Place:Sierra, California, United States

Watchers
NameSierra
Alt namesSierrasource: Getty Vocabulary Program
TypeCounty
Coordinates39.583°N 120.55°W
Located inCalifornia, United States     (1852 - )
See alsoYuba, California, United StatesParent county (source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990)
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Sierra County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,236, making it California's second-least populous county. The county seat is Downieville, and the only incorporated city is Loyalton. The county is in the Sierra Nevada, northeast of Sacramento on the border with Nevada.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Sierra County was formed from parts of Yuba County in 1852. The county derives its name from the Sierra Nevada.

Prior to the California Gold Rush, the area was home to both the Maidu and the Washoe peoples. They generally summered in the higher elevations to hunt and fish, and returned to lower elevations for the winter months. After the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills sparked the California Gold Rush, more than 16,000 miners settled in Sierra County between 1848 and 1860. Most mining settlements in the county sprung up along the North and Middle Forks of the Yuba River, both of which had rich deposits of gold. While some of the mining boom towns faded away once gold fever died down, other settlements such as Downieville and Sierra City have remained.

Notable gold nuggets found in the county include a 26.5 pound specimen, avoirdupois, found by a group of sailors at Sailor Ravine, two miles above Downieville. A 51-pound specimen was found in 1853 by a group of Frenchmen in French Ravine. The 106 pound Monumental Nugget was found in Sept. 1869 at Sierra City.

The Bald Mountain drift mine in Forest City was founded in Aug. 1864, and was the largest of its kind in the state at the time. The Bald Mountain Extension was located in 1874 east of Forest. The Monte Cristo Mine was located in 1854. The largest quartz-mine is the Sierra Buttes Gold Mine was located in 1850 near Sierra City. The Gold Bluff Mine was located near Downieville in 1854. By 1880 the county was "crushing" 70,000 tons of quartz and had 266 miles of mining ditches.[1]

Timeline

Date Event Source
1852 County formed Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1852 Court records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1852 Land records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1852 Probate records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1853 Marriage records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1857 Birth records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1860 First census Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1860 No significant boundary changes after this year Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year Population
1860 11,387
1870 5,619
1880 6,623
1890 5,051
1900 4,017
1910 4,098
1920 1,783
1930 2,422
1940 3,025
1950 2,410
1960 2,247
1970 2,365
1980 3,073
1990 3,318

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Sierra County, California, United States

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