Rough and Ready, California

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The first established settlement in Rough and Ready was made in the fall of 1849 by a mining company from Wisconsin known as the Rough and Ready Company. Their leader, Captain A. A. Townsend, named the company after General Zachary Taylor (nicknamed "Old Rough and Ready") who had recently been elected the 12th President of the United States. Captain Townsend had served under Taylor when he commanded the American Forces during the U.S.-Mexican War.

The post office at Rough and Ready was established by February 1851; the first postmaster was Marcus Nutting. The ZIP Code is 95975. The community is inside area code 530.

The only mining town to "secede" from the Union and the Territory of California then to vote itself back in is the town of Rough And Ready. Populated mostly by miners from the state of Wisconsin hoping to rid themselves of any and all outside laws and other restrictions, it was decided in a town meeting in 1850 to take the drastic step of secession.

All this came to an abrupt halt when, preparing for a fourth of July celebration, it was realized the independent country of Rough And Ready, no longer a part of the United States, had no reason to celebrate. Something had to be done even if it meant restoring the new Republic to the United States. This was done by popular vote followed by the most riotous Fourth celebration ever held anywhere.

Little is left of the town today but it is easily accessible on highway 20, west of the Grass Valley junction at highway 49.

The population was 963 at the 2010 census.