Camptonville is a small town located in northwestern Yuba County, extending into Sierra and Nevada Counties. The town is located off Highway 49 between Downieville and Nevada City. It is located on a ridge between the North Fork and Middle Fork of the Yuba River, not far from New Bullards Bar Dam Reservoir.
It was a center of the California Gold Rush and stopping point for travelers coming from the Donner Pass. It was a roaring town with over fifty saloons and had brothels and even a bowling alley. After the tide of gold miners slowed, the local economy depended upon Camptonville's lumber mill. When it shut down, many of those that had not already left departed. Fast-growing ponderosa pines rose throughout the town and most remnants of the original structures have long decomposed. Some buildings now present include the Lost Nugget gas station and convenience store, a post office, Camptonville Elementary School, a monument to the Pelton wheel, and the original Mayo Saloon. Location in the state of California Formed 1850 Seat Marysville Area  - Total  - Water 1,667 km² (644 mi²) 34 km² (13 mi²) 2. ... Sierra County is a county located in Californias Sierra Nevada, northeast of Sacramento on the border with Nevada. ... Nevada County is a county located in Californias Sierra Nevada, in the Mother Lode country. ... California State Route 49 (also known as the Gold Country Highway) is a scenic highway in the California Gold Country that passes through the historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. ... Downieville is the county seat of Sierra County, California. ... Nevada City is the county seat of Nevada County, California, 166 miles (267 km) northeast of San Francisco. ... The Yuba River is an important river in California and a major tributary of the Feather River, which is a tributary of the Sacramento River. ... New Bullards Bar Dam is on the Yuba River and forms the New Bullards Bar Reservoir, which has a capacity of 170,000 acre-feet. ... The California Gold Rush (1848 – 1855) started in January 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutters Mill. ... Donner Pass in the 1870s Donner Pass, elevation 7,085 feet (2160 meters), is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, located above Donner Lake about nine miles West of Truckee, California. ... Binomial name Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a widespread and very variable pine native to western North America. ... Pelton wheel from Walchensee, Germany hydro power station. ...

External links

• Camptonville's Community Website
• Camptonville Elementary School