Exploring the History of an 1850's Gold Rush Town

Añadido: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]So, I looked it up. Nevada City was founded in 1849 during the gold rush.

[00:00:09]So, you know, the gold rush definitely shaped California in a big way. It pretty much, you know, a lot of I mean, I don't know the history behind it all, but you know, the gold rush was def definitely played a a very important role. So, we drove by this piece of history here.

[00:00:31]I had to stop and show you guys. Let's see. Shoot. Can I even access it? Hold on.

[00:00:39]Come on.

[00:00:43]Oh, are you tired? Oh my gosh.

[00:00:49]So slow. Are you tired or are you just getting older?

[00:00:55]He's probably just tired. Well, he's getting older, but he's used to sleeping a lot, so I think we're too far. So, I'm going to pull up over there. Check this thing out.

[00:01:07]Oh my gosh. Pull the lever crank.

[00:01:11]This is crazy. Don't know what it is.

[00:01:15]Oh, it must be for um hydraulic mine. Blast the uh blast the mountain with the water. Splash the mountain with the water.

[00:01:26]What is this? A weight.

[00:01:30]Interesting.

[00:01:35]Cool. Grand Parlor. Native Sons of the Golden West. The Golden West. Cool. This is cool.

[00:01:45]Yeah. This must be like a weight. They fill with rocks maybe. I don't know.

[00:01:52]No, that can't be it. I don't know. You tell me. So, Nevada City is pretty small, small little town.

[00:02:00]And I don't know where to look to find this kind of stuff. So, I think there's a museum around the corner, but we're just going to drive around, do some exploring.

[00:02:13]So, I found this uh first brick building. Hold on. Built in 1853. First brick building erected in this city.

[00:02:24]The pioneers of Nevada City. That's cool. So, I kind of just parked down there. I got 20 minutes. Want to do a walk through. They got a library over here. This is cool. Hold on.

[00:02:37]Come on. Yeah. later. We'll go through there.

[00:02:42]And check this place out.

[00:02:49]Got a library.

[00:02:56]Courthouse. This looks new though.

[00:03:00]The door is fully. It's closed.

[00:03:12]log jail, huh?

[00:03:18]Hope people don't mind I'm filming out here.

[00:03:22]Look at that house.

[00:03:24]Freaking crazy.

[00:03:26]That's a beautiful home.

[00:03:29]Oh, you can tell they got a old couch in there. That's cool.

[00:03:38]Check this out. Fire.

[00:03:43]Don't know if that's old or not, but it's cool.

[00:03:46]You can see all the old homes.

[00:03:50]Oh, this one's a waste. It's like a storage unit.

[00:03:57]Check this out.

[00:04:00]That's cool.

[00:04:05]Some more Victorian houses. That's beautiful. I love the color of that one.

[00:04:11]All right, I got to make her loop now.

[00:04:13]Come on, Izzy.

[00:04:16]More beautiful houses. I like that blue one.

[00:04:21]I think this is a church.

[00:04:24]That's cool. Historic old brick Gothic.

[00:04:30]Cool. 1857.

[00:04:35]Thing is massive.

[00:04:37]I think that's what where those bells are coming from.

[00:04:41]Church Street.

[00:04:43]Look how old that sign is.

[00:04:46]That's crazy.

[00:04:49]All right. Got all kinds of stuff over here.

[00:04:54]Huh. Interesting.

[00:04:57]Don't know what it is.

[00:04:59]Got another one of those hydraulic mine guns. That must be a weight. Throw rocks in there.

[00:05:08]Got an old wagon.

[00:05:11]Old shackle.

[00:05:13]What is this machine gun?

[00:05:16]Looks like one.

[00:05:19]Interesting.

[00:05:21]Hoskin and Co. Mary'sville, California.

[00:05:25]Wow.

[00:05:27]Look at that giant saw blade.

[00:05:32]Got some old bearings.

[00:05:35]What does it say?

[00:05:37]Little Pataden 1860.

[00:05:41]And then you got this guy in here.

[00:05:45]It's the old trap miner.

[00:05:49]That's what happens when you claim jump.

[00:05:52]Get stuck in that cage.

[00:05:55]It's like a torque converter.

