Nevada County, California


Nevada County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Sacramento-Roseville 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 is 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 and the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad.
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. Many historical sites remain to mark the birth of this important region in California's formative years. Among them are the Nevada Theatre 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.
File:Gold-270445.jpg|thumb|left|Gold nugget of about 6 troy ounces, from the Yuba River placers of Nevada County - size: 8.3 x 2.8 x 2.3 cm
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 hydroelectric generators today. Nevada City and Grass Valley were among the first California towns with electric lights. The Olympics, NASA, and virtually every television station around the country uses video/broadcasting equipment designed and manufactured by Grass Valley Group, founded in Grass Valley.
The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad, built in 1876, was the only railroad in the West that was never robbed, though its primary freight was gold. The rail line closed in 1942 and was torn up for scrap.
In Grass Valley, the historic Holbrooke Hotel opened in 1851 and housed Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and four U.S. Presidents.
The community of Rough and Ready seceded from the Union for a time and became the Great Republic of Rough and Ready.
Nevada County is home to the Empire Mine State Historic Park, 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.
In 1988, the 49er Fire was accidentally started near Highway 49 by a homeless local man who was suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia. The fire went on to burn well over 100 homes and more than 33,000 acres in Nevada County.
The 2001 Nevada County shootings occurred on January 10, 2001, in which Scott Harlan Thorpe murdered three people in a shooting spree. 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.

Boundary dispute with Sierra County

Since the enactment of the statute in which the California State Legislature defined the common boundary between Nevada and Sierra Counties in 1874, no survey was conducted to determine where the straight line segment of the common boundary between the two counties ran. In particular, the statute, at the time codified as Section 3921 of the California Political Code, at the time stated:
Since the line had never been surveyed and the legislature never defined where the "point east of the source of the South Fork of the Middle Yuba River" was, the location of the straight air line between the state line and this point was unknown. As such, both counties claimed that the point east of the source, which itself was also unknown, was located in different places. This created a situation where a strip of land averaging 1.22 miles in width and around 31.29 square miles were under dispute, with Sierra County claiming that Nevada County was encroaching on their jurisdiction when attempting to levy property taxes. The trial court of Plumas County, sided with Sierra County, declaring that the disputed area had always belonged to Sierra, since the legislature defined the boundary in dispute by referencing Public Land Survey System lines. It also determined that the source of South Fork of the Middle Yuba was that of several springs in the Sierra Nevada, rather than the artificial English Lake, which ceased to exist after the failure of its dam in 1883, which is where the source of the South Fork was in the eyes of Nevada County. The California Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's decision on December 28, 1908.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of are covered by water. The county is drained by Middle 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 Truckee.
Nevada County is one of four counties in the United States to border a state with which it shares the same name.

Ecology

The county has substantial areas of forest, grassland, savanna, riparian area, and other ecosystems. Forests include both coniferous- and oak-dominated woodland types. Also, numerous understory forbs and wildflowers occur, including the yellow mariposa lily.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 102,241. The median age was 49.7 years. 17.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 27.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.4 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 83.7% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.4% from some other race, and 9.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.2% of the population.
51.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 48.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 42,774 households in the county, of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 53,627 housing units, of which 20.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.6% were owner-occupied and 26.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 Census

The 2010 United States census reported that Nevada County had a population of 98,764. The racial makeup of Nevada County was 90,233 White, 389 African American, 1,044 Native American, 1,187 Asian, 110 Pacific Islander, 2,678 from other races, and 3,123 from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8,439 persons.

2000

As of the census of 2000, 92,033 people, 36,894 households, and 25,936 families resided in the county. The population density was. The 44,282 housing units had an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% White, 0.3% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 2.0% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. About 5.7% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Regarding ancestry,16.4% were German, 16.3% English, 11.1% Irish, 6.8% Italian, and 6.6% American, according to Census 2000; 94.0% spoke English and 4.2% Spanish as their first language.
Of the 36,894 households, 28.7% had children under 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were not families. About 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47, and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the age distribution was 23.1% under 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 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,864, and 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.