Iowa Hill formally known as Iowa City is a semi ghost town at one time that had the potential to become the state capitol of California and almost did. The town resides in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at an elevation of about 2861' and is well cut off from the rest of the world. Today about 200 people live up around this town on the offbeat roads that traverse this steep terrain in the Tahoe National Forest. Most of the residents whom live in Iowa hill rely completely on generators and solar energy for power. The first telephone line came to the area in 1955 which ran between Iowa Hill and Colfax below. The line was put in by local residents led by Robert F. Yonash but after tend years it was neglected becoming in operational. In fact the line snapped over the American River Canyon. When 2011 rolled around land line service was once again established using microwave towers. More then like this is why this town never grows due to its seclusion and the lack of modernization. 

One can speculate that the miners who founded the town named it after the state they emigrated from Iowa! Before the first pioneers came to the area it was the natives who had village sites along the Divide as the American River provided fresh water, fish and drew in game. If you were to walk around the forest of Iowa Hill you might even find a few mortars or grinding rocks left behind where berries and herbs were crushed to make food or medicine. Not many folks realize this but Iowa Hill is an ancient place as a matter in fact it kind of serves as a gateway to the Placer Big Trees Grove. The area has been hit hard by fires time and time again you can see areas to the northeast within the Tahoe National Forest that simply are charred for miles. When the pioneers came here this wilderness killed them and today the threat is always present as Iowa Hill has had years of hardships such as windstorms, fires, floods, snowstorms and even landslides. 

In 1851 gold was discovered at Iowa Hill by a group of prospectors high above the American River. When gold was discovered at Coloma California in 1848 many of the miners began following the folks of the river. Gold could be picked right out of the rivers shorelines as the miners followed the bank northbound higher up into the sierras. The Placer gold came from high up on cliffs caused by rains and snow melt as it was carried into the river and many local tributaries. Other major strikes were made in the region transpired in Nevada City, Dutch Flat, Sierra City, Sierraville, Foresthill, Last Chance, Deadwood, Michigan Bluff, Mormon Island, Salmon Falls and many more. Miners would follow rivers, creeks and climb the steep sierras in search of gold. When it was discovered or word had gotten out it drew in allot of emigrants who were looking to strike it rich sometimes even forming camps like the one that begin in Iowa Hill.

When Iowa Hill first was discovered all it had is a tent and three log cabins but almost over night it had grown into a town in 1853 especially at the time a post office had been operable in 1854. A newspaper stated that 80 hours were being constructed and within nine months of the camp being discovered about 138 buildings faced Main Street. Miners were honey combing the mountains when in 1853 the first legal claim was established which was known as the Jamison Mine. They drift mined it for a few years then later on began hydraulically mining it. Eventually hydraulic mining would be outlawed because it dumped allot of debris and silt into the American River which in turn would end up in the San Francisco Bay each year. A short time after the North Star Mine was established as a matter in fact it was the first in the state to use a stamp mill to break up cemented gravel extracted from a mine. The Gleeson and Big Dipper Mines came later but those were also big gold producers in the towns hey day. 

The town grew into a small city it had numberous Fraternal Lodges, Methodist Church, Catholic Church, Temperance Hall, Post Office, Saloons, Dance Hall, Masonic Hall, IOOF Lodge, Bowling Alleys, Billiard Halls, Clothing Store, Three Large Grocery Stores, Gambling Hall, Fire hall, Four Hotels, Five Dry Good Stores, Butch Shops, Four Cemeteries, Tinware Store, Two Hardware Stories, Soda Factory, Brewery, Public School and Theatre all by 1861 during the American Civil War. By 1867 almost 100 thousand dollars a week in gold production was transpiring making this a very wealthy boom town of its day.  I read as many as 10 thousand people lived in Iowa Hill it was this large city all throughout the woods and divide. In its hey day daily stages ran from Illnoistown (now Colfax) which connected with stage lines to Dutch Flat and Auburn California. It was the Post Office which changed the name from Iowa City to Iowa Hill in 1901 as this once booming town severely declined due to numerous fires and the closure of the local mines. 

