Smartville celebrates its history

Most communities have their own unique local festival, but one community in the Yuba County foothills particularly used its festival to make its history come alive.

Smartsville Pioneer Days, held Saturday in what is for the moment still officially known as Smartville, had the booths sporting food, arts and crafts and face-painting the most community festivals have. But two community efforts to revitalize with the community's Gold Rush roots were of particular note.

Most of the festival's booths were in the shadow of the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Built in 1871, a community group known as the Smartsville Church Restoration Fund has been rallying to restore the historical building for use as a community hall.

At the restoration fund's booth, Janet Smith said festivals like Pioneer Days are important for remembering the area's history.

"It is for this area because it's kind of declined," she said. "Events like this make people aware."

Across the street from the church, festival-goers could sign a petition for the community's other prominent effort — to convince the U.S. Board on Geographic name to officially give the community back its original "Smartsville" name. The second "s" was dropped in 1909 in what the board called a misunderstanding.

Other parts of the event had historical ties, including old-time music by the Rough and Ready Fruit Jar Pickers, self-guided tours of Smartville's historical buildings, and guided tours of the former community of Timbuctoo and the old Blue Point Mine.

"There's still enough history to save if we put our minds to it," said Philip Hoskins of Browns Valley.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Robert LaHue at 749-4713 or rlahue@appealdemocrat.com