Camptonville, California

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Camptonville is a small town located in northwestern Yuba County, extending into Sierra and Nevada Counties. The town is located off Highway 49 between Downieville and Nevada City. It is located on a ridge between the North Fork and Middle Fork of the Yuba River, not far from New Bullards Bar Dam Reservoir.
It was a center of the California Gold Rush and stopping point for travelers coming from the Donner Pass. It was a roaring town with over fifty saloons and had brothels and even a bowling alley. After the tide of gold miners slowed, the local economy depended upon Camptonville's lumber mill. When it shut down, many of those that had not already left departed. Fast-growing ponderosa pines rose throughout the town and most remnants of the original structures have long decomposed. Some buildings now present include the Lost Nugget gas station and convenience store, a post office, Camptonville Elementary School, a monument to the Pelton wheel, and the original Mayo Saloon.