California Historical Landmarks in Yuba County

California Historical Landmark 321
Smartsville
State Route 20
Smartsville

California Historical Landmark #321: Smartsville
Smartsville Grocery on State Route 20
We could not locate a commemorative plaque for the town of Smartsville.
14 December 2005
(Click Photo to Zoom)

Smartsville

The first building at Smartsville (the post office is called Smartville) was built in the spring of 1856 by a Mr. Smart. The Church of the Immaculate Conception (organized in 1852 in Rose's Bar) was built in 1861, and in 1863 the Union Church was erected. One of the prominent features of the landscape of the town today is its churches.

Citation from California Office of Historic Preservation

Smartsville in 1879

The following description of Smartsville in 1879 is from The History of Yuba County California by Thompson & West.

James Smart built a hotel at this place in the spring of 1856. This was the first building except a few cabins, here and there, occupied by the miners.

The only large settlements at that time were Timbuctoo and Sucker Flat.

L.B. Clark bought the place in 1857, and kept a store. The hotel is now owned by B. Smith. A saloon was started in 1856, also a small store was kept by a Mr. Shearer.

As the mines began to develop the place gradually to settle up, until at present, it is a thriving mining town. The old cemetery on the hill, near the Empire Ranch, was first used in 1852, for the burial of a man from Oregon. This was followed by the entombing of several men who died with cholera.

About three years ago a mine caved in at Sucker Flat, killing seven men, who were all buried in one day. A little further up the road is the Fraternal Cemetery, laid out by the Masons, Odd Fellows, and Good Templars, in 1875. Until a few years ago the remains of Catholics were taken to Marysville to be interred in the Catholic cemetery there; but a fine burial ground has since been laid out, just across the ravine and south of the town.

California Historical Landmark #321: Smartsville
Church of the Immaculate Conception in Smartsville
14 December 2005
(Click Photo to Zoom)

Church of the Immaculate Conception
State of California Point of Historical Interest: Yub-12

Erected 1850, the original structure was destroyed by fire in 1870, and rebuilt in 1871 by the citizens of Smartsville on the original foundation. At one time this church served 800 parishioners, mostly Irish Catholics employed at the Smartsville mines which were among the richest mines in the state. Continuously operated as a Catholic Church until the 1970's, the building and grounds were deeded in 1998 to the Smartsville Church Restoration Fund Inc.

Some Missing California Plaques

When we visited the following sites, we were unable to locate a California commemorative plaque.

At some sites, it appeared that a California plaque had never been erected. At other sites, there was a base, but the plaque itself was missing. Some sites without California plaques had other historic markers, but they did not note that the site is a California Historical Landmark.

Adams and Company Building, Sacramento
Anza Expedition Camp, Burlingame
Battle of Land's Ranch, Modoc County
Bear Valley, Mariposa County
Bend City, Inyo County

Birthplace of Freemasonry in California , San Francisco
Booth Home Site, Sacramento
Brannan Cottage, Calistoga
Brannan Store, Calistoga

Brown Home, Red Bluff
Bloody Point, Modoc County
Bonner Grade, Modoc County
Brannan House, Sacramento

California Star Newspaper Site, San Francisco
Camino of Rancho San Antonio, Oakland
Carmel Mission, Carmel
Casa de Cota, San Diego
Casa de Machado y Silvas, San Diego
Casa del Oro, Monterey

Casa Materna, Pajaro
Castro Home, El Cerrito
Chevra Kaddisha Cemetery, Sacramento
China Slough Site, Sacramento
City of Paris Department Store Site, San Francisco

Colton Hall, Monterey
Condemned Bar, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Corral Hollow, Tracy
Crabtree (Lotta) Home, Grass Valley

Crocker Gallery, Sacramento
Croll Building, Oakland
Donner Monument, Truckee
Eagle Theatre, Sacramento

Ebbetts Pass, Alpine County
Ebner's Hotel, Sacramento
Evans and Bailey Fight, Modoc County
First Theater in California, Monterey
Fort Janesville, Lassen County

Frémont's Camp, Modoc County
Frog Woman Rock, Mendocino County
Giant Powder Company Site, San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco and Marin Counties

Grange Hall Site, El Dorado County
Guillem's Graveyard, Lava Beds National Monument
Gutiérrez Adobe, Monterey
House of Four Winds, Monterey
Hornitos, Mariposa County

Hudson Cabin Site, Calistoga
Indian Arrow Tree, Korbel
Jackson Gate, Amador County

Joaquín Moraga Adobe, Orinda
Junípero Serra's Cross, Ventura County
Kelsey House Site, Calistoga
Lady Adams Building, Sacramento

Larkin House, Monterey
Lassen Grave, Lassen County
Laurel Hill Cemetery Site, San Francisco
Long Wharf Site, San Francisco

Marklee's Cabin Site, Markleeville Marshall's Blacksmith Shop, Kelsey
Mayfield Canyon Battleground, Owens Valley
Methodist Episcopal Church, Placerville
Mills Bank Building, Sacramento

Mission San Buenaventura, Ventura County
Mission San Buenaventura Reservoir, Ventura County
Montez (Lola) Home, Grass Valley

Montezuma, Tuolumne County
Montgomery Hill, San Jose
Napa Valley Railroad Depot, Calistoga
Negro Hill, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Noble Pass Route, Lassen Volcanic National Park
Old Custom House, Monterey

Old Emigrant Trail, Modoc National Forest
Old Pacific House, Monterey
Old Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara
Olema Lime Kilns, Marin County
Orleans Hotel Site, Sacramento
Overton Building, Sacramento

Parrott Block Site, San Francisco
Peralta Hacienda, Oakland
Plumas House, Quincy

Plymouth Trading Post, Plymouth
Pony Express Remount Station, Woodfords
Portolá Camp at Crystal Springs, San mateo County
Portolá Camp at Gazos Creek, Bean Hollow State Beach
Portolá Camp at Martini Creek, Montara

Portolá Camp at Pilarcitos Creek, Half Moon Bay
Portolá Camp at Pulgas Water Temple, San Mateo County
Portolá Camp at Purisima Creek, Half Moon Bay
Portolá Camp at San Gregorio State Beach, San Gregorio
Portolá Camp at Tunitas Beach, San Mateo County

Richmond Shipyards District, Richmond
Robert Louis Stevenson House, Monterey
Roop's Fort, Susanville
Royal Presidio Chapel, Monterey

Sacramento Bee Building, Sacramento
Sacramento Union Site, Sacramento
Sailing Launch Comet, Lathrop
Saint James Episcopal Church, Sonora
Salmon Falls, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area

San Joaquin City Site, Tracy
Santa Margarita Asistencia, Santa Margarita
Smartsville, Yuba County
Sobranes Adobe, Monterey
Stage Coach and Railroad, Sacramento
State Indian Museum, Sacramento

Studebaker's Shop, Placerville
Sutter Creek, Amador County
Swift's Stone Corral, Colusa County
Sycamore Tree, Ventura County

Telegraph Hill, San Francisco
Transcontinental Railroad, Lathrop
Union Oil Company Building, Ventura County
Vásquez House, Monterey
Willms Ranch, Knights Ferry

Western Hotel, Sacramento
Whiskeytown, Shasta County
Woodbridge, San Joaquin County
Wood's Ferry and Bridge Site, Woodbridge

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