Historic
Rough & Ready Cemetery
Stagecoach Road, Rough and Ready
Searching for gold was not uncommon in Nevada County in 1849. Nor was it uncommon to find a small group of Eastern men doing such. What is interesting is one particular group were called the Rough and Ready Company by their leader, Captain A. A. Townsend. He had named them after Old Rough And Ready General Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States.
This little town has some of the most interesting history, and perhaps some of the wildest stories around. On April 7, 1850, the townspeople decided to secede from the Union. They were now the Great Republic of Rough and Ready. What a sad day it was, however, when the Fourth of July rolled around and they could not celebrate as they were no longer citizens of the U.S.A. So, they immediately rejoined the Union.
Today, Rough and Ready continues to grow with homes, ranches and small family farms. The town maintains a Post Office and small store plus a few other tiny businesses. For many years, people traveling from Grass Valley to Marysville and Yuba City, would travel through Rough and Ready on the Rough and Ready Hwy. Then the State put in the new Hwy 20 and little Rough and Ready was bypassed, but hardly forgotten.
More photographs of Rough & Ready township on following pages.
For additional information and photographs on charming Historic Rough and Ready, please visit:
Rough and Ready Chamber of Commerce
See next page for map and driving instructions.