Smartsville, restored
Town works to renovate landmark church and preserve history in the process
Even though the main road has been freshly paved, Smartsville is off the beaten path in the Yuba County foothills and residents have pride and sense of community.
The town, which the 2010 Census said had 177 residents, has an old Catholic church as its centerpiece that a group has been working to restore for more than 20 years.
“What were doing now is working on the getting estimates for the restoration of the entire property,” said Kit Burton. “Contractors are giving us estimates and they have questions and that makes us think — it’s a little surprising that there’s so much we didn’t know about but it’s turning out to be a rather thorough job.”
Every year in April, Burton and a handful of others with the Smartsville Church Restoration Fund host Pioneer Day, an event that showcases the town and its Gold Rush-era history.
Historicorps, a national nonprofit that helps preserve historic structures, worked on the church’s bell tower in April and May.
“Ned and Carol Spieker, owners of Saddleback Ranch in Yuba County, generously pledged a donation of half of the expected construction cost of the bell tower, providing we could raise the other half,” Burton said earlier this year. “We have the opportunity to find out just where we are for the total amount of money needed to restore the whole thing.”
Deanna Evango set up a booth for Pioneer Day to sell cotton candy and snow cones for the fundraising effort.
“I grew up in Smartsville and knew some of the Magonigal family,” she said. “I heard all the stories about how their family made their way across the country and settled in the Smartsville area.”
Growing up in Smartsville in the 70s, Evango eventually moved away for more than 20 years but returned about a decade ago wanting to get back to living the country lifestyle.
“I got tired of the big city and wanted to get back to living with real people in the woods,” she said. “I had no idea what I was blessed with here.”
She moved next door to the Smartsville Church, helps with the annual Pioneer Day and is on the Smartsville Cemetery board.
“It’s great to see this place (the church) coming together,” she said.
“There are lots of cemeteries in Smartsville, many that people don’t even know exist, and we want to get them spruced up so people go and see them.”
Ethan Phillips, an Oroville resident who is originally from Loma Rica, stopped by the Smartsville Church on Saturday morning to get a look at some plaques and check on the restoration.
Phillips is the grand trustee of the Native Sons of the Golden West John Bidwell Parlor so he values the preservation of history.
“I dropped by here on a lark on my way to Grass Valley and Nevada City and it’s great to see the progress on the church,” he said. “History is a funny thing — sometimes it’s harsh and cold and other times it’s fun.”
Part of his work with the Native Sons of the Golden West allows Phillips to connect with other groups and help keep the area’s history alive.
“You have to keep history alive because forgetting it is how you don’t learn your lesson and repeat it,” he said. “Gold Rush history is very interesting especially the people who came here and if we don’t preserve it, we will lose it.”
Hilda Biffle has lived in Smartsville for the past 11 years and tends to the Smartsville Community Church, a working church a few doors down from the historic Catholic church.
“I definitely love Smartsville and I live across from the church so it’s convenient for me to help out,” she said. “I take care of the janitorial services for the church, make the calendar and get things like coffee set up and ready to go.”
She and her husband came to the area and lived with her parents and she decided to stay after losing her husband in 2013.
“It’s really nice up here and they recently paved the road through town,” she said. “It’s almost hard getting use to the fresh blacktop but it’s wonderful that we have a nice, new road.”
The two-mile Black Swan Trail, which encircles the Black Swan Pond that’s remnant of historic hydraulic mining operations, is located east of town off Mooney Flat Road.
Brian Bisnett purchased more than 900 acres in 2009 and set aside several hundred acres for the Black Swan Preserve.
“It’s been stressful, a challenge and has taken way longer than I ever imagined it would. But it has been the most rewarding, exciting project I’ve ever been associated with in my life,” Bisnett told The Union in 2012. “It’s nice to know that people will finally have access to it.”
Bear Yuba Land Trust, a private, non-profit, community-supported organization, helped with the creation of the Black Swan Preserve.