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Volume 074-1 - January 2020 (8 pages)
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Page: of 8
NCHS Bulletin January 2020
Publishing History
NCHS began publishing its Bulletin, a combined newsletter and historical journal, in March 1948. The original publication, printed on a folded 9x12’ inch sheet,
appeared sporadically. Over the first decade the number of issues varied between two and seven per year.
“There was similar inconsistency with regard to content,” wrote David Comstock in a brief history of the
Bulletin, “as the young organization struggled to define
itself and attract new members”"’. Early issues showed
a keen interest in the indigenous people of the region
and non-white settlers, especially the Chinese. While
early Bulletins included rich historic material, they also
contained outright fictions, such as a tall tale about how
gold was discovered in quartz near Grass Valley.
Both Bulletin appearance and content changed over
the years. In 1976 the page size increased to 8% by 11,
which accommodated more photos and illustrations.
Peter van der Pas showed his innate editorial talent
after he took responsibility for the Bulletin in 1978.
He introduced new features, including book reviews,
and was the longest-serving editor. David Comstock
helped produce the Bulletin for over 20 years.
NCHS attempted to publish book-length accounts
of local history, beginning with Juanita Kennedy
Brown’s Nuggets of Nevada County History in 1983".
The need for books was filled especially by independent publishers David and Ardis Comstock and by
self-published authors (often aided by the Comstocks).
Awakened by Silence
After twenty-five years NCHS could not claim success. The end of industrial-scale gold mining in the
mid-1950s, and the failure of lumbering to sustain
local employment, threatened the meaningful survival
of Grass Valley, Nevada City and the settled districts
of the county. No one better captured what local people were thinking than Doris Foley (with photographs
by Jim Morley) in her Gold Cities (1965). The book
lamented the arrival of the bulldozers which would cut
a freeway through the hearts of the historic towns. It
offered, as Foley wrote, “a last long look at a life and
time now vanishing”.
Yet just as the upheaval of the war had wakened historical consciousness two decades earlier, so members of
NCHS reawoke to the silence of the stamp mills. The
clearest response to the end of the industrial era was the
opening in June 1968 of the NCHS “Mining Exhibit”
on Mill Street in Grass Valley. The exhibit included 483
artifacts saved by Arthur Dowdell, a superintendent
at the Empire mine, along with a replica assay office
and blacksmith shop. The exhibit became the core of
the North Star Power House Museum on the banks of
Wolf Creek in Grass Valley, which opened in 1970 and
included a 30-foot Pelton wheel. The City of Grass
Valley, the Rotary Club and local business supported
the project. Phoebe Cartwright, Glenn Jones and Arlie
Hansen represent many who devoted themselves to
what has become one of the most significant mining
displays in The West. Recent directors have included
Robert Shoemaker and Rudy Cisar’’.
NCHS’ seminal contribution to local history has been
the opening in 1972 of the Searls Library for Historical
Research in Nevada City. Here again, Doris Foley led
the way. She persuaded the pioneer Searls family to
donate a Nevada City law office for use as a research
library. The family did so provisionally at first. They
were won over by Foley’s self-confidence in managing
collections and her willingness to give straight answers
with a level gaze. The family deeded the building to
NCHS and established an endowment".
The Searls Historical Library built on the earlier work
of NCHS research committees. Before computers,
volunteers established a database on 3x5 cards and in
historical scrapbooks. Today the collection includes
more than 3,000 volumes of local history, 6,500 maps
and 29,000 photographs. A continuing effort to index
and digitize archival materials makes the collection