Rough and Ready 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 ...

Nevada County, California Nevada County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City, Califor ...

, United States. It is located west of Grass Valley, California, approximately 62 miles (100 km) from

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 population was 963 at the 2010 census. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.

History

The first established settlement in Rough and Ready was made in the fall of 1849 by a mining company from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, known as the Rough and Ready Company, 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 ...

. Their leader, Captain A. A. Townsend, named the company after General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

(nicknamed "Old Rough and Ready") who had recently been elected the 12th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. Captain Townsend had served under Taylor when he commanded the American Forces during the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

(1832). California had three towns so named of which this one survives. The town declared its secession from the Union as The Great Republic of Rough and Ready on 7 April 1850, largely to avoid mining taxes, but voted to rejoin the Union less than three months later on 4 July. The old republic is celebrated annually as a way to attract tourism and as a point of local pride. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

at Rough and Ready was established by February 1851; the first postmaster was Marcus Nutting. The ZIP Code is 95975. The community is inside

area code 530 Area codes 530 and 837 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in northeastern and Northern California. 530 was created in 1997 in an area code split of 916 and 837 was added to the same numbering plan area as an ov ...

. The post office was closed for a time in 1855, again for a time in 1913, and again from 1942 to 1948. In 1988, the

49er Fire The 49er Fire was a destructive wildfire in 1988 in Northern California's Nevada County, California, Nevada County and Yuba County, California, Yuba County. The fire ignited on September 11 when a man accidentally set brush on fire by burning t ...

was accidentally started near Highway 49. The fire went on to burn well over a hundred homes and more than 33,000 acres in Nevada County, including structures in and around Rough and Ready.

Present day

What little is left of the town is located on the Rough and Ready Highway. It was bypassed by State Route 20 in the mid-1980s. Among the oldest buildings are the blacksmith shop (1850s), the Odd Fellows Hall (1854) (no
Rough and Ready Grange
Hall), and the Old Toll House. The town of Rough and Ready is honored as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

(#294).

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 Census Designated Place covers an area of , all of it land.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Rough and Ready had a population of 905. The population density was . The racial makeup of Rough and Ready was 761 (84.1%)

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 ...

, 6 (0.7%)

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 ...

, 14 (1.5%) Native American, 13 (1.4%) Asian, 1 (0.1%)

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 ...

, 33 (3.6%) from other races, and 77 (8.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 67 persons (7.4%). The whole population lived in households. There were 399 households, out of which 79 (19.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 172 (43.1%) were married-couple households, 47 (11.8%) were cohabiting couple households, 85 (21.3%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 95 (23.8%) had a male householder with no partner present. 111 households (27.8%) were one person, and 52 (13.0%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.27. There were 246

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 ...

(61.7% of all households). The age distribution was 108 people (11.9%) under the age of 18, 66 people (7.3%) aged 18 to 24, 209 people (23.1%) aged 25 to 44, 260 people (28.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 262 people (29.0%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 53.2years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. There were 457 housing units at an average density of , of which 399 (87.3%) were occupied. Of these, 295 (73.9%) were owner-occupied, and 104 (26.1%) were occupied by renters.

Politics

In the state legislature, Rough and Ready is in , and . Federally, Rough and Ready is in .

In popular culture

*The

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based music duo The Great Republic of Rough and Ready takes its name from the town. *The

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'' told the story of Rough and Ready in two different episodes. *''The Ruins of Rough and Ready'', a "comical western" novel by Clark Casey, "reimagines the three months when Rough and Ready was a sovereign republic". The town drunkard falls asleep in a cave and wakes up in an earthquake to find a giant gold boulder, which must be brought to Sacramento while every bandit in California is closing in. The town is defended by "oddball miners" and "a sheriff who's afraid of guns". *The

-based

math rock Math rock is a style of Alternative rock, alternative and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush (band), Rush. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), cou ...

band Hella released a track entitled "Republic of Rough and Ready" on their 2002 album '' Hold Your Horse Is''. Notably, guitarist Spencer Seim was born and raised in Nevada County, with drummer Zach Hill briefly living there as well.

References

External links

Ghosttowns.com: Rough and Ready

* ttp://www.aboutnevadacounty.com/cities/Rough&Ready/ About Nevada County.com: Rough and Ready {{DEFAULTSORT:Rough And Ready, California Census-designated places in California Census-designated places in Nevada County, California Mining communities of the California Gold Rush California Historical Landmarks History of Nevada County, California Rough and Ready, The Great Republic of Rough and Ready, The Great Republic of Separatism in the United States Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in California Zachary Taylor Former countries of the United States Former regions and territories of the United States States and territories established in 1850 States and territories disestablished in 1850