Downieville is the county seat of Sierra County, California. Downieville was settled in 1849 during the California Gold Rush and is named after William Downey, a Scotsman who once ran the town's mining operation. Downieville reached a peak population of over 5,000 people in 1851 but declined sharply by 1865. Downieville is located north of the Middle Fork of the Yuba River and was the original state capital of California before it moved to its current location in Sacramento.
Not necessarily known as the first town in California to hang a woman, Downieville was, nevertheless, the town that hanged the only woman to ever meet such a fate in California.
Like so many other mining towns of that era, Downieville began to decline and by 1865, it was clear the end as a mining town was near.
In the fall of 1849, William Downieville, a Scotsman, headed up the North Fork of the Yuba River with a party of twelve other.
Downieville is the county seat of Sierra County, California.
Downieville is situated on the convergence of the Downie River and North Fork of the Yuba River.
Downieville was nearly voted the state capital of California in 1853 before it was moved to Benicia, and then shortly thereafter its current location in Sacramento.
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