Nevada County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the

Truckee Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highes ...

Grass Valley A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of b ...

, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Sacramento-

Roseville Roseville may refer to: Australia *Roseville, New South Wales Canada * Roseville, Ontario Malta * RoseVille (aka Villa Roseville), a house in Attard, Malta South Africa *Roseville, Pretoria, a suburb United Kingdom *Roseville, Dudley United S ...

, CA 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." Charles Marsh was one of the first settlers in what became Nevada City and 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 North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

as well as the

Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad (NCNGRR) (nickname: ''Never Come, Never Go'') was located in Northern California's Nevada County and Placer County, where it connected with the Central Pacific Railroad. The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railr ...

. 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 The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. Many historical sites remain to mark the birth of this important region in California's formative years. Among them are the

Nevada Theatre The Nevada Theatre, also known as the Cedar Theatre, located in downtown Nevada City, California, is California's oldest existing theater building. Its principal periods of significance were 1850–1874, 1875–1899, 1900–1924, and 1925–1949. ...

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. Gold-270445

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, away. 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 hydro-electric generators today. Nevada City and

were among the first California towns with electric lights. The

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, NASA, and virtually every television station around the country utilizes video/broadcasting equipment designed and manufactured by

Grass Valley Group Grass Valley (formerly known as Thomson Grass Valley and Grass Valley Group) is a manufacturer of television production and broadcasting equipment. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, it was formed by the March 2014 merger of the original Grass V ...

, founded in Grass Valley. The

was built in 1876 and was the only railroad in the West that was never robbed, even though its primary freight was gold. (Builder-owner

John Flint Kidder John Flint Kidder (1830 - April 10, 1901) was a politician, civil engineer and railroad executive who built and later owned Northern California's Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad (NCNGRR) which, during its operation, never experienced an attem ...

'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 The Holbrooke Hotel is located in Grass Valley, California, USA. It is notable as the oldest hotel that has been in continuous operation in California's Mother Lode. The hotel was built in 1862 in mid-19th century Mother Lode masonry architectu ...

opened in 1851 and housed

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, Bret Harte, and four

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

s (

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, and James A. Garfield). The Community of Rough and Ready

seceded Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...

from the Union for a time and became the

Great Republic of Rough and Ready Rough and Ready is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States. It is located west of Grass Valley, California, approximately 62 miles (100 km) from Sacramento. The population was 963 at the 2010 census. It has freque ...

. Nevada County is home to the

Empire Mine State Historic Park Empire Mine State Historic Park is a state-protected mine and park in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Grass Valley, California, U.S. The Empire Mine is on the National Register of Historic Places, a federal Historic District, and a California H ...

, 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. The

2001 Nevada County shootings On January 10, 2001, a shooting spree took place in Nevada County, California, when 40-year-old Scott Harlan Thorpe opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol, killing three people and wounding three others in two separate shootings in the Nevada C ...

occurred on January 10, 2001, in which Scott Harlan Thorpe murdered three people in a

shooting spree A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations w ...

. 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 Napa State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Napa, California, founded in 1875. It is located along California State Route 221, the Napa- Vallejo Highway, and is one of California's five state hospitals. Napa State Hospital holds civil and for ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water. The county is drained by

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

and South Yuba rivers. 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

. 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. There are also numerous understory forbs and wildflowers including the yellow mariposa lily ('' Calochortus luteus'').

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

2020 census

''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

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Nevada County had a population of 98,764. The racial makeup of Nevada County was 90,233 (91.4%) White, 389 (0.4%) African American, 1,044 (1.1%) Native American, 1,187 (1.2%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 110 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 2,678 (2.7%) from other races, and 3,123 (3.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 8,439 persons (8.5%).

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 92,033 people, 36,894 households, and 25,936 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 44,282 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.8%

, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 5.7% of the population were Hispanic or

of any race. 16.4% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 16.3% English, 11.1% Irish, 6.8% Italian and 6.6%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.0% spoke English and 4.2% Spanish as their first language. There were 36,894 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. The median income for a household in the county was $45,864, and the median income for a family was $52,697. Males had a median income of $40,742 versus $27,173 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,007. About 5.5% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

According to the

California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...

, as of February 10, 2019, Nevada County has 78,736 registered voters. Of those, 24,677 (36%) are registered Democrats, 22,252 (32.3%) are registered

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, 9,426 (13.76%) are registered to another party and 7,845 (11.5%) have declined to state a political party. In both 2000 and 2004,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

won a majority of the votes in the county. In 2008, Barack Obama carried the county with a 51.5%–46.2% margin.

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

marked the first time Nevada County went for a Democrat since

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Obama lost by a narrow margin to

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

, turning the county red once again, only for Hillary Clinton to win it back in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

over Donald Trump. Joe Biden won the county in 2020 with the largest share of votes for a presidential candidate in recent elections, continuing its Democratic shift. Nevada County is split between California's 1st and

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

congressional districts, which are represented by and , respectively. In the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

, Nevada County is in and in the State Senate, the county is in . On November 4, 2008, Nevada County voted for Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages by 3 votes, the narrowest margin of any county in the state.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

State Route 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *Ne ...

State Route 49 The following highways are numbered 49: Australia * Queensland State Route 49 **Wide Bay Highway **Bunya Highway **Moonie Highway **Balonne Highway * Central Coast Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 49 * British Columbia Highway 49 * Manitoba High ...

State Route 89 The following highways are numbered 89: Canada * Manitoba Highway 89 * Highway 89 (Ontario) Israel * Highway 89 (Israel) United States * Interstate 89 ** Interstate 87 (North Carolina–Virginia) (former proposal) * U.S. Route 89 * Alabama Stat ...

