Union Hill, California facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Union Hill
Former settlement
Union Hill Location in California
Country	United States
State	California
County	Nevada County
Elevation	2,700 ft (823 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)

Union Hill was once a small community in Nevada County, California. It was located about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from Grass Valley. This spot is high up, about 2,700 ft (820 m) above sea level.

The Gold Rush at Union Hill

People started mining for gold at Union Hill very early, in January 1851. The mines here were quite rich. Sometimes, miners could get eighty dollars worth of gold from just one ton of rock.

Even richer were the "sulfurets," which are minerals containing sulfur and gold. These could yield as much as 420 dollars per ton! At first, miners used simple machines called arrastres to crush the rock. Later, bigger machines called stamp mills were brought in to help process more ore. The Union Hill mine was known for producing a lot of gold for many years.

School and Railroad Connections

The community of Union Hill also had its own school district. The Union Hill School District was started in 1868. Even though Union Hill is no longer a settlement, the school district still operates today in Grass Valley, though in a different spot.

Getting to Union Hill became easier starting in 1876. Travelers could ride the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad to reach the area. The train station for Union Hill was located on Union Hill Road. This spot was southeast of Grass Valley and northwest of Colfax.

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Union Hill, California Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.