Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 062-4 - October 2008 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: 2014-03-19 08:11:06 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:03 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:03

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

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It has been documented that the Chinese ate better and were healthier than any other nationality in the mining camps and towns. They grew their own vegetables and herbs, which they had imported from China. Photos of early camps (such as this one of Red Dog) are very rare, as are any photographs showing Chinese miners. (Courtesy of Searls Historial Library.) show it as flour storage for the bakery, which fronted on Broad Street. There was an opium raid reported at this building, but the description of the facilities did not quite fit this location. 316—This is the “newest” of all of the remaining buildings in the Chinese Quarter. It doesn’t appear on the 1891 map, but does show up as a dwelling on the next map of 1898. It was probably built closer to 1891. Shown as a dwelling up to 1912, it is listed as Chinese general merchandise store in 1915. The 1938 and 1941 maps show it as being vacant. No buildings from the Chinese Quarter remain west of York Street. This area reaching up beyond the Chinese Monument and parking lot, was densely populated by the Chinese. In addition to a large number of dwellings, there was a barbershop, brothels, gambling halls and opium parlors. The first three buildings west of York on the North side of the street were general stores from 1898 until the 1920s. The 1891 map shows large vegetable gardens in this area. Chinese slaughter yards were also located west of York Street in the 1870s. The Chinese Temple was also located on this block. Most of the Chinese who lived in The Chinese Quarter rented from non-Chinese landlords at reportedly high rates. As the older Chinese died, returned to China, or moved to the Chinatowns in the bigger cities, the population of the Chinese Quarter began a rapid decline. The highly restrictive exclusionary and immigration laws, directed specifically at the Chinese, restricted new immigrants between 1882 and 1943. With no new immigrants to take the place of those who left, Chinese Quarters in small towns across California disappeared. NCHS Bulletin October 2008 , The Chinese miners became experts at “rocking the cradle,” an early method of washing pay dirt. The dirt was shoveled or put in buckets before being dumped into the sieve or hopper of the cradle. Water was poured over it, and the cradle was rocked from side to side. This photo shows a miner working alone, which was unusual, especially for the Chinese. (Courtesy of Doris Foley Library.) Nevada County Historical Society’s First Museum— Firehouse No. 1 by Maria E. Brower ~— 1947 FIREHOUSE NO. 1 HAS BEEN MAINTAINED and operated by volunteers and membership of the Nevada County Historical Society. The name of the museum can be misleading to newcomers, as it is not primarily a museum dedicated only to fire equipment of the past. The name denotes the original building and its use as Nevada City’s first firehouse in 1861 until it ceased operation as a firehouse in 1938. The lower floor once stabled horses and the second floor was where the firemen in red shirts met. The use of Firehouse No. . was donated by the city to the historical society in 1946, and the museum opened the following year. Prior to that time the historical society used space in other buildings around Nevada County, including exhibit cases in the courthouse, Ott’s Assay Office, and displays at Mt. St. Mary’s in Grass Valley. Without a doubt, Firehouse No. . is one of the most photographed, sketched and painted structures in Nevada City, and photographs of the building at 214 Main Street have appeared in many books and articles over the years. It didn’t always have the charm and flavor of an era of refinement—in the early 20th century its facade was replaced by the Victorian