Community members raising money to create a Yuba County history museum
By Kayla Moeller
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MARYSVILLE, California (KOVR) — Yuba County and Marysville have a long, rich history. Dating back to 1851, the city’s 175th birthday was just celebrated on Thursday.
Now, a group of community members is using that momentum by coming together to get a brick-and-mortar museum dedicated to the area’s history.
Neighboring Sutter County has had a history museum for more than 50 years. Now, historians and community members from Yuba County say it’s time for a museum of their own.
“It’s like a family reunion of history today,” said Judy Mann, one of the organizers.
About a dozen local historical organizations came together Saturday for a shared goal of creating a physical location to preserve Yuba County’s history.
“A lot of the historians and history buffs have wonderful, valuable stuff at home. We just have it in our garage and we’re getting older and we want to donate it to a museum and preserve it and share it with the community,” said Mann.
The Yuba County Museum of History Organization began in 2009, but it’s been inactive for years. Now, a group of passionate community members is bringing it back for a good cause.
“This is a fundraiser for the Yuba County Museum of History. And we’ve been selling memberships and raising some money here,” said Dale Whitmore, president of the Yuba County Museum of History Organization. “We have been looking at a number of different buildings. We’ve got to raise some money if we’re going to buy a building or rent a building.”
“Because what will happen to the history? If there isn’t some place people can go and learn. I’m not going to be around that much longer to tell people about it,” said Marysville resident Charlotte Mattocks, who was born and raised there. “When I was a child growing up, Marysville was the center of everything; it had all the stores, the history. It makes me very happy to see the number of people here.”
More than 100 people showed up to pan for gold, learn about the county’s history and donate money toward a museum. Organizers even dressed up in period pieces.
Among the city’s rich history is the Marysville Cemetery, which is the second-oldest cemetery west of the Mississippi. Also buried there are members of the Macy family of the Macy’s department stores.
“Marysville was very important for the state of California,” said Mann.
The organizers are still working on counting up the money fundraised, but say they’re looking to use it to hire grant writers to secure funding for a physical location.
If you’re interested in joining the effort, the group meets on the third Monday of each month at the Veterans Center in Marysville.
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