Rough and Ready, California

Rough and Ready
Rough and Ready
Census-designated place
	A scene in Rough and Ready near the Historic Toll House
	Flag
	Rough and Ready Location within the state of California Rough and Ready Rough and Ready (the United States)
	Coordinates: 39°13′49″N 121°8′6″W / 39.23028°N 121.13500°W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Nevada
Area
• Total	3.170 sq mi (8.210 km2)
• Land	3.170 sq mi (8.210 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2) 0%
Population (2020)
• Total	905
• Density	290/sq mi (110/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	95975
Area code	530
GNIS feature ID	2628785
	U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rough and Ready, California
California Historical Landmark
Official name	Little Town of Rough and Ready
Reference no.	294

Rough and Ready is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States.^[2] It is located west of Grass Valley, California, approximately 62 miles (100 km) from Sacramento. The population was 963 at the 2010 census. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.^[3]

History

The first established settlement in Rough and Ready was made in the fall of 1849 by a mining company from Wisconsin, known as the Rough and Ready Company, during the California Gold Rush.^[4] 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 Black Hawk War (1832). California had three towns so named of which this one survives.^[5]

The town declared its secession from the Union as The Great Republic of Rough and Ready on 7 April 1850, largely to avoid mining taxes, but voted to rejoin the Union less than three months later on 4 July.^[6] The old republic is celebrated annually as a way to attract tourism and as a point of local pride.

The post office at Rough and Ready was established by February 1851; the first postmaster was Marcus Nutting.^[7] 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.^[8]

In 1988, the 49er Fire was accidentally started near Highway 49. The fire went on to burn well over a hundred homes and more than 33,000 acres in Nevada County, including structures in and around Rough and Ready.^[9]

Present day

What little is left of the town is located on the Rough and Ready Highway. It was bypassed by State Route 20 in the mid-1980s. Among the oldest buildings are the blacksmith shop (1850s), the Odd Fellows Hall (1854) (now Rough and Ready Grange Hall), and the Old Toll House.

The town of Rough and Ready is honored as a California Historical Landmark (#294).^[10]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Census Designated Place covers an area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
2000	1,595	—
2010	963	−39.6%
2020	905	−6.0%

The 2010 United States Census^[11] reported that Rough and Ready had a population of 963. The population density was 303.8 inhabitants 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.

There were 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 inhabitants 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.

Politics

In the state legislature, Rough and Ready is in the 1st Senate District, represented by Republican Megan Dahle,^[12] and the 1st Assembly District, represented by Republican Heather Hadwick.^[13]

Federally, Rough and Ready is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.^[14]

In popular culture

The New York City-based music duo The Great Republic of Rough and Ready takes its name from the town.^[15]

The television series Death Valley Days told the story of Rough and Ready in two different episodes.^[16]

The Ruins of Rough and Ready, a "comical western" novel by Clark Casey, "reimagines the three months when Rough and Ready was a sovereign republic".^[17]^[18] The town drunkard falls asleep in a cave and wakes up in an earthquake to find a giant gold boulder, which must be brought to Sacramento while every bandit in California is closing in. The town is defended by "oddball miners" and "a sheriff who's afraid of guns".^[17]

References

^ "U.S. Census". census.gov. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rough and Ready, California
^ "13 Town Names We Can't Stop Laughing Over". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
^ Gallant, Frank K. (May 17, 2012). A Place Called Peculiar: Stories About Unusual American Place-Names. Courier Dover Publications. p. 30. ISBN 9780486483603. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
^ Gudde, Erwin G. (1998). California place names : the origin and etymology of current geographical names (4th ed., rev. and enl. ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 322. ISBN 0520213165.
^ "The Great Republic of Rough and Ready, by Arthur Winfield Knight [secession, California, CA]". theava.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
^ Salley, Harold E. (1991) History of California Post Offices, 1849–1990, p. 183. The Depot, ISBN 0-943645-27-1
^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 548. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
^ Kellar, Liz (2018-09-11). "Nevada County's 49er Fire proved a harbinger of fire seasons to come". The Union. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
^ "Rough and Ready". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
^ "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Rough and Ready CDP". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
^ "California's 1st Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
^ "The Great Republic of Rough and Ready performs tonight". The Union.
^ "Rough and Ready on Death Valley Days". Internet Movie Database. December 7, 1957. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
^ ^a ^b staff, The Union (8 June 2021). "'Meet The Author' with Clark Casey". The Union. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
^ "Author pens 'comical Gold Rush novel' about Rough and Ready". goldcountrymedia.com. Retrieved 2021-07-27.