Some people believe the town was cursed but today its also known as "The Town That Refused To Die" despite numerous tragedies, mining accidents, fires, floods, winter storms and hardships. For example in 1857 a fire nearly burned down the entire town journals state that all that was left from this fire is cinders and piles of smoldering ash. That fire was in fact so horrific it burnt down the entire town in a few hours. But the residents were resilient and they would rebuild some say it was constructed out of the ashes to be even more majestic then the original town. But this may have been attributed to success in hydraulic mining the region which means more revenue for the town to grow considerably. By 1880 the production value in Iowa City was up to $20 Million dollars. The town also had its own China Town as they also played a large role in the towns success because many of the Chinese were very hardworking miners that did not work for as much pay. Their was a Chinese Cemetery its long gone after the gold rush many Chinese families exhumed there loved ones to be brought back to China. You might see a few piles of rocks or empty shallow graves not to far from the Catholic Cemetery just outside of town. 

At the same time many other camps rose up in the area surrounding Iowa Hill. These camps were just smaller settlements found in nearby canyons particularly along the American River and in Indian Canyon. Some of those short lived-camps were Independence Hill, Bird's Flat, Elizabeth Town, Wolverine, Grizzly Flat, Montana Flat, Strawberry Flat, Monona, Damascus, Euchre Bar, Stephen's Hill, Mumfort Bar, Succor Flat, Roach Hill, Fords Bar, Humbug Bar, Euchre Bar, Succor Flat, Mineral Bar, Yankee Jim's, Morning Star, Sugar Pine, Italian Bar, French Bar and many more. These camps did not last they were small operations and gold producers but they became absorbed the growth of Iowa City at the time. Today most of the camps are gone but you can see signs of early mining and old bridges at some of them like in the case with Yankee Jims and Mineral Bar nearby. Hence why I decided to visit a few of these notable sites so our viewers can feel out the remoteness surrounding this once booming town. If you were a miner in one of these camps it was quite the trek up into the mountains to get to town for supplies but most pioneers never had a choice. Some camps did burn down also which led them to have no choice but to move onto other mining towns in the sierras nearby. Most of the smaller camps were along the American River and since they no longer exist today people camp at them perhaps even do some gold panning. 

Today if your daring enough you can take the old stage route to the top of Iowa Hill where the town remains today. But first and foremost you need to know a few things yes its paved no the road does not have hardly any guard rails. At times the road does get narrow and their are hairpin turns high up on the cliffs of the American River below. Therefore you do have to pay attention because their are blind spots around the curves and I would hate to see anybody get hurt taking there families here for a picnic.  I have seen allot of youtube videos, blogs and postings talking about this road. So let me give you my own two cents being that I spend a good portion of my life up in the sierras adventuring. Despite what websites say this is not the steepest, narrowest nor most treacherous road in the state of California. However, it is a very breathtaking, scenic and thrilling ride to get to Iowa Hill. You do not need an SUV or Jeep to get here perhaps at one time before the road was paved you did but for the most part its a very safe road to take as long as your paying attention. If you do not you could end up going off a cliff and dying so make sure you check road conditions before heading up high above the river canyon. The fact that hydraulic mining washed away entire mountains, eroded the cliffs and nearly washed away the road leading up here its amazing that today you can navigate it.

Their was not many ways to get into town yeah you had your stage route but you also had to have wagon trails leading to some of the camps along the American River. One of them was called the Steven's Trail. Allot more pioneers preferred to take the Steven's Trail over the road from Colfax to Iowa Hill this is because it was less steep and a short distance to travel. Steven's would charge a toll I believe it was 25 cents for those on foot, 50 cents for those traveling via horse and 40 cents for each stock animal. The trail traveled for about seven miles dropping 1,100' in elevation from the bottom of the Foresthill Divide where the American River flows all the way to Iowa Hill. The early residents of this boomtown utilized this toll road all the way up until the late 1800s. Then nearly for thirty years it seen very little use until the 1930's where it once again was being utilized. Allot of miners used the trail to get access to the river to pan and reach them gold diggins. In the mid 1900's the trail was forgotten once again till about 1969 a boy scout named Eric Kiel re charted it as part of his scouting project which is now maintained by the BLM. 

