● In September 1849 the first sermon was preached in Grass Valley by Reverend Isaac Owens, [1] the preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a circuit rider from Indiana who responded to the call from the Mission Board for missionaries in California.
● In 1850, a settler named George McKnight discovered gold in a quartz rock called Gold Hill and then the real boom began. [2]
● The Cornish people from Cornwall, England were the most sought after miners because they were considered the world's most accomplished and skillful hardrock miners [3]. The Cornish were overwhelmingly Methodists. It was common for the Cornish mine superintendent to also serve as Sunday School superintendent. The Cornish formed choirs that sang their unique carols with a rough but heartfelt harmony [4]. Much of this caroling tradition still carries on today during the Christmas holiday season in Grass Valley. [5]
● There exists no authenticated record of the activities of Jews in California prior to 1849. During that year, they were attracted by the discoveries of gold where large numbers of them ventured into the new El Dorado, scattering over the entire area of the gold-fields.
● The church first said to have been established in Grass Valley was by Owens in 1852. Owens was instrumental in founding the Wesleyan College which became California's first chartered institution of higher education [6], which is known today as the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.[7]
Downtown Grass Valley in 1880
● The first pastor of the Grass Valley and Rough and Ready Methodist congregations was R. R. Dunlap, who came to California from Missouri to take the position of the preacher. Isaac Owens was appointed Presiding Elder.
● The Rough and Ready Methodist congregation broke away from Grass Valley and formed its own church in February 1854.
● With the influx of Cornish hard rock miners into the area, the Grass Valley church grew rapidly, and in June 1872, construction of a magnificent new building began.
● The Roman Catholic Diocese was incorporated on November 24th, 1897. In this diocese had 2 orphanages in Grass Valley providing for 100 boys and 123 girls. Grass Valley had 1 church and 1 priest with 6,250 members.[8] There is only one existing Roman Catholic Church in Grass Valley today.
● The Church of Christ building on Whiting Street was built in the 1930's when it was still common to ride in flat wagons.[9]
● The era of the 1960s marked by peace, war, “free love” and protests brought in a mindset to Grass Valley that would settle in to the minds and hearts of the people today. Nevada County, the county which Grass Valley rests, is best known for the “spirit” of the area in which people often refer to Grass Valley as the new-age center.
● In the 1970s a group from the Whiting Street Church of Christ split off and formed the Florence Avenue Church of Christ. They were an anti-orphan home, non-fund pooling group. They felt Whiting St group were too "liberal" with their views on how one could raise funds and gather support from other church fellowships. That group has dwindled down over these past three decades and recently they sold their building and re-joined Whiting Street. All of the original members pretty much were dead or moved on. [9]
● The second split 1980s when the group that left formed the Indian Springs School church. They actually split over some disagreements about leadership and various personality conflicts. They also dwindled down to just a few families and are now with Whiting Street. The current unity has helped a lot with the community image. [9]
● Whiting St. is the only "Church of Christ" other than Nevada City Fellowship which was established through a Whiting Street planting just recently. [9]
[1] “Nevada County Timeline: Events in Nevada County History” 3 Dec. 2007.
http://www.ncgold.com/goldrushtown/TimelineForNC_GV.html
http://www.ncgold.com/goldrushtown/TimelineForNC_GV.html
[2] “Western Mining History: Reliving the industrial Revolution of the West” 3 Dec. 2007.
http://www.westernmininghistory.com/towns/california/grass-valley
http://www.westernmininghistory.com/towns/california/grass-valley
[3] Noy, Gary. “The Cornish in Grass Valley” 15 Nov. 2007.
http://www.sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/docs/galleries/history/communities/cornish.htm
http://www.sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/docs/galleries/history/communities/cornish.htm
[4] Noy, Gary. “The Cornish in Grass Valley.” 15 Nov. 2007.
http://www.sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/docs/galleries/history/communities/cornish.htm
http://www.sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/docs/galleries/history/communities/cornish.htm
[8] Herbermann, Charles George. “The Catholic Encyclopedia: an international work of reference on the
constitution, doctrine, disciline, and history of the Catholic Church. Vol. XIII. The Encyclopedia Press,
Inc.:1918.
constitution, doctrine, disciline, and history of the Catholic Church. Vol. XIII. The Encyclopedia Press,
Inc.:1918.
[9] Email from Eli Hooper dated Dec. 10, 2007. Subject: History of the Grass Valley Church of Christ.
