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History · Downieville

Downieville dates to 1849, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 9 old photos and papers and maps from 1902 on.

1849founded
5on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Downieville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Downieville began

When was Downieville founded?

1849

Downieville dates its founding to 1849 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1851.

2020 census: 290177 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓

What stands out about Downieville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mystery photos7 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Downieville’s homes were built before 1953.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Downieville.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Downieville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Downieville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo7 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewEastman's Studio B-4505 - Forest Servic…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Downieville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Downieville.

Read it all →

Gold was discovered here by Francis Anderson on September 14, 1849. Anderson had joined Phil A. Haven that same year along the North Yuba River.

Downieville was founded in late 1849 during the California Gold Rush, in the Northern Mines area. It was first known as "The Forks" for its geographical location at the confluence of the Downie River and North Fork of the Yuba River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Downieville, 1849 to 1951

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingDownieville is established
  3. 1851Post officeThe Downerville post office opens
  4. 1852Post officeThe Downerville post office closes
  5. 1852Post officeThe Downieville post office opens
  6. 1855Born hereGeorge E. Goodfellow is born here
  7. 1885BuiltSierra County Sheriff's Gallows is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1935BuiltHansen Bridge is built
  10. 1940In the archiveEastman's Studio B-4505 - Forest Service Headquarters at
  11. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Downieville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Eastman's Studio B-4505 - Forest Service Headquarters at1940sEastman's Studio B-4505 - Forest Service Headquarters…PostcardEastman's Studio B-7692 - Downieville, Calif1940sEastman's Studio B-7692 - Downieville, CalifPostcard
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown7 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Mar. 29, 1934 GENERAL VIEW - Hydraulic Mine, Downievi…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, …Downieville CourthouseDate?Downieville CourthouseDownieville, General ViewDate?Downieville, General ViewHydraulic MineDate?Hydraulic MineOld CourthouseDate?Old CourthouseSt. Charles HotelDate?St. Charles HotelMajor Downie HouseDate?Major Downie House
Today9 recent
The Shoppes at Downieville (2026)-L10006762026The Shoppes at Downieville (2026)-L1000676Mackerman & Co. Building, Downieville (2026)-L10007442026Mackerman & Co. Building, Downieville (2026)-L1000744Durgan Bridge, Downieville (2026)-L10006932026Durgan Bridge, Downieville (2026)-L1000693Downieville Museum (2026)-L10007162026Downieville Museum (2026)-L1000716Aerial photograph of Downieville (2026)-DJI 20260623085547 0021 D2026Aerial photograph of Downieville (2026)-DJI 202606230…Judging from its license plate, and its general condition this once-fashionable Chrysler hasn't hit the road since 1942…2012Judging from its license plate, and its general condi…Beware of bears crossing the road sign in Northern California mountains2012Beware of bears crossing the road sign in Northern Ca…A rushing stream in the Tahoe National Forest in California's Tahoe National Forest2012A rushing stream in the Tahoe National Forest in Cali…Downieville CA2007Downieville CA
On the map

Downieville on the map, 1951 to 2000

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Downieville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Downieville on the 1951 USGS mapDownieville on the 1975 USGS mapDownieville on the 2000 USGS map1951Downieville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Downieville.

Every building

Downieville, building by building, 1902

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Downieville fire insurance map, 1902, sheet 11902Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Eastman's Studio B-4505 - Forest Service Headquarters at
Retake this viewEastman's Studio B-4505 - Forest Service Headquarters at, 1940s

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Downieville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Downieville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Sierra County Sheriff's Gallows
Sierra County Sheriff's Gallows, built 1885Durgan BridgeHansen Bridge, built 1935Hospital BridgeJersey Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

One lane steel, rigid connected Pratt through truss1
Low side steel truss bridge1
Steel, pin connected, through Pratt truss1
Single lane, steel, rigid-connected polygonal Parker truss steel span1
Sierra County Sheriff's GallowsBuilt 1885
Durgan BridgeOne lane steel, rigid connected Pratt through truss
Hansen BridgeLow side steel truss bridge · Built 1935
Hospital BridgeSteel, pin connected, through Pratt truss
Jersey BridgeSingle lane, steel, rigid-connected polygonal Parker truss steel span

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Downieville’s post office has been open since 1852. Another post office, Downerville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Downerville
1851–1852
Downieville
1852–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Oxford Mill
Gone or out of use
Gold Bluff MinemineOxford MinemineWinrod Minemine
1cemetery inside Downieville
Downieville

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Downieville’s history

What year was Downieville founded?

In 1849, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Downieville’s post office opened in 1851.

What is on the National Register in Downieville?

5 listings: 5 structures.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.