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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Downieville (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Downieville. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Downieville is located in Sierra County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of California's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Sierra County: Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Yuba & Washoe (NV).

Below are the counties that are near Downieville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Downieville:

  • Sierra County     (The home county of Downieville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Goodyears Bar
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Forest
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
    • Alleghany
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Loganville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loganville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
      • Loganville is located in Sierra County
    • Poker Flat
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poker Flat
      • Poker Flat is located in Sierra County
    • Queen City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
      • Queen City is located in Sierra County
    • Sierra City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
    • Sattley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Calpine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Sierraville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Clipper Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Oroleve
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumpkin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County
    • Feather Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Evansville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
      • Evansville is located in Butte County
    • Forbestown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Robinson Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Mill
      • Robinson Mill is located in Butte County
    • Merrimac
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Merrimac is located in Butte County
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Graniteville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
      • Graniteville is located in Nevada County
    • Marsh Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Mill
      • Marsh Mill is located in Nevada County
    • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
      • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
    • Washington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lake City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Nevada County
    • North Columbia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Columbia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Columbia
      • North Columbia is located in Nevada County
    • Blue Tent
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Tent
      • Blue Tent is located in Nevada County
    • Scotts Flat
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Flat
      • Scotts Flat is located in Nevada County
    • Baltimore Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baltimore Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore Town
      • Baltimore Town is located in Nevada County
    • North San Juan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadow Lake ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meadow Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lake
      • Meadow Lake is located in Nevada County
    • Summit City ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
      • Summit City is located in Nevada County
    • Nevada City Rancheria
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nevada City Rancheria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada City Rancheria
      • Nevada City Rancheria is located in Nevada County
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Emigrant Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Alta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Dutch Flat
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Big Bend
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Big Bend is located in Placer County
    • Casa Loma
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
      • Casa Loma is located in Placer County
    • Gold Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Secret Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Secret Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
  • Plumas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • La Porte
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Little Grass Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Grass Valley
      • Little Grass Valley is located in Plumas County
    • Johnsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Plumas Eureka
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumas Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumas Eureka
      • Plumas Eureka is located in Plumas County
    • Blairsden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • C-Road
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for C-Road
      • C-Road is located in Plumas County
    • Clio
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Graeagle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Mohawk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mohawk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
      • Mohawk is located in Plumas County
    • Valley Ranch
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Ranch
      • Valley Ranch is located in Plumas County
    • Whitehawk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitehawk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehawk
      • Whitehawk is located in Plumas County
    • Mohawk Vista
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk Vista
      • Mohawk Vista is located in Plumas County
    • Cromberg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Depot Hill ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depot Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depot Hill
      • Depot Hill is located in Yuba County
    • Camptonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Strawberry Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullards Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Challenge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Dobbins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Brownsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Oregon House
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rackerby
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Downieville, see our County-by-County Page for Downieville.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Downieville ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Downieville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Downieville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Downieville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Downieville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Downieville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Downieville:

Cemeteries Near Downieville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Downieville.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Downieville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.

  • Downieville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Goodyears Bar Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eureka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eureka Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7955 <5>
  • Forest City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Alleghany Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Port Wine Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Scales Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Scales Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scales Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2361724 <5>
  • Sierra City Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Sierra City Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sierra City Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Sierra City.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sierra City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2276304 <5>
  • St. Louis Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the St. Louis Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Louis Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> to the west of La Porte.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Louis Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8331 <5>
  • Brandy City Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Brandy City Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brandy City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2217386 <5>
  • Sleighville House Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Sleighville House Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sleighville House Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2375335 <5>
  • Howland Flat Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Howland Flat Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howland Flat Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2186787 <5>
  • Continue List   (37 more) ...

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Downieville had a population of 1,034 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.

  • Goodyears Bar
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Alleghany
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Moore's Flat
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore's Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Flat
    • Moore's Flat is located in Nevada County
  • Graniteville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
    • Graniteville is located in Nevada County
  • Scales ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scales have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scales
    • Scales is located in Sierra County
  • Sierra City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Saint Louis
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis
    • Saint Louis is located in Sierra County
  • La Porte
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pike
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pike have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike
    • Pike is located in Sierra County
    • Pike has also been known as:
    • Pike City
  • Camptonville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
    • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
  • Washington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Gibsonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
      • Gibsonville is located in Sierra County
    • Strawberry Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • North Columbia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Columbia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Columbia
      • North Columbia is located in Nevada County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Downieville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Downieville.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Downieville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Sierra County: www.sierracounty.ws/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Downieville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downieville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5604, Longitude: -120.8291    
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Downieville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024