Historical Marker · No. 294
The Little Town of Rough and Ready
Rough and Ready, Nevada County · California
Erected by California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Rough and Ready Chamber of Commerce (May 8, 1960), 1960
The secession was about tax. In 1850 the miners here drew up articles withdrawing from the United States rather than pay a federal mining levy and submit to claim law written elsewhere, and for roughly three months the Great Republic of Rough and Ready governed itself. It rejoined in time for the Fourth of July, the story going that no saloon would serve foreigners on Independence Day. The town is named for Zachary Taylor, who never came within two thousand miles of it.
What the plaque says
Established in 1849, and named after the Rough and Ready Company of miners from Wisconsin, in honor of General Zachary Taylor, this was one of the principle towns of Nevada County. Here in 1850, articles of secession were drawn up establishing the "Republic of Rough and Ready". As a result of disastrous fires, only a few structures remain today of those built in the 1850's.
Where it stands
39.22939, -121.13881 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Empire Mine State Historic Park — 5.2 miThe oldest, deepest, richest hard-rock gold mine in California, with 367 miles of flooded tunnels underneath.
- Nevada City — 6.8 miGaslamps, brick storefronts, and the Nisenan who are still fighting to be recognized on their own ground.
- Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park — 16 miA canyon washed out of a mountain by water cannon, and the lawsuit that ended hydraulic mining.