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confronted Dr. Kittredge, who admitted that he had removed the body ostensibly for the purposes of scientific inspection. Although some townspeople wanted to lynch him, it was finally agreed that if he would produce the body, which had not been dissected, so it could be reburied, he would be let go. That happened, but the townspeople shunned him and he soon left
Orleans Flat.
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In 1869, a local paper was more succinct: "Orleans Flat, once a lively mining camp, in the northern part of the county, but for a long time dead, is likely to revive, and the mines there to be worked again." While some mining continued after 1869, the paper's prediction never happened; the town never
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One of the most successful entrepreneurs in
Orleans Flat was Marks Zellerbach. A Jewish immigrant from Bavaria in Germany, he founded a bank, Marks & Co., owned an interest in a number of mines and became a principal in the Eureka Land and Water Company, which supplied water to many of the mines
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Orleans Flat lies on a part of the auriferous channel which runs the length of the San Juan Ridge. In such channels, the gold lies under layers of gravel, with the richest deposits being close to the bed rock. At
Orleans Flat, the gravel deposits were the shallowest among the Flats, so it became the
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at an elevation of about 4200 ft. To the west lay the mining towns of Moore's Flat and
Woolsey's Flat, each about I mile apart. All three were settled around 1851 and their histories frequently intertwine. Collectively, they are sometimes referred to as "The Flats." All three were part of Eureka
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The town had a fair share of parades, balls and entertainments. Around 1855, a building was erected to be used as a nondenominational church, temperance hall and schoolhouse, but it does not appear that it was ever used as a church or schoolhouse. The Rev. J. S. Diehl organized a Sons of
Temperance
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By 1857, the shallow gravel mines had been exhausted and the town began to decline. Many residents moved to neighboring Moore's Flat or to other locations on the Ridge. Others began to drift mine closer to and under the town, often undermining the town's houses. Fire destroyed a number of buildings
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In 1855, 223 votes were recorded at
Orleans Flat. In the 1860 presidential election, 97 votes were recorded, with Douglas receiving 52. It hosted important political events and rallies held in that part of the Ridge. In 1856, a Masonic Lodge was established at Orleans Flat, named Quitman Lodge, No.
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An early pioneer describes the physical relation of the Flats as follows: "Moore's Flat, Orleans Flat and
Woolsey's Flat are all similarly situated on different points of the mountain, on the north side of the ridge between the South and Middle Yuba River, and all at about the same altitude. A very
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In the 1850s, Orleans was the leading town of the Flats, once described as "the most prosperous mining camp" on the Ridge. By 1852, the town had a population of 600. It boasted several hotels, stores, saloons, a sawmill, a bank, a bakery, a brewery and a theater. It was connected by various stage
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Orleans Flat was founded in 1850 or 1851. The town was originally settled by miners from New
Hampshire, who named it Concord. They left after a while "with well-filled purses." They were replaced by Southerners who renamed it New Orleans Flat. Most accounts simply call it Orleans Flat. The Flat
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In 1867, Orleans Flat was described as follows: "...it is now nearly deserted. A few
Mexicans and Chinamen make a precarious living in working around the abandoned claims, but with this exception mining is suspended, and now there are not more than half a dozen American residents at the place."
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A most unusual occurrence involved a Dr. Kittredge who operated a drugstore in
Orleans Flat. After a young child died and was buried, it was discovered that her body had been removed from the grave. Townspeople, alerted by the suspicious conduct of his clerk who "rode furiously" out of town,
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first town to thrive. There was an initial period of successful surface mining. The Flats were renowned for the discovery of large nuggets and gold-bearing boulders. One discovered at Orleans Flat in 1858 contained at least $ 6,000 worth of gold. Another found in 1869 had $ 8700 in gold.
225:
in 1859. A more devastating fire occurred in 1863, burning all the buildings on the south side of Main Street, including several houses, the former drug store, the butcher shop and several other stores and saloons. Arson was suspected. For all these reasons, the town was soon deserted.
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revived. Among the last residents were the four Buck Brothers, all born at Orleans Flat, who mined, farmed and ranched into the 20th century. Today, apart from the Buck ranch house which sits on a hill overlooking the old townsite, nothing remains but lots of rock piles.
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on the Ridge. He was also one of the early investors in the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. In many of these endeavors, he was assisted by his brother Anthony, a resident of Moore's Flat, who went on to found what became the Crown Zellerbach Paper Company.
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The Flats became an early adopter of hydraulic mining, which boomed with the arrival of ditch water. Berryman's Poor Man's Creek Ditch arrived in 1854. The Miners' Ditch followed in 1856 and the Weaver Ditch in 1860. One authority claimed that the gravel
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Union, July 18, 1874. In its long history, the Union has had different names, including the Grass Valley Union and the Morning Union. For simplicity's sake, it will be referred to here as the Union, regardless of its name at the time of the cited
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Manly, William L., (1894) Death Valley in '49, quoted in Reidt, Theo, History of Moore's, Orleans and Woolsey's Flats, Part Two, (hereafter Reidt) Nevada County Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. 35, No.3 (July 1981)
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Bean, Edwin F., (1867) History and Directory of Nevada County, (hereafter Bean ), p. 402. Thompson, Thomas H. and West, Albert A. (1970 ed.) History of Nevada County -1880, (hereafter Thompson and West) p.
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88. There was also an Odd Fellows Lodge and a lodge hall was built jointly by the two lodges. In 1863, the lodge hall was moved to Moore's Flat.
