Downieville, California

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Downieville is the county seat of Sierra County, California. It has a population of 325.

Downieville was settled in late 1849 during the California Gold Rush and is named after Major William Downie (1820-1893), a Scotsman who led the expedition up the North Fork of the Yuba River. Major Downie's travels are documented in his 1893 autobiography, "Hunting for Gold." Downieville reached a peak population of over 5,000 people in 1851 but declined sharply by 1865. Downieville is situated on the convergence of the Downie River and North Fork of the Yuba River. Downieville was nearly voted the state capital of California in 1853 before it was moved to Benicia, and then shortly thereafter its current location in Sacramento.

Downieville is a popular mountain biking and hiking destination. It is home to the state's oldest weekly newspaper, the Mountain Messenger. Default wired telephone numbers for the town follow the format (530) 289-xxxx. In a typical year, the high school graduates about a half-dozen students.

[edit] Trivia

Because Loyalton is Sierra County's most populous municipality and its only incorporated city, generally half of the meetings of the county's board of supervisors are held in Downieville and the other half are held in Loyalton. [1]