External links

[1] "U.S. Census". census.gov. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2018.

[gnis|2628785-2] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rough and Ready, California

[3] "13 Town Names We Can't Stop Laughing Over". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 13 July 2014.

[4] Gallant, Frank K. (May 17, 2012). A Place Called Peculiar: Stories About Unusual American Place-Names. Courier Dover Publications. p. 30. ISBN 9780486483603. Retrieved 2013-04-19.

[5] Gudde, Erwin G. (1998). California place names : the origin and etymology of current geographical names (4th ed., rev. and enl. ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 322. ISBN 0520213165.

[6] "The Great Republic of Rough and Ready, by Arthur Winfield Knight [secession, California, CA]". theava.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2018.

[7] Salley, Harold E. (1991) History of California Post Offices, 1849–1990, p. 183. The Depot, ISBN 0-943645-27-1

[CGN-8] Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 548. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.

[:6-9] Kellar, Liz (2018-09-11). "Nevada County's 49er Fire proved a harbinger of fire seasons to come". The Union. Retrieved 2022-11-27.

[CHL-10] "Rough and Ready". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-10.

[11] "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Rough and Ready CDP". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.

[12] "Senators". State of California. Retrieved March 10, 2013.

[13] "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 2, 2013.

[14] "California's 1st Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2013.

[15] "The Great Republic of Rough and Ready performs tonight". The Union.

[16] "Rough and Ready on Death Valley Days". Internet Movie Database. December 7, 1957. Retrieved June 12, 2017.

[The_Union-17] staff, The Union (8 June 2021). "'Meet The Author' with Clark Casey". The Union. Retrieved 2021-07-27.

[18] "Author pens 'comical Gold Rush novel' about Rough and Ready". goldcountrymedia.com. Retrieved 2021-07-27.

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v t e Municipalities and communities of Nevada County, California, United States
County seat: Nevada City
Cities and towns	Grass Valley Nevada City Truckee	Nevada County map
CDPs	Alta Sierra Floriston Graniteville Kingvale‡ Lake of the Pines Lake Wildwood North San Juan Penn Valley Rough and Ready Soda Springs Washington
Unincorporated communities	Cedar Ridge Chicago Park French Corral Gaston Gold Flat Higgins Corner Hills Flat Hirschdale Lake City Mooney Flat Norden North Bloomfield North Columbia Peardale Polaris Relief Willow Valley Wolf You Bet
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Footnotes	‡This CDP also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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v t e California Gold Rush
Geology	Gold in California
People	List of people associated with the California Gold Rush Californios Chinese Americans Five Joaquins Gang Women
Culture	Oh My Darling, Clementine Mursheen Durkin
Key California Gold sites	Sutter's Mill Reading's Bar Empire Mine
Early US mining	Comstock Lode Copper mining in Michigan
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v t e Zachary Taylor
12th President of the United States (1849–1850)
Life	Hare Forest Farm 7th Infantry Regiment Cypress Grove Plantation Forts of Vincennes, Indiana Fort Harrison, Indiana Battle of Wild Cat Creek Credit Island Fort Johnson Fort Howard Fort Jesup Fort Snelling Fort Crawford 1st Infantry Regiment Fort Gardiner Fort Basinger Battle of Lake Okeechobee Army of Occupation Battle of Palo Alto Battle of Resaca de la Palma Battle of Monterrey Battle of Buena Vista Congressional Gold Medal 1848 United States presidential election 1848 Whig National Convention Zachary Taylor and slavery
Presidency	Inauguration of Zachary Taylor Mexican Cession State of Deseret Compromise of 1850 Washington Monument
Public image	Zachary Taylor National Cemetery Camp Taylor, Louisville Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park SS Zachary Taylor Taylor County, Georgia Taylor County, Iowa Taylor County, Kentucky Rough and Ready, California Taylor, Michigan Taylor Street
Family	Margaret Taylor (wife) Sarah Knox Taylor (daughter) Mary Elizabeth Bliss (daughter) Richard Taylor (son) John Taylor Wood (grandson) Zachary Taylor Wood (great-grandson) Charles Carroll Wood (great-grandson) Stuart Wood (great-great-grandson) Richard Taylor (father) Joseph Pannell Taylor (brother) Isaac Allerton Jr. (great-great-grandfather) Old Whitey (pet)
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