Marysville

Marysville is the county seat of Yuba County and is nicknamed "Gateway to the Goldfields" or "California's Oldest Little City." It was incorporated as a city in 1850, when California first became a state. It is located on the east bank of the Feather River (opposite Yuba City) and the north bank of the Yuba River (opposite Linda), southwest of Browns Valley. It has a population of 12,719 (as of the 2008 California Department of Finance estimate), which is a 0.0% change from the previous year. Its total area is 3.6 square miles. Its elevation is 62 feet. The average annual rainfall is 21.5 inches. The average high temperature in July is 96.3°, and the average low temperature in January is 38.0°. The Appeal-Democrat newspaper is printed in Marysville and serves the entire Yuba-Sutter area. Radio stations KRCX-FM 99.9 (a Spanish-language station owned by Entravision Holdings, LLC) and KMYC-AM 1410 (a talk station owned by Thomas F. Huth that plays Marysville High School football and Sacramento Kings basketball) broadcast from Marysville.

Demographics

Donner Party Float in the 2009 Bok Kai Parade. Photo by queerbychoice.As of a July 2007 estimate, residents' median age was 32 years.

65.8% of residents were white and non-Hispanic, followed by 17.5% of residents who were Hispanic.

Of residents 25 or older, 73.8% had at least a high school degree, 10.9% had at least a bachelor's degree, and 3.1% had a graduate or professional degree.

Of residents 15 or older, 43.9% were married, 28.9% had never married, 14.7% were divorced, 7.7% were widowed, and 4.7% were separated.

7.4% of households were headed by unmarried partners. 0.3% of households were headed by self-identified same-sex couples.

For employed residents, the average travel time to work was 23 minutes. The most common industry for males to work in was the Construction Industry (15%). The most common industries for females to work in were Health Care (16%), Education (14%), and accommodation and food services (10%).

The 2007 median annual household income was $39,955 and 2008 median home price was $171,900. 18.9% of residents were below the poverty level in 2007, and 4.9% were below half the poverty level. The 2008 cost of living index was 96.6 (the United States average is 100).

History

Marysville was originally called Yubaville, but because the land on the west side of the Feather River had already been dubbed "Yuba City" (although it would not be officially incorporated as a city until 1908), the name Yubaville was deemed too similar to that. It was renamed Marysville for Mary Murphy Covillaud and incorporated as a city in 1850, when California first became a state. In the 19th century, Chinese immigrants nicknamed it "Third City" because it was the third city they came to after San Francisco and Sacramento.

The first City Directory of Marysville, published in 1853, described Marysville as the second most populated city in California, after San Francisco. Marysville had a population of just under 10,000 people at that time - not much smaller than its population today. But Marysville is now by far the smallest and least populated of California's seven original cities. The Levees surrounding it on all sides prevent it from expanding its geographic area.

Marysville violently drove all its Chinese residents out of town in February 1886 (as did Wheatland). It remained a sundown town (in which Chinese people and other people of color were threatened with violence if they attempted to live in the city or to remain in it after sundown) until apparently rather recently, although the policy became gradually less overtly stated in public. The Chinese-American population is still almost zero to this day, although other Asian-American people are beginning to feel comfortable living here; in particular, the significant Hmong-American Community of nearby Linda is beginning to integrate into Marysville.