Seven Hills of Nevada City

Local History

Nevada City is Built on Seven Hills

By Maria E. Brower

At the height of the gold rush, Nevada City boasted 10,000 residents and was California's third largest city. Within two years after gold was discovered in gravel banks along Deer Creek in 1849 miners had pocketed gold dust and nuggets worth $8 million dollars.

Which hills are the seven hills Nevada City is built on? Piety Hill, Lost Hill, Prospect Hill, Boulder Hill, Aristocracy Hill, Bourbon Hill, Oregon Hill, Nabob Hill, or Buckeye Hill?

Aristocracy Hill is up Nevada Street, Boulder Hill is up Boulder Street, Buckeye Hill is near the top on Main and Pine, Lost Hill is off Bennett Street, Nabob Hill is the upper Broad Street area, Piety Hill is near Sacramento and Zion, and Prospect Hill includes the Red Castle area off Prospect and Clay. Aristocracy Hill was home of late 1800s Southern aristocrats. Others were named after local geologic features and yet others, such as Buckeye and Prospect can probably be traced to early Gold Rush activity.

What about Nabob? The word originally was used as a term for wealthy provincial rulers in India but has since been used to describe very rich people. Of course, Nabob Hill is the site of some of Nevada City's finest old homes.

There are more than seven hills in the city limits and surrounding areas. American Hill, Bourbon Hill, Buckeye Hill, Canada Hill, Coyote Hill, Cement Hill, Manzanita Hill, Oregon Hill, Phelps Hill, Oustamach Hill, and Wet Hill are also listed in historic records.

Many of the hills are named after people or mining areas. Oustamach Hill, for example, is named after Maidu Indian Chief Oustamah whose name translates to "Swift Runner." Oregon Hill is at the top of town between the two forks of Broad Street, at the headwaters of Oregon Ravine, which runs through the outdoor dining area at the Country Rose restaurant.

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