Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

About This Item:

Title: Volume 059-4 - October 2005 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 8 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2014-03-12 08:16:56 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:02 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:02

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

Page: of 8  

NCHS Bulletin October 2005 by him for five dollars, and proved to be worth one hundred. The Miners in the neighborhood, and many from Deer Creek, now crowded to this hill. Claims were staked off, and men began to pound the quartz in mortars. One company took out about twenty thousand dollars during the winter and spring. Grass Valley claims the first successful quartz mills in California. The first quartz mining was on Gold Hill, the next on Massachusetts Hill where the first claims were taken up in December 1850 by A. Delano generally known as “Old Block”.. . On the 13'" of September 1855, Grass Valley was visited by one of the most destructive conflagrations in the annals of the State. After luckily escaping for several years, in an hour and a half the whole town was destroyed. Thirty acres, covered with nearly 300 buildings, were covered with ashes. The fire originated in the United States Hotel, and destroyed property to the value of about $350,000. . . [GRASS VALLEY LIFE]. On the Fourth of July [1863] I had the honor of reading the Declaration of Independence at the public celebration at Hamilton Hall. The celebration was a very creditable affair for a mountain town. On the afternoon of the following day . officiated at the funeral of Mr. Hooper, driver of the Grass Valley and Nevada Stage. He was thrown from his seat and the wheels of the stage passed over his prostrate body. He lingered only two or three hours after the accident. Just before he died I called on him and tried to impress his mind with a sense of the importance of making preparation for eternity. At his bedside I offered prayer, but as soon as the prayer was ended, his soul passed away from earth. He gave me no reason to believe that he was prepared to meet his God. His funeral was attended by the Firemen, the Military and Citizens generally. It was said to be the most imposing funeral demonstration ever made in Grass Valley. [The Putnams left Grass Valley in February 1866. After another stay in San Francisco, they returned to Massachusetts. There the Rev. Putnam served for several years as rector of St. Mary Episcopal Church in Newton Lower Falls on the Charles River, west of Boston. He concluded his career in the Diocese of New York. For a more complete account of the lives of the Rev. and Maria Putnam, see Crosses in a Gold Field: A 150-Year History of Emmanuel Episcopal Church and Grass Valley (2005). The book tells the history of the town through the lives of the men and women who were part of the Episcopal Church. It includes the stories of a wide range of men and women who made significant contributions. The large format book, 148 pages with 80 photographs, is available at The Book Seller, 107 Mill Street, Grass Valley. For information on the California Historical Society, call (415) 357-1848 or see their website: www.californiahistoricalsoc.org. Hamilton Hall was an important theater and meeting place in Grass Valley in the 1860s and 1870s. NEVADA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY EXECUTIVE BOARD President Priscilla van der Pas Vice President Bedford Lampkin Executive Secretary Pat Chesnut Treasurer Glenn Straight DIRECTORS Firehouse Museum North Star Mining Museum Searls Historical Library Genealogical Research NCNGRR’/Transportation Museum Division Wally Hagaman Glenn Jones Ed Tyson Maria Brower John Christensen NCHS Books Division Desmond Gallagher Bulletin Editor Maria Brower Newsletter Editor Pat Chesnut Membership Director-at-Large Director-at-Large Director-at-Large Marilyn Dittmann Al Dittmann Brita Rozynski William Durbrow 8 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: Open 11 am to 4 pm daily (except holidays) Winter: Friday-Sunday 12:00 noon to 3 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 and Transportation Museum 5 Kidder Court, Nevada City (530) 470-0902 May . to Oct. 31: Open Friday thru Tuesday 10 am to 4 pm Nov. . to April 30: Open Tuesday and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm” NCHS Books 511 North Pine St., Nevada City 95959 (530) 265-4312