Virtual Guidebook to Lake Tahoe and the Northern Sierra Nevada
Nevada City
Placer County California

Nevada City, along with its twin Grass Valley, preserves the charm and history of the California Gold Rush better than anywhere else. The historic downtown along Broad Street dates almost entirely from the nineteenth century and intrusive later developments and traffic have been carefully kept away.

Founded in 1850 as simply "Nevada" the wealth of the town derived from the deep hard rock mines scattered through the area. Cornish miners were a distinctive element in the population and today Cornish pasties are a favored local dish. The Pelton wheel was invented and first manufactured here, in the Miners Foundry, now a community hall.