Rough and Ready, CA Real Estate

 
Some five miles from Grass Valley in Nevada County lies one of the first settlements of the area, a quaint little town called Rough and Ready. Established in the fall of 1849, Rough and Ready quickly grew to a thriving town of 3,000, and went down in history as having seceded from the Union.

Home to just 3,000 residents still today, Rough and Ready is a charming country community that consists of a fire station, post office, grocery store, and various other small businesses. With the quiet and privacy of this quaint town there is also easy access to a variety of larger shopping, amenities and recreational opportunities just a few minutes away in beautiful Grass Valley.

Prospective homebuyers interested in easy country living located convieniently near big-city life will enjoy perusing the contemporary farmhouses, single-family ranch-style homes and property with plenty of acreage commonly found in this historic community.

In September of 1849 a hunter stooping for a drink of water spotted the first sparkle of gold in the Nevada County town of Rough and Ready. With news of the discovery spreading quickly, soon a mining party arrived led by Captain A. A. Townsend, who had served under General Zachary “Old Rough and Ready” Taylor during the Mexican War. The mining proved to be quite fruitful with one report citing a miner discovering a gold nugget weighing eighteen pounds. The successful miners called themselves the Rough and Ready Mining Company and hence the town was established with the same name.

In 1850, Rough and Ready became the first town to secede from the United States. The citizens were apparently fed up with the government after a mining tax was imposed on all claims, and at the lack of law and order in the area which local authorities would do nothing about. Legend has it a town meeting was called to discuss the problems and the resulting solution was to secede from the United States and form the Great Republic of Rough and Ready, answerable to no sovereignty but themselves.

The Republic lasted approximately three months. As the Fourth of July approached, the neighboring towns planned festivities and feeling left out, residents called and meeting and the Independent Republic of Rough and Ready was dissolved in order to make plans for their own Fourth of July event.

Each year during the month of June, the downtown area is the location for the Rough and Ready Secession Days Celebration. There is a pancake breakfast, cake walk, clog dancers, and a play about the Secession of Rough and Ready from the Union. Lots of great food and drink abound, and all have good times with the wonderful folks that make Rough & Ready their home today.