State Route 174

Public transportation

*Gold Country Stage, operated by Nevada County, runs fixed route bus service in Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley, Alta Sierra and Lake of the Pines. A connection is available between Grass Valley and Auburn (Placer County). * Tahoe Area Rapid Transit, operated by Placer County, has a route connecting Truckee with Lake Tahoe and the state of Nevada. Truckee also has its own local bus service. * Greyhound buses and Amtrak's California Zephyr stop in

and Colfax.
YubaBus
offers Charter and Shuttle Bus service in and around Western Nevada County. Gold Country Lift is the paratransit bus company providing door to door service for seniors and persons with disabilities in Grass Valley, Nevada City, and Penn Valley.

Airports

Nevada County Air Park Nevada County Air Park is a public airport in Nevada County, California, three miles east of Grass Valley, California. It is also known as Nevada County Airport. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the Federal Av ...

is a general aviation airport located just east of Grass Valley.

Truckee Tahoe Airport Truckee Tahoe Airport is a public airport two miles east of Truckee, California, United States. The airport is in both Nevada County and Placer County. It is owned by Truckee Tahoe Airport District, a bi-county special district. The FAA's Nat ...

is a general aviation airport in

, partially in Nevada County and partially in Placer County.

Communities

Cities

* Nevada City (county seat)

Town

Census-designated places

* Alta Sierra * Floriston * Graniteville * Kingvale *

Lake of the Pines Lake of the Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) and a gated residential community in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 3,917 at the 2010 census. History Lake of the Pines was laid out by property developers in th ...

* Lake Wildwood * North San Juan * Penn Valley * Rough and Ready * Soda Springs * Washington

Other unincorporated communities

* Anthony House – Nisenan Indian territory * Birchville * Blue Tent * Boca *

Boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

* Cedar Ridge * Cherokee Township * Chicago Park *

French Corral French Corral is an unincorporated community approximately five miles west of California State Highway 49 in Nevada County, California. It was one of the first of several historic California gold rush mining camps along the San Juan Ridge. The ...

* Lake City * Malakoff Diggings * Moores Flat * Nevada City Rancheria – Nisenan Indian government settlement area *

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vil ...

* North Bloomfield * North Columbia * Ophir Hill * Peardale * Ready Springs *

Sunset District The Sunset District is a neighborhood located in the southwest quadrant of San Francisco, California, United States. Location The Sunset District is the largest neighborhood within the city and county of San Francisco. Golden Gate Park forms the ...

* Sweetland * You Bet * Wolf

Ghost town

* Meadow Lake (previously: Excelsior; Summit City)

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Nevada County. † ''county seat''

Notable residents

Jennie Carter Jennie Carter (c. 1830 – August 1881) was an American journalist and essayist who wrote for the California African-American newspaper '' The Elevator'' from her home in Nevada County, California during the Reconstruction Era. She used the pen ...

, 19th Century writer and journalist *

Lyman Gilmore Lyman Wiswell Gilmore, Jr. (June 11, 1874 – February 18, 1951) was an aviation pioneer. In Grass Valley, California, he built a steam-powered airplane and claimed that he flew it on May 15, 1902. Due to the requirement of a heavy boiler and ...

, a contemporary of the Wright Brothers who developed early powered aircraft and operated the world's first commercial air field in Grass Valley. There is also evidence he may have flown before the Wright brothers, though this claim is doubted. * Alice Maud Hartley, killed Nevada Nevada State Senator Murray D. Foley by gunshot in 1894 *Founding member of the British rock band Supertramp, Roger Hodgson lives in Nevada County. * Herbert Hoover, President of the United States. Hoover lived in Nevada City as a young mining engineer after graduating from Stanford University. *Former Troubled Assets Relief Program head Neel Kashkari lives in the county as part of his "Washington detox." *

Charles Litton Sr. Charles Vincent Litton Sr. (1904–1972) was an engineer and inventor from the area now known as Silicon Valley. Biography Early life Charles Vincent Litton was born on March 13, 1904, in San Francisco, California. His mother was Alice J. Vincent ...

, a resident and entrepreneur of Nevada County who assisted Raytheon in the development of the magnetron tube. *

Mark Meckler Mark Jay Meckler (born March 10, 1962) is an American political activist, attorney, and business executive. He currently serves as President of Citizens for Self-Governance and Convention of States Action, and is an active proponent of a conventi ...

, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots and founder of Citizens for Self-Governance *

Gertrude Penhall Gertrude Penhall (also known as Gertrude Leah Barker-Penhall; 1846 – December 10, 1929), a California pioneer and early settler, was also an American civic leader and clubwoman. She was one of the oldest residents of Nevada County, California ...

(1846–1929), civic leader, clubwoman, early settler *Folk singer Utah Phillips lived in Nevada County until his death in 2008. *Former actor and television announcer Edwin W. Reimers resided in Nevada City at the time of his death in 1986. *Beat Poet

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of ...

currently resides in San Juan Ridge in Nevada County. * Clint Walker, actor. *National Football League star Ricky Williams lives in the county. * Chuck Yeager, pilot and first man to break the sound barrier * John Christopher Stevens, American career diplomat and lawyer who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Libya from May 22, 2012, to September 11, 2012. Stevens was killed when the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked in 2012 by radical Islamic terrorists. He was born in Grass Valley and is buried in the local cemetery. A memorial to him was created in Grass Valley's downtown area. *

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisc ...

, an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth, and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisco-based indie band The Pleased.

Notes

References

External links

*
visitor guide
{{authority control California counties Counties in the Sacramento metropolitan area 1851 establishments in California Populated places established in 1851