Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

About This Item:

Title: Volume 056-4 - October 2002 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 6 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2014-03-12 07:26:16 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:01 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:01

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 6  

NCHS Bulletin October 2002 BOOK REVIEW Orval Bronson, Nevada City, Nevada County Historical Society, P.O. Box 1300, Nevada City, CA 95959. Price $25.00 hardcover, $15.00 softcover. ORVAL BRONSON’S NEW BOOK is a much welcomed history of Nevada City. Today, Nevada City is nearly the same size it was when it began over 150 years ago, about one square mile. But it has never become a dull dried-up ghost town like other mining towns. The book is short but full of information arranged by topics, instead of being a chronological history. The local Nisenan Indians are discussed, as well as the large Chinese population. There are chapters on business and commerce, government, newspapers (there were several early ones published), mining, transportation (especially the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad), Fire companies, entertainment, and even prostitution. The book ends in modern times with a discussion of the Freeway, Historical Ordinance, and the Downtown improvement project. Nevada City, like the rest of Nevada County, had no important economic base after the closing of the last of the mines in 1956. But some far-seeing residents could visualize the future of Nevada City being a tourist destination. The Historical Ordinance district was created in 1968, to preserve the architecture and appearance of the buildings. In 1978, Broad and Spring streets were repaved and overhead power lights replaced with gas lamps. These improvements along with many cultural and artistic attractions have made Nevada City the tourist attraction it is today. An interesting part of the book is a short biography section of 40 people who were important in Nevada City, including two women: Nellie Pooler Chapman who was Nevada City’s first female dentist, and Ellen Sargent, who was a friend of Woman’s Suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony. Some of Nevada City’s residents were important locally, but others went on to national distinction, such as Aaron Sargent, Lorenzo Sawyer, Niles Searls, and William Morris Stewart. This small book has many additional features which will be useful for reference, such as a time line with many events dated, especially in the nineteenth century. There is a listing of early fraternal and benevolent organizations, a listing of early Nevada City churches and cemeteries (I was surprised there were five in town!) The end of the book has a very clear map with numbers showing the locations of Nevada City landmarks. How amazing it is to have a small city containing 39 landmarks! The early photos are nicely spaced throughout the book. Especially interesting is the change that our county courthouse has gone through until its present art deco facade. The soft cover version of the book has a charming color photo of downtown Nevada City by Gay Conner. A few limited edition hard-cover copies are available at Nevada City’s Firehouse Museum [or by mail from NCHS Books, 10105 Laurentian Way, Nevada City, CA 95959]. Orval Bronson is a resident of Nevada City and is a member and former director-at-large of the Nevada County Historical Society. His first book, Burning Brightly: John Steinbeck on Stage, was published in 2000. This new book will be important in future years as a wonderful record of Nevada City. . —Priscilla van der Pas NEVADA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY EXECUTIVE BOARD President Paul Hinshelwood Vice President Priscilla van der Pas Executive Secretary Elmabel Rohrman Treasurer David Comstock DIRECTORS Firehouse Museum Tony Smeaton North Star Mining Museum Glenn Jones Searls Historical Library Ed Tyson Genealogical Research Maria Brower NCNGRR’Transportation Museum Division John Christensen Video History Museum Division Ron Sturgell NCHS Books Division Mel Ciphers Bulletin and Newsletter Bedford Lampkin Membership Phil Perrin Publicity Director-at-Large Pat Chesnut Director-at-Large Adele Santos Director-at-Large 6 Nick Rohrman P. O. Box 1300, Nevada City, CA 95959 Searls Historical Library 214 Church Street, Nevada City (530) 265-5910 Open 1-4 pm daily (except Sundays and holidays) Firehouse Museum 214 Main Street, Nevada City (530) 265-5468 Summer: Thurs.—Mon. 11 am to 4 pm (except holidays) Winter: Thurs.—Sun. 11:30 am to 4 pm (except holidays) North Star Mining Museum Allison Ranch Road, Grass Valley (530) 273-4255 Open May . to October 15 from 10 am to 5 pm Railroad Museum 5 Kidder Court, Nevada City (530) 470-0902 or 265-3668 Call for information about hours Grass Valley Video History Museum and AI Dilts Thimble Theater Central Avenue, Memorial Park, Grass Valley (530) 274-1126 May 1 to Oct. 15, Wed.—Sun. 10 am to 5 pm (except holidays) NCHS Books 10105 Laurentian Way, Nevada City 95959 (530) 478-0231 _ -~ -