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deep canyon lies between each of them, but a good mountain road was built around the head of each canyon, connecting the towns."
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itself was described as about "one hundred and sixty acres, resembling in outline an irregular gibbous semi-circle."
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While most histories, such as Bean, state 1851, one contemporary account states 1850. Nevada Journal, May 26, 1854.
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Comstock, p. 492; Selverston, Mark (2016) The French of Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, pp. 95-97.
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at Orleans was very rich, and the flats pay better returns any of the other deposits in this vicinity."
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Nevada Journal, May 26, 1854. It is called New Orleans Flat in the Nevada Journal on Sept. 23, 1853.
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Reidt, p. 2; Nevada Journal, Dec 24, 1858; Marysville Daily National Democrat, Jan. 4, 1859.
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Marysville Daily National Democrat, Sept. 13, 1859; Marysville Daily Appeal, March 6, 1863.
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was a historic mining town located on the San Juan Ridge about 20 miles northeast of
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U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Orleans Flat, California
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branch and a Sabbath school, but where those meetings were held is not recorded.
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Comstock, David A., Lives of Nevada County Pioneers (hereafter Comstock) p. 492.
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Nevada Journal, May 14, 1858, Oct. 9, 1857, May 13, 1859, Apr. 13. 1860.
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Whitney, Josiah D. (1880) The Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra, p. 403.
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Lardner, pp. 795-6; Union, Oct. 3, 1911, June 3, 1914, Nov. 9 1915.
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lines to Nevada City, Marysville and other places on the Ridge.
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1118:‡This CDP also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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Sacramento Union, May 6, 1857; Thompson and West,, p. 156.
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572:Union, Aug. 2, 1870, June 23, 1885, Oct. 20, 1886.
536:Marysville Daily National Democrat, July 28, 1859.
347:Marysville Daily National Democrat, Nov. 18, 1860.
1218:Former settlements in Nevada County, California
527:Hydraulic Press, Aug. 20, 1859, Oct. 20, 1860.
16:Former settlement in California, United States
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473:Nevada Journal, Aug. 31, 1855, Oct. 3, 1856.
338:Bean, p. 67; Nevada Journal, Dec. 14, 1855.
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177:. The town was about 1 mile south of the
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1228:Nevada County, California geography stubs
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374:Daily Alta California, Aug. 18, 1855.
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1171:. You can help Knowledge (XXG) by
618:Municipalities and communities of
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500:Sacramento Union, Sept. 6, 1860.
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464:Nevada Democrat, Nov. 10, 1860.
410:Nevada Democrat, June 13, 1860.
173:and about 5 miles northeast of
446:Nevada Journal, Oct. 20, 1854.
419:Nevada Journal, June 26, 1857.
401:Nevada Journal, Oct. 21, 1859.
310:Nevada Journal, July 16, 1858.
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437:Nevada Journal, July 7, 1855.
392:Nevada Journal, Aug 28, 1857.
301:Nevada Journal, May 26, 1854.
329:Nevada Journal, May 5, 1854.
175:North Bloomfield, California
160:1,266 m (4,153 ft)
455:Thompson and West, p. 137.
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1165:Nevada County, California
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621:Nevada County, California
518:Thompson and West, p. 63.
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171:Nevada City, California
1167:-related article is a
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89:39.42889°N 120.83500°W
61:Location in California
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365:Union, Oct. 12, 1870.
1136:United States portal
563:Union, Jan. 8, 1869.
94:39.42889; -120.83500
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722:Lake of the Pines
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70:Coordinates:
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1173:expanding it
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1100:Woolsey Flat
1020:Orleans Flat
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965:Hobart Mills
777:Chicago Park
747:Soda Springs
711:Graniteville
661:Grass Valley
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55:Orleans Flat
23:Orleans Flat
1060:Spenceville
1005:Moores Flat
1000:Meadow Lake
990:Little York
970:Hunt's Hill
950:French Lake
940:Coyoteville
930:Chalk Bluff
885:Badger Hill
872:Ghost towns
817:Mooney Flat
772:Cedar Ridge
764:communities
737:Penn Valley
701:Alta Sierra
666:Nevada City
643:Nevada City
636:County seat
92: /
80:120°50′06″W
1212:Categories
1080:Union Hill
1050:Snow Point
1040:Sebastopol
920:Bridgeport
895:Birchville
807:Hirschdale
802:Hills Flat
752:Washington
240:References
182:Township.
139:California
77:39°25′44″N
1114:Footnotes
1075:Tsekankan
1070:Town Talk
1065:Sweetland
1055:Snow Tent
960:Gold Hill
955:Glenbrook
900:Blue Tent
812:Lake City
792:Gold Flat
706:Floriston
157:Elevation
945:Democrat
935:Cherokee
837:Peardale
716:Kingvale
320:article.
1095:Wokodot
1090:Waloupa
1025:Red Dog
1010:Newtown
995:Maybert
975:Iceland
862:You Bet
842:Polaris
671:Truckee
106:Country
1105:Yamako
1085:Ustoma
1045:Shands
847:Relief
822:Norden
787:Gaston
151:Nevada
146:County
136:
116:
1163:This
1015:Omega
880:Alpha
126:State
1169:stub
905:Boca
857:Wolf
693:CDPs
274:p.2.
264:54.
1214::
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236:'
1200:e
1193:t
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718:‡
611:e
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