November 19, 2019 – The Yuba, Bear and American Rivers have played a major role in California’s history. Personalities and incidents in this dramatic story have influenced science, industry and ethics on a world-wide scale with good and bad consequences. With so much heritage surrounding us how can a person begin to appreciate it?
Local history buff, archaeologist and author, Hank Meals is offering a series of slide shows with live commentary on regional history at the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center on San Juan Ridge in October, November and December of 2019. It won’t be the dense and dull history that you endured in High School, but “just enough”, Meals says, “to make you somewhat legacy literate.” “So much of the commercially oriented history we’re exposed to consists of jumbled clichés, inaccuracies and cuteness – It’s simply not satisfying enough when the full stories are so engaging and illuminating.” “I’ve found that knowing what happened in your neighborhood makes you see a place differently, gives it extra texture and creates a sense of regional pride and ownership.”
By the 1860s the placer deposits of easy to find gold had “played out” and the average miner was an employee in big operations such as hydraulic mining and the mining of quartz veins. Nevada County was well situated for investment with an extensive system of reservoirs and ditches and a better understanding of how to efficiently mine quartz than any other place in California. There was reliable employment increasing the population for the next two decades.
Other topics that will be explored include the transcontinental railroad, the Chinese contribution, the lumber industry, peak hydraulic mining and the Sawyer Decision, the growth of underground mining and the expansion of agriculture.
Each 90-minute presentation in this series is rich with unique historical and contemporary photos, maps and diagrams. Meals will provide commentary, answer questions and offer references and enthusiasm for the topics addressed.
What:
After the Gold Rush is the next live audio-visual presentation the Just Enough Regional History series, by Hank Meals. The series consists of five sessions designed to provide the fundamentals of historical savvy in the Yuba River region. Before the Gold Rush is the second installment in the five part series.
Where:
North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center
17894 Tyler-Foote Road on San Juan Ridge
(530) 265-2628
http://www.northcolumbiaschoolhouse.org
When:
Tuesdays at 7 pm
After the Gold Rush November 19
Legacy in the Local Landscape December 3
Admission:
$10 at the door.
(No advance tickets available)