The Yuba Powerhouse was placed in service 100 years ago, on March 21, 1898. The Victorian boarding house still exists, as well as the concrete foundation structure which housed the three Pelton Wheels. Note the 42 inch penstock sloping down the hillside at right. (click for larger view)

Yuba Powerhouse

Foothill Preserve

The Yuba Powerhouse Foothill Preserve, hidden away in the natural landscape of Yuba foothills country, is a significant provider of local history information. Restoration is progressing but far from complete and already the Preserve is attracting students of history and nature.

A multi-story Victorian structure provides an 1898 ambiance throughout with an excellent view of the Sutter Buttes from it's back porch. Future plans for this unique preserve include using it for a seminar/ retreat center. Renewable lumber and sustainable agriculture projects are already underway. The Preserve's predicted destiny is to become a self-sustaining asset to California's natural and historic heritage.

The Preserve's creeks, streams and terrain provide an almost perfect riparian habitat for birds, mammals and a multitude of magnificent vegetation such as wild flowers and oak groves.

Independence Trail follows the 1859 watercourse way of the Excelsior Canal. The gently sloping trail makes possible access to the serene beauty of the Preserve by children, elderly and handicapped people. It accommodates wheelchairs.

The Yuba Powerhouse Foothill Preserve is an 80 acre site situated between the 5,700 acre University of California Sierra Foothill Field Station and the 2,300 acres controlled by the state Department of Fish and Game near Browns Valley, in the foothills of northern California. The Across California Chapter of the California Institute of Man in Nature owns the property, with hopes of linking it to an educational network of historical landscapes.

Yuba Foothill Powerhouse Preserve is a project of the Across California Chapter of the California Institute of Man in Nature. For further information / membership information or volunteer activities call
(530)272-3823 or 272-7039

Or Write:

Across California / CIMIN
P.O. Box 1026,
Nevada City, California 95959.

Help preserve and restore this crucial 80 acres for history, education, riparian, and native species habitat.

Work Party Signups, Future Tours, Educational and Research Opportunities.

Participate in a volunteer project accommodating your skill and stamina level. Give something back to California's Natural and Historical Heritage.

Nearby to the Powerhouse is the residence of the electricians and employees in charge of the plant.

The structure which will house these gentlemen in a comfortable residence of two stories, fitted up with all the appliances that go to make life pleasurable, and it is needless to state that their lives will be passed amid pleasant surroundings.