Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Washington, CA

Washington is a tiny unincorporated census-designated place in Nevada County, tucked into a canyon on the banks of the South Yuba River about 20 miles from Nevada City.

It was founded in 1849 during the California Gold Rush by miners from Indiana and was originally called Indiana Camp, before being renamed Washington in 1850.

Washington is one of California's oldest mining towns, and the only settlement in its vicinity to survive from the Gold Rush era to the present day.

The diggings around Washington were famously rich — claims on Poorman Creek were considered poor if they did not pay an ounce of gold per man per day, and the camp drew around a thousand miners within its first year.

Placer mining gave way to hard-rock and hydraulic mines, and the town had its own Chinatown — by 1870, Chinese miners outnumbered every other group in Washington.

The Washington Hotel, built in 1857, still takes in guests today and is one of the oldest hotels in California.

A fire on August 16, 1867, destroyed almost every business in downtown Washington, but the little town rebuilt.

Washington's one-room schoolhouse educated local children continuously for more than 100 years.

The 2020 Census counted just 101 residents in Washington, down from 185 in 2010, with a median age of 59.9 — and the population swells in summer with tourists drawn to the South Yuba River.

The Brimskill Building on the town's main street is said, according to its historical marker, to be the oldest structure in Nevada County.