Smartsville’s annual Pioneer Day returns
After two years, Smartsville’s Catholic church reopened its doors again Saturday for its annual fundraiser as Pioneer Day was back in the Yuba County foothills.
Pioneer Day, in its 13th year, once again featured multiple food and entertainment vendors alongside both sides of
Smartsville Road, also known as Main Street, according to Smartsville Church Restoration Fund, Inc. President Kit
Burton.
Burton, Vice President
Kathy Smith and many other integral pieces to the town have banded together on a 20-plus year restoration of the historical former Catholic church that was once one of the centerpieces of Smartsville Road and the town of Smartsville.
The church, built for the second time in 1871, was a focal point for many of the early settlers – most of whom emigrated from Ireland for greener pastures.
Smith said during the 1800s Gold Rush period about 70 percent of the Smartsville population was Irish, which led to the building of the Church of Immaculate Conception in 1861, followed by the Smartsville Catholic church in 1871.
Smith said after the Church of Immaculate Conception burned down, the Catholic church was built on the same property and quickly became a popular venue for the area for about a century.
The church served the town until about the 1970s when the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento abandoned the Smartsville church due to low turnout and lack of a population in the area, Smith said.
It was vacant until 1998, which caused a lot of deterioration and a sloping of the church wall about 10 to 12 degrees to the right, Smith said.
“It was melting like butter,” she said.
The foundation, Smith said, was also severely damaged, while the floor and apse inside the church needed a complete renovation. It was around that time that the Smartsville Church Restoration Fund, Inc. was formed by residents of the town who wanted to see the church return to pristine form.
Smith said it was solely a grassroots campaign, where everyday citizens seeked private donations to bring in designers and people able to restore the church to the way it was in the late 1800s.
Smith said Saturday was the initial step of reintroducing the church to the public.
All day during Pioneer Day, Smith said the church was open for anyone wanting to check out the progress made over the last 20 years.
Leslie Clarkson, an Arboga resident who came up for the day to celebrate the return of Pioneer Day, said she finally got to see the church standing upright with a working bell.
“The bell tower is done, they rang it this morning,” Clarkson said Saturday from inside the church.
Clarkson said the restoration is a tribute to the town of Smartsville, which today serves about 267 people according to the latest census.
“Every single one of them was behind it,” Clarkson said.
Clarkson said there is still a lot more to be done before the church is ready to serve its current role of hosting weddings, musicals and other public events in a few years.
The public, Clarkson said, can still contribute to the restoration by purchasing an individualized brick that will remain on the property forever.
“They will use it in the construction,” Clarkson said. “Everything goes into the church.”
The apse, which Clarkson said serves as the backdrop for weddings and christenings, is one of the finished pieces inside the church.
Smith said eventually the church will serve as a visitor center open every day for anyone wanting to learn about the history of Smartsville, Timbuctoo and the Gold Rush period that once flourished in the foothills of Yuba County.
To donate to the church restoration fund, visit https:// smartsvillehistoricchurch.org or mail a check to P.O. Box 374, Smartsville, CA 95977.