Another fire took place in 1922 this was nearly burnt the entire town at least most of the original structures. Today if you visit Iowa Hill very little of the original town remains besides the Wells Fargo Vault, Dinner Tree which pioneers rested at while on the way up to town, two cemeteries, old fire house, couple old homesteads and the general store.  Their also was a school that stood abandoned for a few years that survived the fire. I believe they renovated the property or schoolhouse so that today it could be used as a community center, church and place for the local children to get an education at. However the town is so small that a large school simply is just not necessary here. At the time 10 thousand people lived up on this hill so you needed grocery stores, schools, churches etc etc to fill the needs of the residents. Despite Iowa City being so large in its hey day and during the 1800's it never took the Placer County seat. Although their were some discussions about making Iowa City the state capital that never transpired either. Not allot of folks know this that at one time this city almost became a metropolis and maybe if it had become the capital that would have also changed Sacramento's history as well. But fires continued to burn down Iowa Hill and each time it devastated the town causing others to simply flee elsewhere! 

If you happen to go downtown Iowa Hill go a short distance past the town site where the new fire hall stands and you will see two cemeteries one on each side of the road. The cemetery to the left is known as Old Iowa Hill Cemetery which has Protestant, Masonic and I.O.OF. interments. While next to the fire hall is St. Dominics Catholic Cemetery which in the 1800's was known as St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery. Little do people know this but the Old Iowa Hill Cemetery is not the original graveyard. As a matter in fact the first cemetery established in town resided near a place known as the Schwab House downtown. When Stewart Schwab built the house he cleared the land using a bulldozer pushing all the gravestones down into the canyon then burying them with earth. I heard most of the graves were small rotted wood gravemarkers with a few marble stones mixed in one of them being this big white tombstone many locals remember vividly. I believe that stone had read to the memory of Joseph Dunagan who died at Iowa Hill July 30, 1855 aged 24 years formerly of Walker County Ga. I also read that in 1859 an Adelia Hill blocked off the wagon road from Iowa Hill to Bird's Flat which cut off relatives from visiting there loved ones here at one time. In the end this cemetery was doomed and Schwab is found buried just outside of town up the road from where he built his home. I sometimes wonder if his property may have been haunted for bulldozing this cemetery when there was plenty of other open areas in town to build his homestead.

The oldest cemetery as most of you are now aware is gone but it use to be across from the store or at least adjacent to it. However, just a short distance up the road through the shady forest is a place known as Banjo Hill. This hill has at least three burial grounds on it. Old Iowa Hill Cemetery some believe was established in 1856 as there is a grave found within enscribed with the name on a tombstone "Sarah Ann Lodge". So it had to be established around that year three years after the founding of the town. This cemetery has three sections which are the Masonic, I.O.O.F aka Independent Order Of Odd Fellow and then those of the Protestant faith. This is a fine pioneer cemetery but you can tell that the elements have taken a toll on this place. The wooden gravemarkers are no longer eligible, some stones are tilted or leaning and their are signs some vandalism has taken place. It would appear that each of the sections blends into one another so its important to study certain gravestones to search for the fraternal symbol often found on the graves here. I love this cemetery its shady in a beautiful forest so much green foliage and nature around you. I just want people to understand that not much remains of Iowa Hill but this cemetery survived the towns fires. If you visit this cemetery they have pamphlets which talk about many of the notable burials here. Sadly it also talks about how they died and sadly most of the interments you find here are of those who met a VERY tragic end. In once instance for example a son died working at one of the bars as a bank collapsed on him then years later this man father dies in a similar accident. Their are a few cases of murder, quite a few mining accidents, disease and even wagon accidents. If you lived in Iowa Hill you bared a curse sure wealth was to be made but at a cost and people simply never got out! You can hear more about those buried here found in our video "Old Iowa Hill's Graveyard Of Tragedy". Do not get this cemetery confused with the Iowa Hill Divide Cemetery which literally has been bulldozed to extinction into the canyon. 

