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Downieville - Panorama ca. 1860-ca. 1870

Owning Institution: UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

About this Collection

The Panorama of Downieville, Calif. was taken circa 1870 by an unidentified photographer. The mounted 2-plate albumen photograph pictures an eastward view of the town settled in 1849 by a group of prospectors led by "Major" William Downie, a native of Scotland, after whom the town is named. Originally called "The Forks," Downieville is located at the fork of the North Yuba and Downie Rivers, the latter veering northward to the left in the photograph. A year after its settlement, as a result of successful mining, the town had a population of several thousand. In 1851 the town gained notoriety following the lynch-mob trial and hanging of Juanita, a Sonoran woman who stabbed to death an English miner after he broke into her home during Fourth of July festivities. The town is the present seat of Sierra County.... View collection guide.

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