Truckee area History The first known people living in Nevada County were the Maidu Indians. They gathered acorns, caught fish and hunted for game. They were a migratory tribe, traveling down to the Valley in Winter and up to the High Sierra in Summer.

After the Marshall's American River Gold Strike, huge numbers of prospectors descended upon California. Many of them headed to Nevada City and Grass Valley. With the first discovery of gold bearing quartz at Gold Hill in 1850, gold was so plentiful that claims were limited to 100 square feet. This was done to prevent the value of gold from dropping due to it's abundance. Over $25,000,000 in ore was taken from the hills and from Deer, Bear and Wolf Creeks in less than eight years.