Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital

Grass Valley dates from the California Gold Rush, as does nearby Nevada City. The city is the location of the Empire Mine and North Star Mine, two of the richest mines in California, and many of those who came to settle in Grass Valley were tin miners from Cornwall, England, who were attracted to the California gold fields because the same skills needed for deep tin mining were needed for hard-rock (deep) gold mining. Grass Valley still holds on to its Cornish heritage with events such as its annual Cornish Christmas and St. Piran's Day celebrations. Pasties are a local favorite dish with a few restaurants in town specializing in recipes handed down from the original immigrant generation. Grass Valley is also twinned with the Cornish town of Bodmin, UK.