Rough and Ready, California
Encyclopedia
Rough and Ready is a census-designated place
in Nevada County, California
, United States
. It is located west of Grass Valley, California
, approximately 62 miles (100 km) from Sacramento
. The population was 963 at the 2010 census.
known as the Rough and Ready Company. Their leader, Captain A. A. Townsend, named the company after General Zachary Taylor
(nicknamed "Old Rough and Ready") who had recently been elected the 12th President of the United States
. Captain Townsend had served under Taylor when he commanded the American Forces during the U.S.-Mexican War.
The post office
at Rough and Ready was established by February 1851; the first postmaster was Marcus Nutting. The ZIP Code is 95975. The community is inside area code 530
.
The post office was closed for a time in 1855, again for a time in 1913, and again from 1942 to 1948.
" from the Union and then voted itself back in. Populated mostly by miners from the state of Wisconsin, the town hoped to rid itself of a recently-introduced tax
on new mining
claims and the prohibition
of alcohol in Nevada County. Residents were also frustrated that the US Postal Service was demanding they change the name of the town to either "Rough" or "Ready", but not both. Another incentive for secession is found in the legend of a local con man. The con man would wager with miners that if he was able to prospect a certain amount of gold from their claims, he would pay them far more than their claim was worth. He would prospect until he had slightly less than the amount of gold needed to make good on his wager, then quit and keep the gold. Since he technically hadn't committed a crime, the courts were unable to prosecute him. It was decided in a town meeting in April 1850 to draw up articles of secession, forming the "Great Republic of Rough and Ready" (and according to legend, the con man was immediately hanged). Less than three months later, when preparing for an Independence Day celebration, community members realized that they were no longer entitled to celebrate US independence, and the secession was rescinded by popular vote.
What little is left of the town is located on State Route 20, west of the Grass Valley junction at State Route 49
. Among the oldest buildings are the blacksmith shop (1850s), the Odd Fellows Hall (1854), and the Old Toll House.
The town of Rough and Ready is honored as a historic landmark (#294) by the state of California.
The New York City-based music duo The Great Republic of Rough and Ready takes its name from the town.
, the CDP covers an area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km²), all of it land.
was 303.8 people per square mile (117.3/km²). The racial makeup of Rough and Ready was 886 (92.0%) White, 3 (0.3%) African American, 6 (0.6%) Native American, 16 (1.7%) Asian, 6 (0.6%) Pacific Islander, 11 (1.1%) from other races
, and 35 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56 persons (5.8%).
The Census reported that 963 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 428 households, out of which 95 (22.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 203 (47.4%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 31 (7.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 28 (6.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 33 (7.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 2 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 132 households (30.8%) were made up of individuals and 50 (11.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25. There were 262 families
(61.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.77.
The population was spread out with 160 people (16.6%) under the age of 18, 60 people (6.2%) aged 18 to 24, 184 people (19.1%) aged 25 to 44, 385 people (40.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 174 people (18.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.5 years. For every 100 females there were 108.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.8 males.
There were 477 housing units at an average density of 150.5 per square mile (58.1/km²), of which 332 (77.6%) were owner-occupied, and 96 (22.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%. 755 people (78.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 208 people (21.6%) lived in rental housing units.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
in Nevada County, California
Nevada County, California
Nevada County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of California, in the Mother Lode country. As of 2010 its population was 98,764. The county seat is Nevada City.-History:Nevada County was created in 1851 from parts of Yuba County....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located west of Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...
, approximately 62 miles (100 km) from Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
. The population was 963 at the 2010 census.
History
The first established settlement in Rough and Ready was made in the fall of 1849 by a mining company from WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
known as the Rough and Ready Company. Their leader, Captain A. A. Townsend, named the company after General Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
(nicknamed "Old Rough and Ready") who had recently been elected the 12th President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Captain Townsend had served under Taylor when he commanded the American Forces during the U.S.-Mexican War.
