Nevada City, the “Queen City of the Northern Mines,” grew to a town of 16,000 in the early 1850’s after gold was discovered on Deer Creek in 1849. It contains the largest and best preserved historical downtown district in California Gold Country. As the county seat of Nevada County, it has remained the county’s center of government, professional services, and cultural activities since 1851. It was entered in the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 1985.