Browns Valley was an early stage stop and mining town with 5 hotels and 24 saloons. Freight wagons and mule trains carrying enormous loads of supplies came up from Marysville for the mines and lumber camps in the high country. Mines such as the Jefferson, Pennsylvania, and Donnebroughe employed large numbers of men. In 1851, one of the first stamp mills for crushing gold-bearing quartz was built there. During its heyday in the 1860’s, the town grew to more than 3,000 residents and became known as “Little Washoe.”