In 1844 the area later to become Marysville started as a land grant to Theodore Cordua from the Mexican government and began as a trading post in the remote and wild west. He called the area New Mecklenburg. Since he himself was a transplant from Mecklenburg Germany. But the greater area was know as the Cordura Ranch.

In 1848, Charles Covillaud, a former employee of Cordua, discovered riches in the gold fields and bought half of the Cordua ranch.  Charlies Covillaud married Mary Murphy, a survivor of the ill fated Donnor party. Who Marysville was named after.

During the Gold Rush, the ranch became a stopping point for the riverboats from Sacramento and San Francisco that brought prospectors to the digging grounds.

Marysville grew as a miners’ supply depot and collection point.

By 1853, Marysville’s tent city had been replaced by brick buildings, mills, iron works, machine shops and factories. Schools, churches and two daily newspapers had brought ‘civilization’ to Marysville. The population was nearing 10,000. Marysville prospered during the Gold Rush era, becoming one of the largest cities in California. In 1857 alone, over $10 million in gold was shipped from Marysville’s banks to the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. Before the end of the 1800’s, Marysville had become one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cites in the state of California.  There is so muc more to learn about the history of this locale. Other than the rest of this website, another great place to research is  the Mary Arron Museum. https://maryaaronmuseum.com/museum-record-archives/