[00:05:59]Interesting. Cool stuff.

[00:06:03]Let's go over here.

[00:06:09]Like a bucket, some rusty water.

[00:06:15]This thing is massive.

[00:06:17]Could you imagine making some soup out of this?

[00:06:21]That's crazy.

[00:06:25]It's a mini hydro booster.

[00:06:29]Oh, that's cool. number four.

[00:06:34]Nadson Iron Works.

[00:06:38]Wonder if this will open. It does.

[00:06:42]What is it? A stove.

[00:06:47]Before lighting pilot, close this valve.

[00:06:50]heater maybe.

[00:06:56]That's crazy. Oh, hot water heater.

[00:07:01]That's cool.

[00:07:03]That is so funny. I like like the stamping. 328 simplex compact 5tonon.

[00:07:11]Maybe some sort of press or crusher.

[00:07:15]Old pickaxe. More pickaxe. Giant bucket.

[00:07:20]for hard rock mines, I would assume.

[00:07:24]Little thingamajiggy. Oh, yeah. There's a little winenchie.

[00:07:29]Come here.

[00:07:31]Oh, that must be the ore they're finding right there.

[00:07:38]It's a mini hydro booster. Look at this thing.

[00:07:44]That's cool.

[00:07:46]All right, now it's time to go park somewhere else cuz this is 20 minute parking only.

[00:08:17]So, I found a spot to park for the day and it's $0.

[00:08:23]So, we're going to take a walk. Don't know where we are in Nevada City, but we're there. Worst part about this is I lost my sunglasses.

[00:08:35]My eyeballs.

[00:08:39]We have this miners foundry and supply.

[00:08:43]That's cool. Man, I would love to go in there, but I got Azie.

[00:08:49]That's pretty neat.

[00:08:52]Come here.

[00:08:55]Pistonville manufacturing site. English and new salmon mine stand.

[00:09:01]Huh.

[00:09:03]89 KVMO. Oh, the radio station.

[00:09:09]Must have been an old hotel.

[00:09:12]New York Hotel.

[00:09:18]See what we got here.

[00:09:20]This plaque is dedicated to Sarah Sally Lewis and preservation pioneer in Nevada City.

[00:09:26]Pause and read it.

[00:09:31]Nevada. Oh, it's a theater.

[00:09:34]That's cool.

[00:09:37]California Nevada Theater. Pause and read. Aussie's got all kinds of new smells.

[00:09:45]This might take a while.

[00:09:51]This is a cool house right here.

[00:09:54]Dang, look at that stained glass.

[00:09:58]That's cool.

[00:10:01]Come on.

[00:10:03]Two room in. Oh, it's a a lodge of some sort.

[00:10:08]What do we got here?

[00:10:11]The Vasy United. Oh, it's a church.

[00:10:13]Another church.

[00:10:22]Beautiful flowers.

[00:10:27]Come on, Aussie.

[00:10:29]I'll be out here for a week with at your pace.

[00:10:34]Beautiful house.

[00:10:38]Complimentary TE's and scorecards. What the heck? Interesting. Come on, Izzy.

[00:10:49]Damn. Look at this house.

[00:10:54]You got to be stinking rich to live in one of these.

[00:11:01]Wonder how old it is.

[00:11:05]Oh.

[00:11:07]Oh, puppy.

[00:11:10]A garbage out.

[00:11:13]Interesting.

[00:11:18]Toad Hall bookshop.

[00:11:24]Freemasons.

[00:11:35]Pull down lever. Interesting. Oh, it's a fire alarm.

[00:11:42]Got a saloon.

[00:11:47]Check this place out. Hotel.

[00:11:56]That's cool.

[00:11:58]hotel.

[00:12:00]Very old.

[00:12:03]I may not be able to see it. This place is closed.

[00:12:08]Okay.

[00:12:11]What is a fire truck?

[00:12:14]Fire wagon. Yeah, it's a fire extinguisher.

[00:12:20]That's cool.

[00:12:22]Check this out.

[00:12:25]So they must have drilled this out of the ground.

[00:12:29]That's crazy.

[00:12:33]Shaft drill core.

[00:12:37]That's crazy.

[00:12:39]That's pretty thick.

