New Online Search - Launched May 15, 2025

Nevada County Historical Archive - Search

Enter a name, company, place or keywords to search across hundreds of thousands of pages of online items and index records. Then click "Search" (or hit Enter).
To search for an exact phrase, use "double quotes", but only after trying without quotes. To exclude results with a specific word, add dash before the word. Example: -Word.



Old Searls Search - Being Phased Out After May 15, 2025

Searls Historical Library - Catalog and Index Search

Enter a name, company, place or keyword to search across 689,660 records, using the search box. Then click "Go" (or hit Enter).

Or you can browse an index, catalog, or sub-category by choosing from one of the links below. Note that you won't be able to see the actual documents or records; these are just catalog and index entries. You can click on the "?" icons below for more information about each index, catalog, or sub-category.
  • Card Catalog (aka General Index) (265,220 records)
  • Photo Index (39,139 records)
  • Nevada City Assessment Books (74,848 records)
  • Grass Valley Assessment Books (85,142 records)
  • Obituaries Index (47,104 records)
  • Probate Court Index (16,222 records)
  • Historical Society Bulletins (5,923 records)
  • Searls Maps Index (100,147 records)
  • McGuire Maps Index (48,475 records)
  • Books, Pamphlets & Magazines (3,347 records)
  • Miscellaneous Materials (1,772 records)
  • A. A. Sargent Collection (1,431 records)
  • Research at the Searls Historical Library

    The Searls Historical Library has Nevada County's largest collection of historical artifacts and records, including over 31,000 old photos, 100,000+ property tax assessment records, 10,000+ district court transcripts, obituaries, wills and probate records, personal letters, plus over 3,000 books, diaries, ledgers, along with over 130,000 names from thousands of old maps. The Searls family of attorneys also left their early law case records, many of which are the only copies in existence. Over the years, through the dedication of many local volunteers, most of these records, including an extensive 200,000 card catalog that has been carefully indexed. While there are few documents, records or photos themselves are online, members of the public can now start to explore the last 170+ years of Nevada County, Nevada City, and Grass Valley history by searching these indexes and catalogs online.

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