Smartsville - Yuba-Sutter Wiki

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Smartsville is an unincorporated town in Yuba County. It is located on the south bank of the Yuba River, southeast of Mooney Flat and Timbuctoo, northwest of the Spenceville State Wildlife Area, north of Waldo Junction, northeast of Beale Air Force Base, and east of Hammonton. It has a population of 1,883 (as of a 2009 estimate). Its elevation is 669 feet. The average annual rainfall is 32.3 inches. The average high temperature in July is 87.2°, and the average low temperature in January is 31.9°.

The U.S. Postal Service lists addresses in Sucker Flat and Timbuctoo as being in Smartsville, but on the Yuba-Sutter Wiki, we prefer listing the more specific locations

Demographics

As of a July 2007 estimate, residents' median age was 43 years.

Of residents 25 or older, 87.2% had at least a high school degree, 15.7% had at least a bachelor's degree, and 6.5% had a graduate or professional degree.

Of residents 15 or older, 68.4% were married. Smartsville has the second-highest proportion of currently married residents in the Yuba-Sutter area (after Beale Air Force Base).

For employed residents, the average travel time to work was 34 minutes.

The 2008 median home price was $294,140. Smartsville has the second-highest median home price in the Yuba-Sutter area (after Loma Rica).

History

Smartsville was formerly known as Empire Ranch. It is now named for Jim Smart, who built a hotel there in 1856.¹ Similar to the name of Marysville, the name Smartsville had an "s" added after Jim Smart's name, followed by "ville," but no apostrophe was used before the "s." In 1909, U.S. Postal Service changed the name from Smartsville to Smartville, in response to an objection that the word "smarts" is a colloquial variation of the word "smart." However, in August 2008, the Board on Geographical Names restored the town to its former name "Smartsville," because the town is named for Jim Smart rather than for the word "smart."

Hydraulic mining was done extensively in Smartsville, and if had continued much longer, it would probably have washed away the land that Smartsville was built on. The bottom of the Yuba River was raised 84 feet by hydraulic mining debris that spilled into the water, and slightly downstream from Smartsville, near Hammonton, the Yuba River has adopted an entirely new channel approximately 1.5 miles northwest of its original channel. However, when hydraulic mining stopped, its absence washed away much of Smartsville's economy.

Mary McMenamin Slingsby opened a public school in Smartsville in 1873.