Across the road is St. Dominic's Cemetery originally called St. Joseph's and within it stood the Catholic Church that was dedicated by Father Thomas Dalton in 1860. The oldest grave in the cemetery dates back to 1859 of a child while his brother was buried next to him. Records indicate however burials began in 1860 so more then likely the first brother to die was probably exhumed and relocated next to the church cemetery. Back in the day if you died at a mine or lets say someone shot you dead in the streets in a shootout they just brought you up to the local cemetery buried you with sometimes just a wood cross. Kids often were the victims of their pioneering parents diligence for taking on this brave frontier and their are quite a few buried in Iowa Hill. A Pastor who went by the name of Father Shanhan from Nevada City went on a mission in the early 1850s to spread Catholicism and ending up for awhile in some of the local boom towns. As a matter in fact he ended up passing through Grass Valley, Illnoistown, Iowa Hill and eventually in Foresthill six miles away where mass was held. In 1854 a Father Peter Deyaert was appointed to care for the northern mines. I have no idea if he owned this claim or a friend had left it in his care or if he used the mines to hold mass like the Priest Mine found in Placerville. One thing is for sure baptism continued to occur in 1854 a year after the founding of the town. 

Father Dalton came to Iowa Hill in 1855 and succeeded Father Deyaert which that very same year came with Archbishop Allemaney of San Francisco to celebrate Mass, preach Catholicism and administer the Sacramento of Confirmation to various Iowa Hill residents. I believe that five people in all made there confirmation including the first resident whom went by the name Adelia Hill. Not only was she the first to receive her confirmation in Iowa Hill but at the time church services and the confirmation ceremonies were held at her home. At one time Adelia Hill blocked off one of the roads that went to Bird's Eye Flat which led to them not having access to the cemetery. Their was allot of Catholic residents in Iowa Hill therefore a meeting in 1859 transpired in the home of James Gleeson which was to lay out the plans for a Catholic Church. A committee was organized with a member that represented each settlement or mining camp in the area with Gleeson being the secretary for it or man in charge. Word had gotten out and allot of Masons wanted the job which was eventually given to a George W. Currier who had it completed by June 1, 1860 built on Banjo Hill with land acquired from J.P. Hansen. 

The church bell could be heard from a couple miles away did not matter where you lived in this town you knew when service was taking place. In 1864 the church had blown down in a wind storm but was rebuilt. Services a year later from 1865 heavily declined where till about 1878 the residents of Foresthill used it for services. In 1895 Iowa Hill became a Mission of Auburn a very large bustling town today in the sierra foothills below Iowa Hill and remained a Mission into the 1930's perhaps 1932 when records indicate that services stopped completely. More then likely at sometime around that time the church blew down one last time. As a matter in fact in the 1920's when a great fire burned down most of Iowa Hill this church also partially felt the wraith of the flames but still survived. My guess would be the fire weakened the structure in the 1920's and by the time the early 1930's rolled around it felt into disrepair making it susceptible to great storms that wreak havoc on the sierras each year. When the church had blown down its final time allot of locals gathered the wood and used it to build new homes. The church was gone the cemetery still stood and I believe that St. Dominic's Church in Colfax cared for this cemetery in Iowa Hill. It also could be the fact that when the structure blew down the bell was stored in Colfaxes St. Dominics's Church and today can be seen on display in the front of the church. At that time most people that died in Iowa Hill ended up having their funerals in Colfax therefore they were buried there instead of in St. Dominic's Cemetery on Banjo Hill.  

The area gets allot of visitors today to Whitewater rafting, gold pan, kayak, fish, hike and in our case explore. Their are homes in Iowa Hill most are seasonal or vacation homes so please be respectful. Their are no gas stations in town only one little general store which also serves food and beer so fill up before heading here. Mail service here is three times a week so even the general store serves kind of as a post office. Iowa Hill is a California Historical Landmark thus its a well visited site for those who like offbeat mountainous historic towns in my opinion its quite haunted and over the years ghost stories been passed down through the generations. The Mineral Bar Campground below Iowa Hill boasts an old bridge that was replaced in 1928 for miners and ranchers to use. Mineral Bar was a mining settlement or suburb of Iowa Hill which still appeared on maps in 1873. What went from local mining in the region eventually over the years transitioned to orchards, ranching and vineyards. The Mineral Bar Campground is part of the Auburn State Recreation Area a state park managed by the Bureau of Reclamation so sadly it does cost to park here. Some people hike from the Steven's Trailhead in Iowa Hill adjacent to the store journeying all the way down to Colfax crossing the North Fork of the American River. A similar twin bridge can be found at the nearby mining camp known as Yankee Jims. A new bridge was built to go around the old one found in Mineral Bar in order to get to Iowa Hill you do have to cross the river. Also if you want to take the scenic route you have to go through Iowa Hill to get to the Placer Big Trees Grove which is a Giant Sequoia forest that many of the miners in the 1800's probably laid eyes on. 

