The Building:

The building was constructed by Niles Searls, across the street from the County Courthouse in 1872. At the time that Niles Searls built his office, the City had been repeatedly ravaged by fires caused by the use of flimsy construction materials and the necessity of open flame lighting and heating of the buildings.  Lanterns, candles, and oil lamps were the only options for lighting and wood and coal stoves and fireplaces were the only options for heating and cooking in the rough and tumble early days of Nevada County and in fact in all of the developing west.

Niles Searls built his building in the “Gold Rush Style.” The walls are of brick, 14” thick. The ceiling is comprised of layers of materials starting on the inside with plaster, above that are wood planks, over which was laid a bed of sand and bricks. The pitched roof was added to allow for run-off of water and snow. Wrought iron shutters were installed to protect the door and windows from the frequent fires. This in effect created a brick vault. The lighting was by gas lamps mounted on the walls and two chimneys for stoves were installed. Electricity was eventually installed  for lighting and office machines. After the Society acquired the building, electric heaters were installed in the two main rooms.

The building withstood the ravages of fire, weather and man for over 100 years while protecting the records of the Searls' legal office.  Now it also protects the archives of the Nevada County Historical Society.

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The Searls Family:

Attorney Niles Searls, came from New York to the gold rush of California and soon found the need for competent attorneys more lucrative and interesting to him than the actual search for gold.  His ability as an attorney was shown with his steady rise through the ranks of the legal profession.  He became Judge Searls and served on the County bench, the District benches and was appointed to the State Supreme Court.  In 1897 he became Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court.

Following in the footsteps of their famous forefather, Fred Searls, Fred Searls, Jr., and Carroll Searls entered the field of law. Eventually the descendents found their work took them farther and farther away from their hometown. Carroll Searls was an attorney for the Newmont Mining Company and had offices in San Francisco and New York.

Following the death of Carroll, his widow, Elyse, arranged to have the office building established as a museum of law under the auspices of the Historical Society. The building was given over and the Searls Historical Library was born.

For more than 25 years, the front room of the building was set up as a law museum while the Society’s collection of Nevada County historical documents, photographs, books, maps and original records expanded.

Several years ago, the effects of time were beginning to show in the interior of the building. One area of the floor was severely damaged by wood rot and the front room floor was found to be a haven for a colony of termites. The termites had eaten away floorboards and were working their way up the lath of the lath and plaster walls. A major repair was required.

The repairs to the building necessitated the closing of the library for several months, and the removal of materials and furnishings. During this time, the collection was reviewed, and the bookcases, which were original to the building, were remodeled. The front office still resembles the law office, but now more efficiently houses the materials of the Society’s collection.

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The Collection:

Photo sample page

The sample page represents only a very small part of the collection but it provides instructions on how to order reproductions online and from the larger collection.

Currently there are approximately 2500 printed books on Nevada County and early California history. Approximately 960 maps, an estimated 10,000 photographs and countless original manuscripts and documents are held in the collection and housed in the 650 sq. ft. building.

Other materials are stored at the Foley Library around the corner, through the graciousness of the County Library system, but space there is becoming more and more in demand, and the Society needs to plan for the future of their items stored there.

The recent addition of the McGuire Survey Company map collection (estimated at 5-10,000 individual maps) and the Peter van der Pas book, periodical and document collection have strained the facility to bursting.  The van der Pas items are being moved to the building as they are catalogued. The McGuire collection is being sorted and cataloged at another location and will never fit into the current building for lack of space.

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The People:

Over the years of its life, the Searls Library has been blessed with a good number of dedicated volunteers who have cataloged and preserved the collection while helping the general public and many authors alike. The current chief librarian, Edwin Tyson, has been acknowledged as the “county historian” by the Board of Supervisors and has spent nearly 30 years as a volunteer at the Searls. Ed is now training several volunteers who keep the facility open to the public and help with research.

Prior to Ed’s term as director, the library was manned by local author, and librarian, Doris Foley, who is noted for her biography of Lola Montez and guide books to the Nevada County area.

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The Future:

Ed Tyson, the Director of the Searls, has declared that this is now the finest collection of historical data available in Northern California except for the California State Library’s history collection and the U.C. Berkeley’s Bancroft Library.

The Society has determined that a critical need exists for a new building which would house a headquarters for the Society, a new much larger home for the Searls Library collection, and provide warehousing for the Books Division and for artifacts not currently on display at the Firehouse #1 Museum, the Transportation Museum or the North Star Power House Mining Museum - all of which are operated by the Society in buildings owned by their respective cities.

To this end, the Board of Directors has established a “Building Fund” and transferred a good portion of their general fund into it. The sale of the Searls building will be necessary for the acquisition of the new facility, but the name of Searls Historical Library will be continued as an acknowledgment of the valuable work of this historically important family of attorneys and their donation of the first building actually owned by the Society which has protected the archives of the County for more than 30 years.

Donations to the Building Fund are tax deductible and may be sent to the Nevada County Historical Society, P.O. Box 1300, Nevada City, California 95959.  Please note on your check “Building Fund Donation.”

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The Nevada County Historical Society
Grass Valley, Nevada City & Surrounding Areas
in the heart of the CALIFORNIA's Gold Country
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