Yuba Feather Hills, part of the Images of America series published by Arcadia Press, is an absolutely wonderful historical outline of the Yuba County communities between Marysville and the Sierra Nevadas. The Yuba and Feather Rivers flank a rugged portion of the Sierra Nevada as they rush south. Gold in creeks and streams here attracted thousands of treasure hunters who panned, dug, or scoured the hills with hydraulic jets of water.

At the height of the rush, mule teams loaded with supplies and stagecoaches filled with miners passed through every few minutes, heading from Marysville or Oroville to the high Sierra camps. Thriving towns sprang up along the way, one boasting five hotels and seven saloons. Later others came to log the massive pine and fir or make their home in a land they valued for its beauty.

Ten towns survive today. Although siblings at birth, over the last 150 years, each has developed a unique character and charm. Drawing from public and private collections, as well as the museum’s extensive archives, Mossinger has carefully selected and annotated over 200 photographic treasures documenting such towns as Brownsville, Challenge, Clipper Mills, Dobbins, Forebestown, La Porte, Oregon House, Rackerby, Strawberry Valley, and Woodleaf. All these communities share a common and dear heritage in the Gold Rush of the 19th century, yet over the last 150 years, each have developed a unique character and charm.

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