Downieville is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Sierra County, California Sierra County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 3,236, making it California's second-least populous county. The county seat is Do ...

, United States. Downieville is on the North Fork of the

Yuba River The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba ...

, at an elevation of . The 2020 United States census reported Downieville's population was 290.

History

Gold was discovered here by Francis Anderson on September 14, 1849. Anderson had joined Phil A. Haven that same year along the North Yuba River. Downieville was founded in late 1849 during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) 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 from the rest of the U ...

, in the Northern Mines area. It was first known as "The Forks" for its geographical location at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the Downie River and North Fork of the

. It was soon renamed after Major William Downie (1820–1893), the town's founder. Downie was a

Scotsman Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...

who had led an expedition of nine miners, seven of them

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

men, up the North Fork of the Yuba River in the Autumn of 1849. At the present site of the town they struck rich gold, built a log cabin, and settled in to wait out the winter. By 1850, Downieville had 15 hotels, 4 bakeries, 4 butcher shops, and numerous saloons.

In 1850 John Craycroft & Company constructed a log building, which had a 70 foot bar made from a rip-sawed board. The building was destroyed by fire on February 19, 1852, and was rebuilt by the current brick building that now houses the St. Charles Place in the old Craycroft building. Josefa Segovia, a young ''

Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

'' resident of the town, was lynched by a mob on July 5, 1851. The lynch mob held a mock trial, and accused her of killing an American miner. The mock trial quickly led to hanging her from the Jersey Bridge in town. Segovia’s case was the only recorded

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

of a woman in the

history of California The history of California can be divided into the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American period (about 10,000 years ago until 1542), the Exploration of North America, European exploration period (1542–1769), the Spanish colonial ...

. In 1853 Downieville was vying to become the new state capital of California, along with fifteen other California communities to replace Vallejo. The capital was moved to Benicia for a year, and then in 1854 to

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. The Northern Mines area of the gold rush had a number of mining camps with colorful names, such as Brandy City (originally known as Strychnine City), Whiskey Diggins, Poverty Hill, Poker Flat, and Camptonville. Many of these camps disappeared after the gold rush or became

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

s. Downieville had reached a peak population of over 5,000 people in 1851, but by 1865 had significantly declined. It survived due to its status as the

of government in Sierra County, and from its geographic location between

Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California ...

and Tahoe region/Nevada destinations.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Downieville had a population of 290. The population density was . The racial makeup of Downieville was 232 (80.0%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0 (0.0%)

, 5 (1.7%) Native American, 2 (0.7%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 7 (2.4%) from other races, and 44 (15.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30 persons (10.3%). The whole population lived in households. There were 137 households, out of which 29 (21.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 73 (53.3%) were married-couple households, 8 (5.8%) were cohabiting couple households, 36 (26.3%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 20 (14.6%) had a male householder with no partner present. 42 households (30.7%) were one person, and 29 (21.2%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.12. There were 89

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(65.0% of all households). The age distribution was 43 people (14.8%) under the age of 18, 12 people (4.1%) aged 18 to 24, 40 people (13.8%) aged 25 to 44, 73 people (25.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 122 people (42.1%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 59.2years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. There were 225 housing units at an average density of , of which 137 (60.9%) were occupied. Of these, 109 (79.6%) were owner-occupied, and 28 (20.4%) were occupied by renters.

Government

Local

Because Loyalton is Sierra County's most populous

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and its only incorporated city, generally half of the meetings of the county's board of supervisors are held in Downieville and the other half are held in Loyalton.

State and Federal

In the state legislature, Downieville is in , and . Federally, Downieville is in .

Recreation and tourism

Downieville is surrounded by the Yuba River District of the Tahoe National Forest. Popular

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

activities include fishing,

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

, back country "jeeping" and

motorcycling Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-engine displacement, displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and nature walks,

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espec ...

