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399:. The town site is accessed by the much-neglected Timbuctoo Road, which crosses a stream gulch by bridge in two places, one east and one west of town, meandering in a loop back to Highway 20. The western bridge buckled at the west end in 2008 and was unusable until replaced in 2014. Just to the east of the western bridge lies the ruins of the town's last structure: the Stewart Brothers Store/Wells Fargo Office, erected in 1855. Five miles west of the town on Highway 20 stands a historical marker. According to the 5 Miles Marker,
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the structure was restored in 1928. However, the plaque that once adorned the facade of the store/Wells Fargo office stated that it was restored in 1925. Whatever the case, the building has since been destroyed. Rumors that hoards of gold were still stored within the structure apparently motivated
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of the rivers presented. Eventually a system of levees would enclose
Marysville to combat the new threat, permanently limiting the growth of the city. Besides threatening urban communities, valuable farmland became buried under the mining debris. Farmers began to see more frequent and devastating
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Ruling in favor of the farmers, the United States
District Court in San Francisco effectively put an end to hydraulic mining in 1884. By the time the United States Congress passed an act allowing hydraulic mining to recommence (albeit only after sediment retention dams were erected), it was too
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Hydraulic mining benefited
California in three ways; it filled the state coffers, lined the pockets of mining corporations and fueled the boom of the mountain mining towns. Downstream, it was another story. Tons of sediment and detritus from the mining operations destroyed farmland and riparian
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in 1854. Unlike many of the mining camps that amounted to little more than tent shantytowns, the wealth flowing from
Timbuctoo allowed for the construction of permanent buildings of wood and brick. Aside from the usual stores and businesses, the town's amenities included a Wells Fargo office,
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land. It also changed the course of rivers in the
Sacramento Valley. Once out of the steep slopes of the hills and mountains, the river water in the valley ran slower, allowing the debris to settle. Silt began to accumulate on the bottom of the Yuba and
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rivers, making the channels significantly more shallow, which threatened to end the vital riverboat traffic and subsequent trade with
Sacramento and San Francisco. Citizens of the downstream towns and cities such as
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looters to tear down the walls in search of treasure. Now collapsed, its brick and stone remains, topped by rusty pieces of the tin roof, can be seen behind a fence erected to protect it from further vandalism.
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near its gold-bearing sandbars, yet perched high enough into the river's surrounding hills to escape flood risk, the town enjoyed its heyday in the 1850s. Founded by the gold miners working the nearby river
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The
Timbuctoo Cemetery is still in use, and dates back to 1855. It holds approximately 89 graves, most from the late 1800s and the early 20th century. It is also fenced and gated to ward off vandals.
415:, enjoying public awareness of its historical significance and widespread enthusiasm for preservation. Despite all of these factors in its favor, Timbuctoo remains today an example of a failed
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late. It was 1893; the glory days when a single miner could make his fortune, or at least support himself with pick and pan, were gone. The hydraulic mining companies had seen their
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infrastructure washed away in a severe flood in 1891, and now were limited in where they could resume. Lacking an economic foundation, the town was abandoned.
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Legend has it that the unusual name was coined by an
African American miner who panned in the area. He was said to have been from the region of
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Timbuctoo was once the largest town in eastern Yuba County. Situated strategically on the
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flood losses, and soon a legal battle erupted to stop hydraulic mining once and for all.
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California's
Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State
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Geographic Names Information System: Timbuctoo, California
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saloons, a church, hotels and a theater. The town was founded in 1855.
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468:. Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks
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by or for Gold Rush immigrants from one of those places.
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Unincorporated communities in Yuba County, California
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became alarmed at the increased risk of flooding the
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Unincorporated community in California, United States
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Unincorporated community in California, United States
498:. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 568.
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288:, at an elevation of 397 feet (121
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608:Municipalities and communities of
539:Ghost Towns of Northern California
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429:List of ghost towns in California
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877:Mining communities in California
541:. St. Paul, MN: Voyageur Press.
375:The post office closed in 1883.
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887:California Historical Landmarks
393:California Historical Landmark
317:A post office opened in 1858.
245:California Historical Landmark
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391:Timbuctoo is registered as a
156:Show map of the United States
153:Timbuctoo (the United States)
573:Timbuctoo California website
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563:Timbuctoo historical marker
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411:Timbuctoo was once a minor
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23:Timbuctoo (disambiguation)
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872:Ghost towns in California
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568:Yubaroots.com: Timbuctoo
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274:unincorporated community
234:397 ft (121 m)
75:Unincorporated community
611:Yuba County, California
537:Varney, Philip (2001).
284:. It lies northwest of
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185:39.21694°N 121.31861°W
123:Show map of California
120:Location in California
46:39.21694°N 121.31861°W
696:Challenge–Brownsville
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850:United States portal
190:39.21694; -121.31861
51:39.21694; -121.31861
21:For other uses, see
321:Origins of the name
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531:Additional sources
413:tourist attraction
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252:Reference no.
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781:Strawberry Valley
548:978-0-89658-442-6
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470:. Retrieved
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806:Ghost towns
776:Sicard Flat
738:communities
726:Smartsville
721:Plumas Lake
626:County seat
522:Varney 2001
472:October 18,
466:"Timbuctoo"
286:Smartsville
278:Yuba County
225:Yuba County
188: /
176:121°19′07″W
49: /
37:121°19′07″W
866:Categories
829:Horstville
819:Greenville
766:Oak Valley
761:Frenchtown
716:Olivehurst
651:Marysville
633:Marysville
435:References
397:ghost town
357:Marysville
339:New Jersey
302:Yuba River
282:California
215:California
173:39°13′01″N
34:39°13′01″N
824:Hammonton
786:Timbuctoo
756:Challenge
711:Loma Rica
686:Beale AFB
656:Wheatland
270:Timbuctoo
231:Elevation
147:Timbuctoo
114:Timbuctoo
67:Timbuctoo
796:Woodleaf
423:See also
419:effort.
361:shoaling
335:New York
327:Timbuktu
701:Dobbins
352:Feather
345:Decline
296:History
201:Country
746:Arboga
643:Cities
545:
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272:is an
221:County
706:Linda
379:Today
370:flume
329:, in
211:State
678:CDPs
543:ISBN
500:ISBN
474:2012
337:and
331:Mali
292:).
276:in
255:320
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290:m
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
