Browns Valley: 1850 – 1860
Browns Valley was an early stage stop and mining town sporting 5 hotels and 24 saloons. Freight wagons and mule trains loaded with supplies came up from Marysville with enormous loads of supplies destined for the mines and lumber camps in the high country. The Jefferson, Pennsylvania, and Donnebroughe among many others gave employment to a large number of men in the mines. In 1851, one of the first stamp mills for crushing gold-bearing quartz was built in this little town. During its heyday in the 1860’s, it had grown to over 3,000 residents, at which time it became known as
”Little Washoe”
Marker is on Marysville Road 1 mile north of California Highway 20.
Courtesy hmdb.org