The post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
at Rough and Ready was established by February 1851; the first postmaster was Marcus Nutting. The ZIP Code is 95975. The community is inside area code 530
Area code 530
North American area code 530 is a California telephone area code that covers Auburn, Chico, Colfax, Davis, Grass Valley, Marysville, Oroville, Placerville, Redding, Red Bluff, Susanville, Truckee, Woodland, Yuba City and South Lake Tahoe....
.
The post office was closed for a time in 1855, again for a time in 1913, and again from 1942 to 1948.
Secession from the United States
Rough and Ready is the only mining town to have "secededSecession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
" from the Union and then voted itself back in. Populated mostly by miners from the state of Wisconsin, the town hoped to rid itself of a recently-introduced tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
on new mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
claims and the prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
of alcohol in Nevada County. Residents were also frustrated that the US Postal Service was demanding they change the name of the town to either "Rough" or "Ready", but not both. Another incentive for secession is found in the legend of a local con man. The con man would wager with miners that if he was able to prospect a certain amount of gold from their claims, he would pay them far more than their claim was worth. He would prospect until he had slightly less than the amount of gold needed to make good on his wager, then quit and keep the gold. Since he technically hadn't committed a crime, the courts were unable to prosecute him. It was decided in a town meeting in April 1850 to draw up articles of secession, forming the "Great Republic of Rough and Ready" (and according to legend, the con man was immediately hanged). Less than three months later, when preparing for an Independence Day celebration, community members realized that they were no longer entitled to celebrate US independence, and the secession was rescinded by popular vote.
Present day
The history of the "Republic" is performed annually as a play in Nevada County during "Secession Days" on the last Sunday of June.What little is left of the town is located on State Route 20, west of the Grass Valley junction at State Route 49
California State Route 49
State Route 49 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49 is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and a portion of it...
. Among the oldest buildings are the blacksmith shop (1850s), the Odd Fellows Hall (1854), and the Old Toll House.
The town of Rough and Ready is honored as a historic landmark (#294) by the state of California.
Popular culture
A melodrama comedy, "Gold Fever at the Rough and Ready", written by Neal LaVine, was performed at the Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville in Oceano, CA in the summer of 2009. The play incorporated historical characters (Captain A. A. "Sheriff Bartly" Townsend, Col. E. F. Brundage, Marcus Nutting, and Alonzo Delano) with fictional melodrama characters (prospector Eustace "Scabby" Jones, villain Phileas Cramner) and closely follows the history of Rough and Ready, from the gold boom and formation of the town to secession from the Union, and the eventual dissolving of the Union due to planned Fourth of July festivities. Certain fictional elements were added to serve comedic and theatrical purposes.The New York City-based music duo The Great Republic of Rough and Ready takes its name from the town.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP covers an area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Rough and Ready had a population of 963. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 303.8 people per square mile (117.3/km²). The racial makeup of Rough and Ready was 886 (92.0%) White, 3 (0.3%) African American, 6 (0.6%) Native American, 16 (1.7%) Asian, 6 (0.6%) Pacific Islander, 11 (1.1%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 35 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56 persons (5.8%).
The Census reported that 963 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 428 households, out of which 95 (22.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 203 (47.4%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 31 (7.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 28 (6.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 33 (7.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 2 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 132 households (30.8%) were made up of individuals and 50 (11.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25. There were 262 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(61.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.77.
The population was spread out with 160 people (16.6%) under the age of 18, 60 people (6.2%) aged 18 to 24, 184 people (19.1%) aged 25 to 44, 385 people (40.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 174 people (18.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.5 years. For every 100 females there were 108.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.8 males.
There were 477 housing units at an average density of 150.5 per square mile (58.1/km²), of which 332 (77.6%) were owner-occupied, and 96 (22.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%. 755 people (78.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 208 people (21.6%) lived in rental housing units.
External links
- Rough & Ready Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerceA chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
- Rough and Ready, California ghost townGhost townA ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
- The California Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited
- About Nevada County