By Lydia Browne
When you tell someone that you are going to Washington, they usually immediately assume that you are going to the state. Few people have heard of the small town in California called Washington.
A two and a half hour drive from Benicia, Washington is a charming little old mining town on the edge of the South Yuba River. It is in Nevada County, in the Sierra Nevadas.
Washington was settled in 1849, and was reportedly a very successful mining town in the early 1850s during the Gold Rush. However, the population soon dropped to about two hundred by 1858.
Today, Washington has a population of slightly over one hundred.
Denise Lee, a Benicia resident, often visits the town of Washington. She has a house there that has been passed down through her family for generations, ever since it was originally built in 1889. Lee’s great-grandfather was a surveyor who first came to Washington on a wagon train during the Gold Rush. He soon got “gold fever” and made the discovery of some gold mines in the town. One of those mines, once owned by the grandparents of Mrs. Lee, is still in operation today.
Lee has many childhood memories of visiting Washington, spending her days swimming, fishing and canoeing in Yuba river and some of the many lakes near to the town, as well as picking gooseberries. But her favorite thing to do is to walk along Yuba river to a fern cave, full of growing ferns and dripping water with a small pool of water in the center. The cave is as big inside as a two-story house.
According to Lee, one of the things that she loves about Washington is the feeling of living in the past. Many of the buildings in the town were built in the 19th century. The original store and hotel still exist today, along with many of the mines that were worked during and after the Gold Rush. There is also a restaurant that was originally the second hotel.
The town has many scattered piles of boulders that were moved from the river and mountainside by Chinese immigrants in the process of hydraulic mining. Today, visitors can see a plaque in honor of the Chinese Community of Washington and its history, which was recently unveiled in May.
Washington also has a wide variety of wildlife, including bears, deer, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, and coyotes. There are a variety of fruit trees and berry bushes.
Another draw to the town of Washington is the many trails for hiking and exploring nature, as well as horseback riding and off-road mountain biking. One interesting trail in Washington is the Omega Mine Overlook trail, which is a very short and easy hike.
A nice nearby place to hike is Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park which is about a 40 minute drive from the town.
There are two campgrounds in Washington: Little Town Campground and River Rest Resort. These are good places to stay if you enjoy camping, and both are near to the Yuba river. Many who come to stay at the campgrounds enjoy riding their ATVs around the area. There is also the Washington hotel, which is the original building.
When asked to describe her experiences in the town of Washington, Mrs. Lee said, “[Washington is] quiet, peaceful, and full of friendly people, [as well as] fun.”
Not many people have ever heard of Washington California, and that is quite a shame. Washington is always a nice, little, quiet place to visit.
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