39°23′17″N 121°15′18″W / 39.38806°N 121.25500°W
Frenchtown | |
|---|---|
  Frenchtown Location in California  Frenchtown Frenchtown (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 39°23′17″N 121°15′18″W / 39.38806°N 121.25500°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Yuba County |
| Elevation | 1,447 ft (441 m) |
Frenchtown is an unincorporated community in Yuba County, California. It is located on Dry Creek 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Rackerby,[2] at an elevation of 1447 feet (441 m).
The town was started by a French man named Vavasseur.[2] He built a hotel and store in 1854 at the site of Frenchtown, which soon numbered some 500 residents and had three hotels, three saloons, two blacksmith shops, a barber shop, and a bakery. However, the town was "virtually abandoned" by 1870, and by 1928 the only remains were an adobe wine cellar, a stone bridge, and an ore-processing apparatus.[3] In 1940, San Francisco attorney Thomas F. Califro bought the Frenchtown site and built a country estate there, using one of the stone rollers of the ore-processing arrastra in his front wall.[4] Today the Frenchtown area is a vacation destination, with wineries of the North Yuba AVA and country inns.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Frenchtown, Yuba County, California
- ^ a b Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 489. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ^ Chittenden, Irene (June 28, 1928). "Old Frenchtown adobe building and hidden stone bridge to be rebuilt by Aggie Club of Dry Creek Center". Oroville Mercury-Register. Oroville, CA. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Frenchtown of Gold Rush fame is being restored as modern country estate". Appeal-Democrat. Marysville, CA. November 12, 1940. Retrieved December 30, 2023.