Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1888.
“Ott's Assay Office is a historic assay office located at 130 Main Street in Nevada City, California. The building was constructed in 1851 as a drug store; James J.”
Wikipedia article Ott's Assay Office, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 22 National Register listings published here for Nevada County · listed in 1975 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The ground this property stands on, surveyed 112 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 716 fires within 5 miles of Ott's Assay Office between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,496 acres in total. 12 started naturally. 29 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 286 |
| Debris and open burning | 168 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 115 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 36 |
| Smoking | 35 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 29 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 19 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 13 |
| Natural | 12 |
| Other causes | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2019 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | SNMH CRISIS STABILIZATION |
| 9 September 2000 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Central California District | ADAMS |
| 9 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | CAREY |
| 8 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 1886 |
| 7 September 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | HWY 20 / DORSEY DR |
| 7 September 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | 5 MILE |
| 7 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8.0 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | PASQUALE |
| 6 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 789 workings within 5 miles of Ott's Assay Office: 398 past producers, 282 occurrences, 89 unknowns, 11 producers. 11 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Copper, Silver. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick | Gold, Zinc, Lead, Copper, Silver | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Canada Hill | Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Antimony, Arsenic, Tin | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Stibnite | |
| Champion Con Qtz | Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | Underground | |
| Empire Star | Gold, Lead, Arsenic, Zinc | Unknown | ||
| Gold Hill | Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Grass Valley District | Tungsten, Gold | Producer | 1915 | |
| Green Lode | Gold, Lead, Silver | Past Producer | Unknown | |
| Hussey | Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Mountaineer | Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Gold, Pyrite | |
| Murchie | Gold, Lead, Copper, Silver, Zinc | Past Producer | Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Nevada City, the town this property stands in, in 9 storm reports between 2013 and 2025: 5 flood, 3 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2017 | Flood | Nevada City | $3,560,000 | HWY 49 was closed north of Nevada City, from Newtown Rd. to Tyler Foote Rd. due to multiple slip outs. |
| December 2016 | Flood | Nevada City | $30,000 | Roadway flooding was reported in Nevada County as creeks went over their banks. This also included flooding into a downtown Nevada City garage and into residential backyards. |
| February 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nevada City | $10,000 | A power outage in Nevada City affected 1,278 customers on the east side of Hwy 20 and another 54 on Cement Hill. |
| December 2025 | Flood | Nevada City | - | California Highway Patrol reported a mud and rock slide on N Bloomfield Road between Wet Hill and Highway 49 from heavy rain. |
| February 2024 | Flood | Nevada City | - | California Highway Patrol reported completely flooded roads along Highway 49 northbound at State Route 20. |
| September 2019 | Heavy Rain | Nevada City | - | The public reported mud and rocks in the roadway on highway 49 between Nevada City on the South Yuba River. Time is estimated by radar. |
| September 2019 | Flood | Nevada City | - | The local news paper reported that multiple members of the public were sending in reports of localized street flooding in Nevada City. This particular point does not necessarily reflect the exact location of flooding and the time of this report is based on radar and observations. |
| December 2016 | Heavy Rain | Nevada City | - | An emergency manager in Nevada City reported heavy rain, 7.26 over 24 hours. |
| September 2013 | Heavy Rain | Nevada City | - | Showers developed in a southwest to northeast line from southwest of Stockton area to northeast of Quincy. Trained spotters reported 1.50 of heavy rainfall as convective showers trained over the area all day long on Sept 2nd. Flooding was reported at 10:43 am PST along Highway 49 in Alta Sierra. Flooding was also reported at 10:46 am PST along Highways 49 and 20 in Nevada City. Rain continued through the early morning Sept. 3rd. |
United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | National Exchange Hotel | under 500 feet | 1973 |
 | Nevada City Free Public Library | under 500 feet | 1990 |
 | Nevada Brewery | 0.1 miles | 1985 |
 | Nevada City Downtown Historic District | 0.1 miles | 1985 |
 | Nevada City Firehouse No. 2 | 0.2 miles | 1974 |
 | Nevada Theatre | 0.2 miles | 1973 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 75000447 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Nevada County | All 22 listed properties in this county. |
Block
