Welcome to the Nevada County Historical Archive
Explore the history of Nevada County, California with this online repository of thousands of original records, documents, maps, books and photographs.
Original Records
(51,937 pages)
Documents
(72,516 pages)
Books
(27,136 pages)
Newspapers
(81,750 pages)
Maps
(16,990 images)
Videos
(1,484 images)
Indexes
(679,360 records)
Photographs
(45,808 images)
Virtual Collections
(438 images)
These records and materials are held at the Searls Historical Library and the Doris Foley Library for Historical Research, both in Nevada City, California.
This site is hosted by the Nevada County Historical Society, in collaboration with the Nevada County Libraries. Find out more.
Browse Searls Library
Browse Doris Foley Library

Search the Archive

Enter a name, company, place or keywords to search across the Nevada County Historical Archive's thousands of pages of online items and thousands of index records. Then click "Search" (or hit Enter).
To search for an exact phrase, use "double quotes", but only after trying without quotes. To exclude results with a specific word, add dash before the word. Example: -Word.

Explore Historical Photographs

Explore Photographs

Discover over 30,000 historical photos from all over Nevada County.

Reminisce Through Old High School Yearbooks

Reminisce Old High School Yearbooks

Look through Nevada City and Grass Valley yearbooks from 1897 to 1964.

Do You Have Old Stuff to Donate or Scan?

If you have old photos, negatives, film or video of Nevada County, we would love to add them to the Archive.
Do you have old photo albums, cardboard boxes of family stuff, like newspaper clippings or scrapbooks?
Or old journals, historical family letters or company ledgers?
As long as they are related to Nevada County's history.
And not just "stuff".
Donate them and we will help preserve them forever. Or we can scan your items and return them.
Contribute to the Archive

Tell us about what you would like to contribute and we will contact you.

Watch Speaker Night Presentations

Explore Speaker Night Videos

Watch Historical Society Speaker Night videos going back to 2011.

Nevada County - On This Day in History

What happened today?
See today's local newspapers from decades ago.

173 Years Ago
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160 Years Ago
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125 Years Ago
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65 Years Ago
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Relive our local history on this day of the year.

Look Through Local Pamphlets

See Local Pamphlets

Take a look through some fascinating local pamphlets from yesteryear.

New Features on the Archive

View Similar Images
Using AI, look for other photos in the Archive that visually similar.
  • Looking for a better version of a photo?
  • Looking for a different angle on the same photo subject?
  • Found an unlabelled photo and want to know what it is?
  • This button shows when previewing any photo.
    Doesn't work for well portraits. AI-based face comparison is next!
    • View Similar Images

    Look again soon, as cool new features are added every week!

    Read and Search Local Newspapers

    Explore Local Newspapers

    Search over 16,000 local newspaper editions not online elsewhere.

    Uncover Stories from Original Records

    See Original Records

    Find undiscover local stories in these original records.

    Discover Gold Rush 49'er Diaries

    Explore Gold Rush Diaries

    Read about their travels and looking for gold from these Gold Rush diaries.

    Research Historical City Directories

    Research City Directories

    Look for people and business in the historical business directories.

    Death Becomes Us

    Research Mortuary and Death Records

    Find where your ancestors died in these unique, but morbid original records.

    Explore Historical Maps

    Explore Historical Maps

    Discover how the roads, streets and buildings have changed over the years.

    Search Nevada County Property Maps

    Search Nevada County Recorder Maps

    Look for old maps of any Nevada County property, not searchable elsewhere.

    Search the Archive's Index Records

    Search for the Card Catalog Indexes

    Search for the index records at Searls and Doris Foley Libraries

    What's New in the Archive?


    Recently Added Items (2,329 pages in 23 items) in the Last 7 Days - View All Recent Items
    Yesterday
    Documentaries
    Documentaries (16 images in 4 items)
    Yesterday
    Nevada City Minute Books
    Nevada City Minute Books (514 pages in 3 items)
    2 days ago
    Speaker Nights
    Speaker Nights (104 images in 4 items)
    2 days ago
    Other Videos
    Other Videos (5 images in 1 item)
    2 days ago
    Nevada County District Court Cases
    Nevada County District Court Cases (109 pages in 5 items)
    3 days ago
    Uncategorized Documents
    Uncategorized Documents (316 pages in 1 item)
    5 days ago
    Historical Clippings
    Historical Clippings (513 pages in 1 item)
    6 days ago
    Business Card Catalog
    Business Card Catalog (752 pages in 4 items)