, and sites of the

. Fishing includes planted rainbow trout and German brown trout in the North Fork of the

Mountain biking

The town is a popular destination and central hub for

trails and events. The renowned "Downieville Downhill" singletrack trail has a drop over its length. There are shuttles to the trailhead available in town, which is its terminus. It includes long and narrow suspension

footbridges A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

across canyons and streams. The town hosts the world-famous Downieville Classic mountain biking races, a two-day event with an Enduro style or Super-D downhill race, and an extremely challenging cross-country cycling race. In 2003 the Single Speed World Championship was held in Downieville.

Whitewater Rafting

The town of Downieville is the meeting location for many whitewater water rafting trips on the North Yuba River both privately and commercially. Commercial rafting is done by multiple companies including Tributary Whitewater Tours and Raft California.

Downieville Museum

The Downieville Museum is in an 1852 stone building that was originally a general store, among other things, and was eventually donated to the city by its owner J.M.B. Meroux. With original iron doors and window shutters, it first housed a store that was built and operated by the Meroux family, whose gravestones are displayed prominently at the old Downieville cemetery. The museum displays local artifacts, historic items, pioneer portraits, and vintage photographs depicting the life of this community over 160 years, from its Gold Rush origins to the present day. It also displays a scale model of the turn-of-the-century Downieville business district and a replica of the Sierra County gold collection, a duplicate of the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

specimens and

gold bar A gold bar, also known as gold bullion or a gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold that can be shaped in various forms, produced under standardized conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record-keeping. Larger varieties of gold ...

s from Sierra County mines that are on display in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

Lodging

There are a variety of lodging choices in Downieville and its surroundings; some are on the North Fork Yuba River. They include Forest Service

campground Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...

s, bed and breakfast inns, rental cabins and backcountry campsites.

Notable people

* Lewis Francis Byington, District Attorney of San Francisco * Robert Lewis Byington, member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

* Byington Ford, real estate developer and military officer * Tirey L. Ford, 18th

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...

* George E. Goodfellow, physician and naturalist who performed the first documented

laparotomy A laparotomy is a surgical procedure involving a surgical incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity. It is also known as a celiotomy. Origins and history The first successful laparotomy was performed without ...

* Warren Harding, climber and member of the first team to climb

El Capitan El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. The valley is about long a ...

, in 1958 * Joseph C. McKibbin, lawyer and politician * Frank M. Proctor, member of the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...

* Josefa Segovia, victim of lynching in Downieville

Appearances in popular culture

Downieville was featured by Huell Howser in '' California's Gold'' Episode 212.

Services

Downieville has its own post office; the town's ZIP code is 95936. Wired telephone numbers for the town follow the format ( 530) 289-xxxx. Downieville is home to
The Mountain Messenger
' weekly newspaper. The paper began in 1853 as a twice-per-month publication; its claim to fame is that Mark Twain once wrote there under his real name, Sam Clemens. It is distributed through the U.S. mail and includes subscribers far beyond Sierra County.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP covers an area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km), 99.83% of it land and 0.17% of it water. Most of the town is built on riverwash soils; higher locations are on Hurlbut gravelly loam or Deadwood gravelly sandy loam.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Downieville has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated ''Csb'' on climate maps.

Gallery

Grocery store, bell tower, Downieville.jpg, Downieville, 2019. Downieville Museum.jpg, Museum, 2019. Downieville School 2.jpg, School, 2019.

References

External links

Sierra County website
— ''Downieville is the county seat''.

— ''founder of Downieville''.
Sierra County chamber of commerce: History of Downieville

Tahoe National Forest — homepage + links

Panorama of Downieville, Calif., ca. 1860-ca. 1870
— ''from The Bancroft Library''.
Eastman Originals Collection: historical images of Downieville
— from th
University of California, Davis; Special Collections Department: The Eastman Collection
— ''online archives''. {{authority control County seats in California Census-designated places in Sierra County, California Mining communities of the California Gold Rush Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States) Tahoe National Forest Yuba River 1849 establishments in California Populated places established in 1849 Census-designated places in California