[00:12:45]More historic buildings.

[00:12:53]office.

[00:12:55]Some sort of building.

[00:13:04]The mineshaft saloon.

[00:13:15]Powell home.

[00:13:18]Pause and read. Built in 1858.

[00:13:21]The Baptist church.

[00:13:24]Lots of church stuff over here. Come on, Ozie.

[00:13:35]Damn.

[00:13:37]Crazy.

[00:13:42]Let's see. Pine Street Bridge.

[00:13:48]Clark's Henry Builders 1903.

[00:13:54]Cool.

[00:13:59]If I'm not mistaken, this is Deer Creek.

[00:14:12]This is probably all claimed.

[00:14:16]It's cool.

[00:14:20]Looks like the trail is under construction. Come on, Izzy. I wonder if it keeps going this way. Let's give it a shot.

[00:14:30]I guess not.

[00:14:35]No trail.

[00:14:38]Oh, that's beautiful.

[00:14:42]I love the colors.

[00:14:49]They have these little boxes everywhere.

[00:14:53]Must be like a fire alarm kind of.

[00:14:58]Was this that hotel?

[00:15:01]It's the overnight hotel.

[00:15:06]This must have been an old bridge at one time.

[00:15:14]Huh?

[00:15:23]Like Holly House, Queen Anne style, built in 1860.

[00:15:28]I love these little letters.

[00:15:32]So me and my dad when I was a kid, we would come out to Nevada City and look for stuff like that. or sidewalks that were um taken apart, you know, for work and construction and go metal detecting.

[00:15:47]Sometimes you find some, sometimes you don't.

[00:15:52]Trinity found a parish.

[00:15:58]Pause and read. It's got some rose quartz in there. That's cool.

[00:16:06]That's really cool.

[00:16:09]Wonder where they found that.

[00:16:16]One hell of a church.

[00:16:19]Oh, it's break time.

[00:16:24]What a perfect little spot to take a break.

[00:16:27]I'm hungry, though. There's a cemetery I want to go check out. So, we're going to go check that out.

[00:16:35]And I don't think we've been this way.

[00:16:38]So, we'll go this way.

[00:16:40]I wonder where those are coming from.

[00:16:43]Must be that church.

[00:16:47]But Aussy's a good boy. I got treats for Aussie.

[00:16:54]Sit down.

[00:16:56]I don't He doesn't look like he wants them.

[00:16:59]What about this one?

[00:17:02]Sit.

[00:17:05]No. All right. Well, I don't know what to tell you, buddy.

[00:17:12]And we're off off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

[00:17:19]I think I've been down here.

[00:17:29]Crazy horse in. That's cool.

[00:17:39]Come on.

[00:17:44]Look at this little tiny shack. Crystal Rainbow Rock Shop. That's cool. It's closed though.

[00:18:00]Check out this beast.

[00:18:03]Oh my gosh, it's like a crankshaft.

[00:18:11]Miners foundry and supply. Oh, they crush rocks maybe.

[00:18:18]10 stamp mill.

[00:18:20]Yep, there's a cemetery up here somewhere.

[00:18:28]So, that's where we're going.

[00:18:35]The Rolfie House like we got two cemeteries.

[00:18:42]St. Kennis, please keep Gabe clust on leash.

[00:18:50]Interesting.

[00:18:51]Died 1875.

[00:18:53]Hey, off of that. Someone's buried there.

[00:18:57]1938. You got a whole family here.

[00:19:04]Got another family.

[00:19:07]That one died 1869.

[00:19:11]This is crazy.

[00:19:15]1862.

[00:19:21]Died 1898.

[00:19:26]Wow. There's another cemetery up there.

[00:19:32]This is crazy.

[00:19:35]Mario died 1902.

[00:19:47]I want to see if we can find the oldest.

[00:19:50]Let's see. 1874.

[00:19:59]It's interesting.

[00:20:04]Wonder why they cement them down.

[00:20:08]If anyone knows, let me know. So people don't dig them up.

[00:20:16]Wife of 1886. Oh, it broke.

[00:20:22]It's unfortunate.

[00:20:26]1902.

[00:20:33]Got some steps up there.

[00:20:39]1881 1879.

