Moores Flat, California

Moores Flat
Former settlement
Moores Flat

Location in California

Coordinates: 39°25′09″N 120°51′03″W / 39.41917°N 120.85083°WCoordinates: 39°25′09″N 120°51′03″W / 39.41917°N 120.85083°W
Country  United States
State  California
County Nevada County
Elevation[1] 4,144 ft (1,263 m)

Moores Flat (variant: Moore's Flat; formerly, Clinton[2]) is a former settlement in Nevada County, California. It is situated at an elevation of 4,144 ft (1,263 m) above sea level.[1] Moores Flat is located on the 4.25 miles (6.8 km) north-northeast of North Bloomfield.[2]

Gold rush history

Moores Flat was settled between 1851 and 1852 as a gold rush site with "Marks & Co." one of its few known gold dust dealers.[3] Gold was found buried in tertiary gravel channels.[4]

In 1880, the population was 50.[5] By the early 1900s, its town declined quickly.[6]

The Clinton post office opened in 1854; the name was changed to Moores Flat in 1857.[2] It closed for a time in 1903, and closed for good in 1910.[2] The miner and California State Assemblyman, S. L. Blackwell, was associated with the town's post office in 1880.[7]

The name honors H.M. Moore who built the first house and a store there in 1851.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Moores Flat, California
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 525. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  3. "About Alleghany". holabird.com. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  4. "About Alleghany". holabird.com. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  5. "Nevada County GenWeb Nevada County History". cagenweb.com. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  6. "Grass Valley". origsix.com. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  7. Harvard University. Museum of Comparative Zoology (1880). Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zool̈ogy at Harvard College (Public domain ed.). University Press. pp. 403–.