Site of One of the First Discoveries of Quartz Gold in California

Nevada County · Grass Valley · location approximate

This tablet commemorates the discovery of gold-bearing quartz and the beginning of quartz mining in California. The discovery was made on Gold Hill by George Knight October 1850. The occurrence of gold-bearing quartz was undoubtedly noted here and elsewhere about the same time or previously; but the above discovery created the great excitement that started the development of quartz mining into a great industry. The Gold Hill Mine from 1850 to 1857 is credited with a total production of $4,000,000.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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