[00:20:48]That one's all 1888.

[00:20:57]Oh, that's a fancy one.

[00:21:06]All right, here's the second one.

[00:21:08]Pioneer Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1851 and an old back of the first Methodist church.

[00:21:23]Interesting little spot.

[00:21:30]I guess if this was made in 1851, then there's got to be some really old grave sites here.

[00:21:44]Is this marble?

[00:21:47]Wild 1853 so far. That's the oldest.

[00:22:00]30 years old. Does that say 1858?

[00:22:12]See what this one is.

[00:22:22]1860.

[00:22:27]Crazy.

[00:22:30]All right, it's time to bounce. Oz is exhausted.

[00:22:34]We did a lot of walking and I'm hungry.

[00:22:38]So, good luck. Good thing the van's like right over there.

[00:22:42]But we're going to pull out, find a park, go make some lunch.

[00:22:48]Come on, little dude.

[00:23:29]There you go.

[00:23:38]Oh, what a day. It's only 3:00 p.m.

[00:23:41]right now, but it's 5:00 somewhere.

[00:23:46]But we uh made it to the this little park here. There's a little stream right here. Azie got in. I washed my feet.

[00:23:58]It's nice to relax for a moment. I don't know what else there is to explore in Nevada City. It's so small. We could go down into Grass Valley.

[00:24:09]We'll see what happens. But first lunch.

[00:24:12]I'm going to make some ham. Make a ham Sammy. I got some Rits.

[00:24:19]Yeah. Check this out.

[00:24:23]So cool.

[00:24:26]I gave Aya a cracker.

[00:24:29]What is he doing? Is he burying it?

[00:24:35]Oh my gosh.

[00:24:37]He buried the cracker.

[00:24:43]What?

[00:24:49]Aussie, where'd it go?

[00:24:52]Look at that.

[00:24:56]That is impressive.

[00:25:07]Is it hidden?

[00:25:10]Oh, you got to redo it.

[00:25:14]That's funny. Did you get it all buried, you dirty nose dog?

[00:25:24]Yeah, it's buried. All right.

[00:25:27]I can't see it.

[00:25:31]It's time for Aussie cuddles.

[00:25:35]Come on, Aussie. Up on up.

[00:25:40]Come here.

[00:25:44]A lovey cuddles.

[00:25:52]Yes, I do.

[00:25:56]Oh, this is nice.

[00:26:02]All right, we made it to the Empire Empire Mine State Park. Now, technically, this is in Grass Valley, not Nevada City, but it's still part of part of the area's history.

[00:26:19]Check out that generator. I think it looks like a generator.

[00:26:23]All right. Looks like we got to go through a different way. Well, we might not be able to make it.

[00:26:30]It's pretty late. But I'll show you some stuff around here. This must be like an old shop. There's like a little lift thing right there. Rousey.

[00:26:40]What's this?

[00:26:43]Gas. Oh, it's a gas pump.

[00:26:47]For use as motor fuel only.

[00:26:51]Look at that.

[00:26:54]Wayne Company.

[00:26:56]That's pretty cool, huh?

[00:27:03]This must be the entrance.

[00:27:06]The Empire Mines 1850.

[00:27:12]continuous operation 1850 to 1957 producing over $120 million in gold.

[00:27:21]Damn.

[00:27:24]It's an interesting little step here.

[00:27:28]So, back in 1849, hold on.

[00:27:33]Gold was $2067.

[00:27:38]There we go.

[00:27:40]That's crazy.

[00:27:44]$1850 to 1957 is a long time.

[00:27:48]And it was only $20 an ounce. That's crazy. I might have to come back tomorrow. It's five bucks for entrance.

[00:27:59]Or maybe I could just hop the fence.

[00:28:05]Man, I want to go in there. Come on, Izzy.

[00:28:10]are all the equipment.

[00:28:14]That thingamajiggy.

[00:28:15]See, that's a that's definitely a giant alternator.

[00:28:24]He said we can go on the hike. So, I guess there's a trail over here.

[00:28:33]Look at that thing.

[00:28:37]Interesting.

[00:28:40]It's funny how they got these old little timbers holding that giant chunk of metal up.

