Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 060-2 - April 2006 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 08:24:12 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

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~~ exceeding five thousand dollars, including the amount of any previous indebtedness, without the consent to such Joan of the electors of the city previously obtained; to appropriate money for any item of City expenditure, and to provide for the payments of any debts and expenses of the city. To prevent and restrain any riot or disorderly assemblage in any street, house, or place of the city; to impose and approf™ priate fines, forfeitures, and penalties, for the breach of any ordinance, and to provide for the punishments of breaches of the ordinances; but no fine shall be imposed of more than five hundred dollars, and no offender snail be imprisoned for a longer term than ten days. To suspend or remove any city officer for misconduct in office or neglect of duty, with the concurrence of two thirds of the members elected; to compel the attendance of absent members, to punish its members for disorderly conduct, and to expel members, with the concurrence of two thirds of the members elected. The fourth article detailed the powers and duties of the individual officers, and who might determine the amount of fees and salaries. The fifth described duties and powers and jurisdiction of the Recorder (a judge) and the Recorder’s Court. The last article contained various provisions to exert a moderating influence over expenditure of funds. One week after the first election, the Common Council met for the first time, “at early candlelight.” They were swom in by Justice of the Peace Albion Olney. The first y™ regular council meeting was held on May 5. Many more meetings were held and by the end of May fifteen ordi/% Nances had been passed. During June and July another fifteen were enacted. Because no copies of the local paper NCHS Bulletin April 2006 between April and September exist, it’s not possible to say exactly what every law said, but a great many continued to appear as legal notices during the fall and winter months. Some of these are quite interesting; for instance: Ordinance 2 stated that all vacant building lots inside the city would be claimed and held by the Mayor and Common Council. Ordinance 8 allowed the City Attorney to charge the same fees as were collected by the County Attorney for similar services; the City Marshal could collect the same fees as the County Sheriff. Ordinance 10 set fines of $10 to $500 or ten days to three months in jail for persons convicted of disturbing the peace or exhibiting any deadly weapon with “malicious intent.” Ordinance 11 said convicted persons were to be confined with chain and bal! and required to work on the streets or some other public work for the city in the daytime; at night they would be taken to the city prison or “such other place as may be necessary for their safe keeping.” Ordinance 13 was about business licenses. Auctioneers had to furnish $500 bonds and pay the city 1% of all auction sales. Saloons and gaming houses where liquor was sold “to be drank upon the premises” paid $20 a month. Hotels, boarding houses and restaurants “where no games of chance are kept” paid $15 a month, and all other retail venders “not hereafter prohibited” were billed $10 per month. Keepers of “permanently located” theatrical or equestrian shows or menageries paid $150 a month, and transient shows of the same kind paid only $25 per show. All other exhibitors were required to pay $10 per show. Billiard tables were assessed $15 per table per month, bowling alleys paid $15 per month, and gambling houses paid What Responsibilities Do We Have? by Wallace R. Hagaman HE BYLAWS OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY STATE: “The specific and primary purpose is to promote, encourage and support the study of the history of Nevada County.” The bylaws further state that acquisition and dissemination of historical knowledge and facts pertaining to the history of Nevada County are also important. The society has great resources of information through its collection of books, photographs, maps, original journals and letters along with a large collection of documents pertinent to the founding and growth of the county. The history of Nevada County is well documented. The Searls Historical Library and the collection at the Doris Foley Historical Branch are easily accessible to those who wish to find factual information about our county. When the Mayor of Nevada City proposed a “150th ym Birthday Party” for April 19, 2006, he had available re. $Ources to show that this date was not accurate. As a result, the official City Historian, and other historians in the community could not support his published plans for another “Birthday” celebration because it had already been celebrated in the year 2000, complete with birthday cake and dedication of the Fourth of July parade to the birthday of Nevada City. There was considerable grumbling from varied quarters and some suggestions that the historical society and local historians were being poor sports by not supporting the “Birthday” event. After realizing that it did not have the support of the historians, a majority of the city council voted to change the event to be a celebration of the third incorporation of Nevada City—which local newspapers of the day thought was a non-event. I believe what the historians of the community did by standing up for the facts despite pressure from some city officials, was a good thing. It is the duty of historians to accurately record and defend the facts of history. Polybius, the Greek historian (c. 200-118 B.C.), wrote that historians should be constantly on their guard, and that if they knowingly defend what is false for the sake of friends, or just to be pleasant, what is the difference between historians and hack writers?