Smartsville & Timbuctoo

Historic Markers #320 & #321
Tours Available by Appt.

Historic Gold Rush Town
In 1855, Timbuctoo was the largest of Yuba County’s mining towns, with a church, theater, stores, hotels, saloons, a Wells Fargo office and a Steward Brothers store which was restored in 1928 and dedicated to the town’s pioneer men and women. The historic plaque is located on Hwy 20, on Timbuctoo Rd one mile west of Smartsville. The first building at Smartsville was built in the spring of 1856 by James Smart, a hotel proprietor during the gold rush days. The U.S. Post Office call the town Smartville, creating a long running debate; Smartville or Smartsville? On August 14, 2008 after a nearly 100-year-long battle, the United States Board on Geographic Names unanimously voted to add the “s” to the town of Smartsville. The Church of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1861 and the Union Church was built in 1863. The Smartsville Cemetery can be seen on the hillside.

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