BlockBefore
Photograph of Empire Mine State Historic Park
Photograph by Beej71, CC BY 2.5. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Empire Mine

Built in 1975. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1888.

From the record

“Empire Mine State Historic Park is a state-protected mine and park in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Grass Valley, California, U.S. The Empire Mine is on the National Register of Historic Places, a federal Historic District, and a California Historical Landmark.”

Wikipedia article Empire Mine State Historic Park, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 22 National Register listings published here for Nevada County · listed in 1977 · category: District · built in 1975.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • Address. SE of Grass Valley at 338 E. Empire St., Grass Valley, 95945
  • When was it listed? December 1977
  • Category. district
  • Census division. Grass Valley
  • When was it built? 1975
  • National Register reference number. 77000318 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1888 to 1998

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Empire Mine, surveyed 1998
Topographic sheet covering Empire Mine, surveyed 1888

Fires near this property

917 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 917 fires within 5 miles of Empire Mine between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,170 acres in total. 15 started naturally. 37 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/undetermined369
Debris and open burning230
Equipment and vehicle use148
Misuse of fire by a minor47
Arson/incendiarism37
Smoking36
Power generation/transmission/distribution24
Natural15
Recreation and ceremony9
Other causes2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2019Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitSNMH CRISIS STABILIZATION
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionGOLDEN
9 September 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictTHORNICROFT
9 September 2000Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCentral California DistrictADAMS
9 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitCAREY
8 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1886
7 September 2020Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitHWY 20 / DORSEY DR
7 September 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitHARD

Every fire recorded in Nevada County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 938 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 938 workings within 5 miles of Empire Mine: 511 past producers, 316 occurrences, 76 unknowns, 20 producers. 20 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Silver, Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
BrunswickGold, Zinc, Lead, Copper, SilverPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Bullion ConGold, Lead, TungstenPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite, Scheelite
Canada HillGold, Silver, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Antimony, Arsenic, TinPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Stibnite
Champion Con QtzGold, Silver, Copper, Lead, ZincPast ProducerUnderground
Chicago Park Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Empire StarGold, Lead, Arsenic, ZincUnknown
Gold HillGold, Copper, Lead, ZincPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Grass Valley DistrictTungsten, GoldProducer1915
Green LodeGold, Lead, SilverPast ProducerUnknown
MountaineerGold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, CopperPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Gold, Pyrite

Every working recorded in Nevada County

Maps showing this location

13 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the middle of the area the National Park Service maps for this listing, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

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 PropertyDistance Listed
Grass Valley Public Library1.3 miles1992
Mount St. Mary's Academy and Convent1.5 miles1974
North Star House1.8 miles2011
Nevada Theatre4.3 miles1973
National Exchange Hotel4.3 miles1973
Nevada Brewery4.3 miles1985

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 77000318 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Nevada CountyAll 22 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.