Tag Archives: downieville

Bits & Pieces Nevada and Sierra County

November 28, 2009 jd

November 28, 2009

I was in Downieville last weekend. Seems like the place is shutting down, at least the restaurants are. In Sierra City the Red Moose closed during the summer and we were there for the last meal at the Buckhorn. Seems like the Buckhorn is closing for the winter. In Downieville, the Wooden Trout went bankrupt and is closed. So if you want a meal at night you are out of luck. All that’s open is a pizza place called the Gallows and a little restaurant in the local grocery store. By the way, the restaurant makes great sandwiches. Oh, there is only one grocery store, so you don’t have to worry about which one has the place to eat.

Not much happened this week, first the grocery stores were so busy you had a long line at the cash register with everyone buying food for Thanksgiving and then with black Friday there were long lines at the department stores. Wal-Mart stayed open 24 hours, JC Penny’s opened at 4 or 5 in the morning and I slept until nine. The heck with going to the store at 5 am, I can spend my money at a decent hour.

Scotts Flat Lake continues to drop, waiting for the upper lakes that feed it to fill up. With the way the winter is going so far, it doesn’t look too good. You can argue if we have global warming or not, but you can’t argue with the fact that we’ve had some mighty dry years lately. The last thing we need is another dry winter. Interesting that people don’t want any more dams to store water and create hydro-electric power, but they want drinking water and clean energy, doesn’t compute, does it?

Single lane bridge on Hwy 49, newly painted

Oh, here’s a picture of the newly painted bridge in Downieville. I understand it took six weeks to paint the bridge. They had to completely enclosed the bridge so when they sandblasted the old paint none of the debris would fall into the river. The natives are happy that the bridge is open again. The detour was a real pain going through the narrow winding streets of Downieville. By the way, did you know that Downieville missed being the state capitol of California by 10 votes? Hopefully this adds your trivia facts in case you ever get into a trivia contest.

Have a great holiday season.

John O’Dell

Bits & Pieces

Bits & Pieces in Nevada County

November 21, 2009 jd

November 21, 2009

I don’t know what happened this week. We were suppose to get some large storms starting Wednesday, but it faded to a small storm this Friday, with little rain and some minor snow fall.

Speaking of fall, it’s really here now in Nevada County, the weather has gotten colder and the trees have turned into the beautiful autumn colors. We are in Downieville today, were the weather is somewhat milder because they are at the confluent of the Downie River and the Yuba River. The rivers keep the weather cool in the summer time and the town from getting too cold in the winter.

It’s my understanding that the bears are still wandering around the town of Downieville because it’s not cold enough for them to hibernate. The mountain lions have been spotted around the hills and the deer go through town in groups of three or four.

The economy has been hurt here in Downieville because of the moratorium on dredging for gold in the river. I don’t understand what harm a little dredging can do to the river. I was here when the Downie and Yuba River flooded the town, swept away part of one bridge, and went into one of the local hotels and out the other side. I can tell you the boulders the size of small cars were being transported by the river and that did quite a lot more damage to the river than any gold dredging will do in a hundred years.

My understanding is that the Fish and Game, along with the Forest Service has a bill in Congress to outlaw future flooding of the river by Mother Nature, with a potential fine to Mother Nature in the millions of dollars.

The Keene family owners of Keene Engineering have been coming to Downieville for 60 years. They are makers of dredging equipment which is shipped throughout the world. Their equipment emoves mercury from the river and enhances the food supply for the fish and wildlife of the river. Because of the dredging moratorium in California (a bill signed this year by governor Schwarzenegger), this was their last trip up here. Of course this has hurt the local economy and tax base of Sierra County.

Hiking, Recreation

A Journey to Downieville, California

May 7, 2009 jd

If you want a nice place to visit and a relatively short drive from Nevada City and Grass Valley then take a journey to Downieville. About forty five miles from Nevada City along scenic Highway 49, it’s a great drive, with a large portion of the trip along the North Fork of the Yuba River. Beautiful views of the river and forest, unsullied by human habitation! A group of us went up there last weekend to get away from it all. And we did!

We stayed at the Downieville River Inn a very nice Bed and Breakfast inn which is run by James & Diane Barnhard. Do not confuse this inn with the one right on Highway 49. I think this one is much quieter, definitely has more grounds and things to do (sauna, swimming pool, BBQ and lawn areas). Diane is a great cook if you come to the morning breakfast. You can even rent houses of various sizes for families who want to cook (or the whole place – there are 12 “units” but the place sleeps 40 people comfortably) for a group gathering or family vacation. Even many or the rooms have a small kitchenette, or refrigerator unit.

After arriving at the inn, we took a one mile hike through town to the twin falls clear on the other side of the town. There are many other hiking trails, and the next day we took another mile hike along the river. Any time you are walking along and come across neighbors or people in the street, you can stop and talk to them. A visit to a restaurant is a time to start meeting the people next to you, where they are from, hobbies, and plans for the day. It is the friendliest town I have been to a long time.

Things to do while you are there includes, fishing, hiking, bicycle riding, there is museum and a couple of nice restaurants. There are numerous bike trails and many sponsored bike rides in the summer. Of course, there is also the natural beauty of the Sierras, with a confluence of the Downie River and the North Yuba River right in the heart of Downieville. When exploring the town, there is no need to drive your car, and the river is easily reachable to sit and just contemplate, or splash your feet.

Convergence of Downie River on the left & Yuba River on the right.

It’s a great little place to visit and it hasn’t changed much from the time I was County Engineer and County Surveyor for Sierra County. When I was up there in the 70’s the population of Sierra County was a little over 3,500 people and now, it’s still a little over 3,500 people! The town has a great gold mining history, stores sell the local gold and jewelry made from it. The town also has a unique history, when in July 1851, lynched a woman, Junita, from the bridge across the North Yuba River for killing a miner. It remains the only lynching of a female in California history.

There is also an original gallows, built in the town and used only, and still there for visitors to see. The gallows, called Sheriff’s Gallows, was constructed in 1885 for the specific execution of nineteen year old James O’Neill, a native of Ireland, who shot and killed his former employer, John Woodward, at Webber Lake, on the afternoon of August 7th.

The northern mines area was populated by a number of gold rush camps with colorful names, places like Brandy City, Whiskey Diggins, Poverty Hill, and Poker Flat. While many of these camps entirely disappeared after the gold rush, Downieville survived due both to its geographical location and status as the seat of Sierra County government

For information on camping, visit Downieville Ranger Station’s Campground Web Site. Also their telephone number is (530) 288-3231

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