Downie was a Scotsman who had led an expedition of nine miners, seven of them African American men, up the North Fork of the Yuba River in the Autumn of 1849.

[5] At the present site of the town they struck rich gold, built a log cabin, and settled in to wait out the winter.

[7] In 1850 John Craycroft & Company constructed a log building, which had a 70 foot bar made from a rip-sawed board.

The Northern Mines area of the gold rush had a number of mining camps with colorful names, such as Brandy City (originally known as Strychnine City),[11] Whiskey Diggins, Poverty Hill, Poker Flat, and Camptonville.

There were 225 housing units at an average density of 70.6 per square mile (27.3/km2), of which 102 (69%) were owner-occupied, and 45 (31%) were occupied by renters.

[16] Federally, Downieville is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.

The renowned "Downieville Downhill" singletrack trail has a 4,400 feet (1,300 m) drop over its 17 miles (27 km) length.

The town of Downieville is the meeting location for many whitewater water rafting trips on the North Yuba River both privately and commercially.

The Downieville Museum is in an 1852 stone building that was originally a general store, among other things, and was eventually donated to the city by its owner J.M.B.

With original iron doors and window shutters, it first housed a store that was built and operated by the Meroux family, whose gravestones are displayed prominently at the old Downieville cemetery.

The museum displays local artifacts, historic items, pioneer portraits, and vintage photographs depicting the life of this community over 160 years, from its Gold Rush origins to the present day.

They include Forest Service campgrounds, motels, bed and breakfast inns, rental cabins and backcountry campsites.

The paper began in 1853 as a twice-per-month publication; its claim to fame is that Mark Twain once wrote there under his real name, Sam Clemens.

[26] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), 99.83% of it land and 0.17% of it water.