.
In 1952 a temporary
San Quentin
San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.
Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
prisoner forestry camp was located at Higgins Corner.
Description
A 2014 article on Higgins Corner states that the area includes the
Lake of the Pines housing development, several small-scale shopping centers, the Forest Lake Christian School, the Higgins Lions community club, six churches, several ranches and "cottage home businesses".
It also has a fire department that provides service for the area along with the Higgins County Department of Forestry.
The Lake of the Pines housing complex was formerly a cattle ranch. As of the 1980s it contained 3,000 lots, that sustained housing for 4,500 residents.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Higgins Corner has a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.
Climate Summary for Higgins Corner, California
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References
External links
Higgins Corner, California Area Development Plan
Unincorporated communities in California
Unincorporated communities in Nevada County, California
{{NevadaCountyCA-geo-stub