Their are two lakes/reservoirs in the area within a short distance from Iowa Hill the closest being the Sugar Pine Reservoir. It was created in 1982 to provide fresh drinking water for the residents of nearby Foresthill. Its in an area known as Giant Gap and I have heard of some bigfoot lore back in this area as my viewers are aware one of our primary goals is to research cryptids which might be more prevalent in regions that contain pristine wildernesses that might harbor secrets. Morning Star Lake is a bit further out and sits in this forested basin cut off from the rest of the world. Both lakes are inaccessible in the winter months as a local had shown me some photos she had taken and told me during the winter when the area is under snow its closed off therefore Bigfoot might be drawn to this area. At one time there were settlements on both lakes and some placer mining took place. More then likely they did hydraulic mining here which often led to certain areas flooding and man made lakes being formed. Morning Star Lake  aka Big Reservoir today was here when the first miners arrived but Sugar Pine Reservoir created by Shirttail Creek where some traces of Placer Gold was found. These smaller creeks and lakes did boast gold it just was not everlasting then the miners moved on elsewhere to more lucrative boom towns. 

With all of the wealth of information I have given you one might be led to believe that Iowa Hill might be cursed. But the reality of it is that an every day life in the sierras meant trials and tribulations for most. This was a place that was all about survival some miners worked the silt on the bars of the river only to have a bank collapse on them death surely was imminent. People soaked their dreams into this city and all they had within their grasp is making a life high up in the sierras above the mighty American River. All of us can only do our best in life but nothing is guaranteed and the folks that lived here were driven to survive. This was a fine cozy city in its heyday with hotels, big stores, saloons, theater, bowling alleys etc. Technically back in the day allot of good folks wanted to visit Iowa Hill to enjoy this bustling entertaining city. However, allot of the gold would be exhausted that meant no more revenue and hydraulic mining was banned in 1884. Then we must take into account that fires ravaged the town multiple times along with some mining camps in the area. When you browse Iowa Hill on our website we want to take you on a journey through a town that never died and a place where brave pioneers conquered this remote frontier. This was a town of life, death, tragedy, success, failure, love and loss with it comes the restless ghost of the past who may refuse to let go of what once was. 

Today Iowa Hill is merely a small town its kind of like a blast from the past when you walk around downtown despite how very little remains. Do not be scared of visiting here a few locals did wave to me others seemed to be less favorable of my visit. However, on a hot summers day its worth hiking along the Steven's Trail and finishing off your trip enjoying an ice cold beer downtown. Make it a day hike out at the giant Sequoia Grove then come back downtown and explore its historic pioneer cemeteries. The vault is definitely worth a gander and old firehouse is a testament to the towns historic value. The entire area is a historic landmark and if you explore the area enough you will find remnants of the past. Always keep exploring try to live in the shoes of these pioneers who had to climb these hills, traverse the landscape and brave this frontier. Its a place full of adventure residing high up at the top of the Foresthill Divide. Foresthill is a geological peninsula where the north and south fork of the American River meet. Truly their is no place like Iowa Hill in the world perhaps in a sense maybe it never died so that it could be enjoyed by all of us today. Nothing gives me more enjoyment then to be able to take all of you on a journey to one of California's greater ghost towns of the Sierra Nevada Mountains live it and embrace the journey!

Copyright By
Lord Rick aka AngelOfThyNight
PGS Founder
Author, Talk Show Host, Producer and Paranormal Investigator