[00:28:48]But he was saying there's a trail up here with some cool stuff.

[00:28:52]So, let's check out this trail.

[00:28:55]Look at this.

[00:29:03]I wonder if it's this has always been there or did they put it there? Where Azie?

[00:29:11]A frame. This support structure was used for unloading heavy equipment.

[00:29:17]Cool.

[00:29:22]Check out this old building.

[00:29:25]Come here. Come here. Let's see what's in here.

[00:29:36]Whoa, that's cool.

[00:29:47]There's a couple other windows that are broken.

[00:29:52]High voltage dangerous.

[00:29:57]I got some old cables here.

[00:30:03]Look like something was put right here.

[00:30:06]Oh my gosh, that is thick.

[00:30:13]What's this? Damn, that thing must have take a lot of force to break.

[00:30:18]That's crazy.

[00:30:21]Looks like a crankshaft.

[00:30:26]Orleans mine.

[00:30:29]What is happening?

[00:30:32]There's a mine over here.

[00:30:37]All kinds of metal trailer. Wow, this is cool.

[00:30:49]Got an old bucket.

[00:30:54]Oh, for the bucket. Little wheels. Come on, Izzy.

[00:31:03]Where's the mine? That's what I want to know. What is that turbo? Got a big turbo there.

[00:31:20]Is it under here?

[00:31:23]Oh, what's that?

[00:31:28]They must have buried it. I don't know.

[00:31:34]Maybe. Maybe not. This way.

[00:31:45]Interesting.

[00:31:47]Some more materials.

[00:32:01]Interesting. Wonder why they didn't just build a bridge.

[00:32:09]There could potentially be gold in these riffles.

[00:32:30]Well, we're going to start making our way back.

[00:32:33]There's a spot, a place we can go and shower. Every time I come out here, they close just as I'm showing up.

[00:32:43]So, I'm hoping we can beat them.

[00:32:46]beat them to their own game.

[00:32:50]Orleans stamp mill over here. Whoa, that's cool.

[00:33:12]That's really cool.

[00:33:18]Come on, little chief.

[00:33:24]He's got to sniff everything. He's got some new smells on this adventure.

[00:33:32]Emergency generator.

[00:33:35]Fairbanks Morris 350,000 volt atmosphere diesel AC generator.

[00:33:40]Okay, so it's just where this used to sit.

[00:33:45]Damn.

[00:33:48]That's a big generator.

[00:33:52]That's crazy.

[00:33:54]Had its own little platform here.

[00:33:59]Let's see. What does it say?

[00:34:02]Row shaft and head frame operated a part of Empire's mine. Check this beast out.

[00:34:09]Oh my gosh. compared to my van.

[00:34:13]That is wild.

[00:34:18]I hope he's not Ranger's not going to tell me to get away from this thing cuz I'm getting up close.

[00:34:27]Dang.

[00:34:30]It's a little sketchy, but it's okay.

[00:34:44]took a shower.

[00:34:46]There's like a parks. It's like a swimming pool. They got a shower. Every time I come here, I miss it because they are open from 3 to 6.

[00:34:58]Oh, are you so cute right there?

[00:35:05]Oh, he's so cute.

[00:35:12]Oh, we made it back to our sleeping spot.

[00:35:18]So close. I like this spot. 49's right there.

[00:35:23]Locked out. But I'm going to cook some dinner and uh chill. You know, I'm done driving around, done walking around. So, let's just chill for a moment. Hi. How can I help you?

[00:35:40]Oh, are you tired?

[00:35:44]Are you tired, Peanut?

[00:35:47]Huh? Mister I will say I love having a way of cooking. looking outside.

[00:36:33]I can take this table out if I really want to use it, but you know, we're kind of like next to the street, so but it can folds out perfectly. So, I can use it as a half table. This is perfect. I was thinking about maybe making another one right here.

[00:36:53]Then I could have three tables.

[00:37:37]Hey.

[00:37:56]Hey, give it. Give it.

[00:38:06]Oh.

[00:38:08]Oh. Come here.

[00:38:11]No. Come here.

[00:38:14]Come here. Hey, Aussie. Come here, Aussie.

[00:38:20]Come here. Give that. Give it. Hey, drop it.