Little York, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Little York
Former settlement
Little York Location in California
Country	United States
State	California
County	Nevada County
Elevation	2,926 ft (892 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)

Little York (also known as Little New York) was one of the first gold mining towns in Nevada County, California. It was also the name of the larger area, or township, where it was located. The town sat on Lowell Ridge, between Steephollow Creek and the Bear River. It was about 13 miles east of Nevada City, California and a mile southwest of Dutch Flat, California. The town was about 2,800 feet above sea level.

The Story of Little York

Little York started because of its location. It was near where the Old Emigrant Trail crossed a rich gold area called the Blue Lead. This gold channel entered Nevada County near Snow Point. It left the county just east of Little York.

Finding Gold and Building a Town

In 1849, people traveling to California found gold in the streams and ravines nearby. In the fall of 1850, some miners built the first cabin. They found a lot of gold. By 1852, a busy town had grown around a central plaza. It had stores, butchers, breweries, and saloons. There were also sawmills, a shoemaker, a church, and a theater. About 600 people lived there.

The miners voted to name the town Little York. Miners from New York and the East Coast won the vote. Miners from Missouri and the West wanted to call it St. Louis.

Growing and Prospering

In September 1852, a water ditch was built to help with mining. This helped the town grow even more. By 1867, Little York looked very nice. Older buildings had been replaced with neat, comfortable ones. Homes were hidden by shade and fruit trees. People had planted many fruit trees in 1854. The town was doing very well.

For a few years, a group of criminals caused trouble in Little York. They damaged stores, especially those owned by Jewish shopkeepers. In 1853, one of the criminals was stopped by a local resident.

The town continued to show signs of success. A post office opened in 1855. A good wagon road connected Little York to Dutch Flat. Stagecoach lines linked the town to Dutch Flat, Nevada City, California, and other nearby towns. In 1867, a new toll road was built. It connected Little York to Dutch Flat and You Bet, California.

A public school was also founded. A schoolhouse was built for it. In 1861, the school had 26 students. The town also had social groups. These included the Sons of Temperance and the Independent Order of Good Templars. There was even a local company of the Union Guard.

Later Years and Decline

Little York had its own election district. In the 1864 presidential election, 48 votes were cast. 38 of those votes were for Abraham Lincoln. In 1868, 33 votes were cast. 15 were for Ulysses S. Grant.

In 1878, a 6-mile telephone line was built. It connected Little York to Liberty Hill. The line was soon made longer. It reached Lowell Hill to the north and Dutch Flat to the east. The total length was about 15 miles.

By 1880, a historian wrote about the town. In its best days, Little York had two hotels, three stores, and two saloons. It had 40 houses and about 200 people. But several fires in the 1870s destroyed much of the town. One fire was set on purpose. It caused a powder house to explode. After the fires, the town was much smaller. It had only one store, one saloon, a post office, and a few houses.

By 1888, only 11 people voted in the presidential election. Because there were so few voters, the election district was closed in 1890. Voters then went to You Bet. In 1886, the post office also closed. It moved to You Bet. By 1924, Little York was mostly a memory. No big mining work was happening there anymore.

Gold Mining in Little York

The Blue Lead gold channel was very rich. It was called "one of the richest gold channels in the Sierra Nevada mountains." The channel was hundreds of feet wide. The gold was buried in hard, blue-colored gravel.

Early Mining Methods

The first miners in Little York could pick gold nuggets from streams and ravines. Gold was even found in the town's public plaza. One pan of dirt from the plaza yielded $45 in gold. Soon, miners started "coyoteing." This meant digging holes into the ground. They would get the gold-bearing gravel and then wash it. This helped to get the gold out.

In early 1852, local miners made mining laws. These were for the Blue Rock Mining District. At another meeting, the miners decided that "no foreigner shall hold a mining claim in this district."

The richest area was Scott's Ravine. It was between Steephollow Creek and the Bear River. Miners there often found up to $20 per day. In 1854, it was reported that "Little York mines yield well." A group of four or five miners often took out two or three hundred dollars a day.

New Technologies and Challenges

At first, there wasn't much water. This made it hard to separate gold from the hard gravel. This changed when the first ditch was built in 1852. The Little York or Gardner ditch was 18 miles long. It brought water from the Bear River. More ditches followed. They brought water from Steephollow and the South Yuba River.

Some miners also started "drift mining." They tunneled into hillsides. They used explosives to break up the hard gravel. In 1857, the stamp mill appeared. These machines crushed the gravel before it was washed. Mining quickly grew. The Massasaga Company was known for using stamp mills. Soon, many stamp mills were in the area. In 1867, there were 16 mills with 136 stamps.

As new ways of hydraulic mining were developed, mining changed. It became less about many workers and more about expensive machines. This caused the number of miners to drop. Eventually, the Little York Water and Mining Company bought many mines. This company was backed by money from England. It became the main mining company in Little York. In 1879, it joined with the Liberty Hill Consolidated Mining Company. This became the biggest mining company on Lowell Ridge. By 1880, it was thought that $20 million in gold had been taken from Little York Township.

Environmental Impact and End of Mining

In 1876, farmers near Wheatland, California sued the Little York Gold & Water Company. The farmers lived near the Bear River. They wanted the mines to stop dumping their waste, called tailings, into the river. In 1879, a state court ordered the mines to stop. But this ruling was later overturned.

However, in 1884, a federal judge made an important decision. He ordered that mining waste could not be dumped into the Yuba River. This order was later extended to the Bear River. The mines of Little York Township never fully recovered after this. For example, the value of property in Little York Township was $155,640 in 1860. By 1891, it was only $75,010.

Little York Township

Little York was also the name of Nevada County's sixth township. It was created in 1852. At about 45 square miles, it was one of the smaller townships. It covered the area between modern Highway 20 to the north and Highway 174 to the south. It also went from the Placer County, California line to the east and just west of Greenhorn Creek. Besides the town of Little York, other main towns included Lowell Hill, Red Dog, and You Bet. The township had two elected judges and constables.

The township's population was probably never much more than 1,000 people. But it produced a lot of gold. By 1880, about one-fifth of the gold from Nevada County's hydraulic mines came from this township. Besides gold, copper was also mined.

The township was also known for its lumber industry. It had vineyards and fruit orchards too. Louis Voss, Charles Kitt, and the Towle Brothers were important lumbermen. Each built a railroad to help get lumber to market. The western part of Little York Township was great for fruit crops. They grew well every year and sold for high prices. In higher areas, apples grew in large amounts and were excellent.

Little York Today

Little York is now in a remote and mostly empty part of the Tahoe National Forest. There is no organized mining happening there. By 1918, most of the gold-bearing gravel had been removed. There are no clear remains of the town left to see. You can get there from Dutch Flat. The Lowell Hill Road bridge across Steephollow Creek washed out in a storm in 1983.