Sierra County in the Northern Mines region was once home to numerous mining camps with colorful names, including Brandy City, originally known as Strychnine City, Whiskey Diggings, Poverty Hill, Poker Flat, Port Wine, and Scales. Many of these settlements disappeared or became ghost towns after the Gold Rush, but Downieville survived into the present day because it served as the county seat. In the early 1850s, Downieville reached a peak population of over 5,000 miners and was one of sixteen communities competing to become the state capital in California's general election of October 7, 1850. It finished sixth, only ten votes behind Sacramento and ahead of larger cities such as San Francisco, which placed tenth. Vallejo won an overwhelming majority and served briefly as the state capital from 1852 to 1853. After the Gold Rush, Downieville's population declined sharply, and today the town has only a few hundred residents.