You Bet, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
You Bet
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 You Bet
Location in California
You Bet
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Nevada |
| Elevation | 2,910 ft (887 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1656416 |
You Bet is a small, undeveloped area in Nevada County, California. It is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains. You Bet is about 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Grass Valley. It is also about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) northeast of Chicago Park.
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History of You Bet
The Gold Rush Era
The mining town of You Bet started during the California Gold Rush. Miners from a nearby town called Waloupa moved here. Waloupa was founded in 1852, but its gold was running out.
Around 1857, miners moved north to the other side of Birdseye Canyon. A man named Lazarus Beard opened a saloon there. The story goes that miners met in Beard's saloon to name their new town. Beard often said "you bet" when asked about ideas. So, the miners decided to name the town You Bet.
The town grew very fast. By 1864, You Bet had many buildings. These included hotels, stores, and saloons. A schoolhouse was built in 1864, paid for by local people. A post office opened in 1868 and served the town until 1903.
You Bet During the Civil War
During the American Civil War, You Bet strongly supported the Union. In the 1862 elections, 121 people in You Bet voted for the Union. Only 6 voted for the Secessionists. In the 1864 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln received 86 votes. His opponent, McClellan, received only 2 votes.
On April 24, 1869, a big fire destroyed the entire town. People rebuilt You Bet, even moving buildings from another town called Red Dog. But on September 7, 1873, another fire destroyed much of You Bet again. By the early 1900s, many people moved closer to the gold mines.
Mining for Gold
Mining was the main business in You Bet for over 80 years. Early on, miners used hydraulic mining. This method uses strong blasts of water to wash gold from hillsides. Water came to the mines through ditches and flumes. You Bet's mines were some of the biggest in California.
In 1884, a court decision called the Sawyer decision stopped most hydraulic mining. It could only continue where mines could safely hold their waste. People say that illegal hydraulic mining still happened. A telephone line warned miners when federal inspectors were coming. This let them turn off the water. Other miners started drift mining. This involved digging tunnels into rock and using explosives to get the gold.
By 1918, about $3 million in gold was mined. This would be about $175 million today. Few people stayed in You Bet after that. Many moved to work in hard rock mines in Grass Valley. The town saw a small comeback between World War I and World War II. Commercial mining continued until World War II. Since then, people have tried to restart mining when gold prices are high. People still look for gold, especially in spring when water washes it down from the Sierra mountains.
The Greenhorn Railroad
Logging was another big industry in the You Bet area. The forests there were full of pine and Douglas fir trees. Charles Kitts, a lawyer, owned over 2000 acres of timberland. He started logging in the 1870s. Kitts built a sawmill near Greenhorn Creek.
At first, Kitts used horses to move timber to the You Bet Station. This station was part of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. In 1890, Kitts built a 2.5-mile long railroad. It connected his sawmill to the You Bet Station. Flatbed cars carried the timber. At first, gravity and horses moved the cars. Later, Kitts bought a steam train.
This railroad was called the Greenhorn Railroad. It ran along Greenhorn Creek and crossed it on a bridge. The Greenhorn Railroad was a very important customer for the Narrow Gauge Railroad. It operated until Kitts ran out of timber. In 1912, the railroad line was taken apart.
You Bet Today
Today, You Bet is a small community with about 50 homes. These homes are within a few miles of the old mining town. It has a community church, but no stores or businesses.
In 1975, You Bet was named a California Historical Landmark. All that is left from the Gold Rush days are the old mining areas and some ditches. There is also a historic cemetery with gravestones from the 1860s. People started burying loved ones there again in the 1990s. The last old schoolhouse building was taken apart in the 1960s.
