Sierra County

Sierra County is the name of two counties in the United States:

Sierra County, California

Sierra County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,240 making it the second-least populous county in California. The county seat is Downieville, and the only incorporated city is Loyalton. The county is located in the Sierra Nevada, northeast of Sacramento on the border with Nevada.

History

Sierra County was formed from parts of Yuba County in 1852. The county derives its name from the Sierra Nevada.

Prior to the California Gold Rush, the area was home to both the Maidu and the Washoe peoples. They generally summered in the higher elevations to hunt and fish, and returned to lower elevations for the winter months. After the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills sparked the California Gold Rush, more than 16,000 miners settled in Sierra County between 1848-1860. Most mining settlements in the county sprung up along the North and Middle Forks of the Yuba River, both of which had rich deposits of gold. While some of the mining boom towns faded away once gold fever died down, other settlements such as Downieville and Sierra City have remained.