138_RE_House Detective2015_138_RE_HouseDetective_15 5/25/15 9:37 AM Page 138
R E A L
E S T A T E
N E V A D A
C O U N T Y
L I V I N G
Playing House Detective
H
OW OLD IS MY HOUSE? Who lived
in it? Is it haunted? These are some
of the questions the volunteers
at Searls Historical Library receive on a
monthly basis. There is a good chance they
will be able to answer the first two, as for
the third, not so much. They deal in facts.
One thing is for certain, you need to
begin your detective work by providing
them with a legal description of the home in
question. Such information will allow for a
much more comprehensive search.
The type of material found at Searls
Library includes maps from the 1800s that
show the type of buildings on the property,
old phone books, directories of people dating into the 1800s, an index of deeds by
person and business from 1856 to 1922.
138 N E V A D A C O U N T Y G O L D
Searls
Historical
Library
Also available on the library computer is a
copy of Grass Valley’s historical study of the
original 1872 town site. Covering one
square mile, it includes information about
older homes, such as when they were built,
and a recent photograph.
A new location has increased the library’s
space from 650 square feet to approximately 2,400 square feet. There is now
room for a collection of immigration and
naturalization records, and approximately
700 volumes of County Assessor ledgers.
The ledgers represent 100 years and go
up to 1960. The early ones include details
about personal property such as jewelry,
furniture and cattle–a great window into the
lifestyle of our pioneers.
SEARLS HISTORICAL
LIBRARY
(Nevada County Historical Society)
161 Nevada City Hwy.
Nevada City
(corner of Ridge Road)
(530) 265-5910–Call for Hours.
N E VA D A C O U N T Y G O L D . c o m
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