406 RESOUKCES OF CALIFOEXIA. 



bnrg. In 1849 a number of persons went there, and the place 

 was called Yubaville. In January, 1850, the town w-as laid 

 off and named after Mrs. Mary Covillaud, the wife of the chief 

 propiietor. On the 31st of August and the 10th of Septem- 

 ber, 1851, two large fires occurred, destroying almost the 

 w^hole town. In the spring of 1852 the business part of the 

 town was covered with water, and the next year it was raised 

 twelve feet. The town was again flooded in December, 1861, 

 and January, 1862. Marysville is at the head of navigation on 

 the Feather River. The distance by water is about seventy 

 miles from Sacramento ; by the stage road it is forty-five miles. 

 From Marysville the counties of Nevada, Sierra, Butte, Plu- 

 mas, and Yuba, which contain an aggregate population of 

 67,977, obtain all their supplies of imported goods. Stages 

 run to the main towns of these counties every day. 



§ 277. Nevada. — ]S'evada, the fourth town of the state, cast 

 1,423 votes at the last Presidential election, and has a popula- 

 tion of about 4,500. It is the largest town in the mining dis- 

 tricts, but owes much of its importance to its trade. It is on 

 an important route of travel across the Sierra, and does an ex- 

 tensive trade with the adjacent mining counties of Sierra and 

 Plumas. The immediate vicinity of Nevada is the most pro- 

 ductive quartz district in the state. The town of Nevada w^as 

 founded in 1849. Grass Valley, which lies only five miles dis- 

 tant, is nearly as large as Nevada. The latter place is sixty- 

 nine miles distant from Sacramento. 



§ 278. Los Angeles. — The town of Los Angeles, formerly 

 called Pueblo de los Angeles, or the Pueblo de la Reina de los 

 Angeles — the town of the Queen of the Angels — is the largest 

 town in the southern part of the state, and has a population of 

 about 3,500. It was founded about 1780, and was built up to 

 nearly its present size previous to the American conquest. 

 The population was probably nearly as large under the Mexi- 

 can dominion as at present, but the finest buildings in the 

 place have been erected within the last twelve years. The 

 town is situated on the western bank of the Los Angeles 



