SMARTSVILLE CHURCH
RESTORATION FUND, INC.
PO Box 374
Smartsville, CA 95977
Tax Exempt I.D. No.
68-0412321

INTRODUCTION TO THE SMARTSVILLE
CHURCH ARTICLE ON THE YUBA ROOTS WEBSITE
7-9-2007
To many people familiar with the
historic sites in Yuba and Nevada counties, restoration of the historic Church
of the Immaculate Conception is the most important community project in
Smartsville. Not only is it the center-piece of the town, it is directly
connected to the town’s fascinating past, and ultimately will be used for
community functions. More than 40 years have passed since the church was
regularly maintained and the neglect is visible. This historic photograph shows
the interior as it was while it was a functioning church.
Smartsville in the
1860’s and 70s was a thriving town serving a local gold mining community and an
important stop on the stagecoach route from Marysville to Rough & Ready, Grass
Valley and Nevada City. Among the workers at the numerous Smartsville hydraulic
mining operations were Irish immigrants who constructed a Catholic church there
in 1861. That building was destroyed by fire in 1870 and in just one year a new
structure, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, still standing today, was
erected to take its place. These two photographs (below) show the building as
it was constructed just after the fire of 1870 (before the bell tower was
added) and as it was at the turn of the century.
In the 1960s the church
ceased to be used for religious purposes and was, in effect, abandoned. Years
of neglect took their toll on the church. Several groups tried, from time to
time, to perform badly needed maintenance and repairs but could not sustain the
effort required. In 1998, local resident Bill Ross had an idea. He convinced
the Sacramento Diocese to donate the building and land to a group of concerned
citizens. Thus SCRFI (Smartsville Church Restoration Fund, Inc.) was formed
with non-profit status to save and restore the historic structure. The goal of
SCRFI is to save the building, promote its historic significance, and to utilize
the building for community (non-religious) purposes.
The following
newsletter gives a current status report on the progress of SCRFI.
SUMMER
2007 NEWSLETTER
CONSTRUCTION
REPORT
With the east wall of the church jacked
up and the building reasonably level and plumb a new roof was installed in
2003. Then, with the wall still supported by jacks, we started on the
foundation.
Prolonged periods of being wet, as a
result of a leaking roof, left the timber sill plate and the bottom ends of most
of the studs severely rotted along the east wall. The challenge was to install
a new sill plate and repair the studs. But, as if that was not enough, the
130-year-old foundation was judged by engineers as being incapable of handling
lateral loads from high winds or earthquakes.
After a lot of thought we came up with a
scheme to utilize the existing rock wall foundation to carry the weight of the
building. A new reinforced concrete beam would replace the rotted sill plate
and would transfer lateral loads to the corners of the building. New timber
would be spliced onto the existing studs and securely attached to the top of the
new concrete beam. This solution was not expensive and, best of all, could be
accomplished in short sections.
By the summer of last year we had
installed two 16-foot sections of the concrete beam, with Stewart Smith and
Rodney Ivie doing most of the work, but we were unable to continue doing the
work ourselves. And until the foundation was finished, Rice Brothers House
Movers would not be able to remove their jacks and cribbing to use on other
projects. Joe Rice, always patient and helpful, suggested we call Ted Holmes, a
Yuba City contractor.
Fortunately Ted was able to find some
time between his other jobs to help us finish the foundation on the entire east
wall. The jacks and cribbing are now removed and the building is again resting
on the foundation. Rodney Ivie and Steve Winchell finished the stud
re-attachments and replaced the east wall siding.
PLANS FOR THE NEXT
PHASE
Two projects are being considered: the
first is to straighten the bell tower and improve its foundation; the second
will be to continue the foundation repairs to the remainder of the building
perimeter.
It is not obvious without looking
carefully, but we believe that the church was not constructed initially with a
bell tower. That is why the foundations of these two parts of the building are
not the same. We have a photograph of the building without the bell tower and
what appears to be the bell mounted in a separate structure in back of the
church. Since the bell was made in San Francisco in 1878 and the steeple was
added to the bell tower in 1895, the bell tower must have been added to the
front of the building during that time period.
We believe that the bell tower should be
professionally jacked into alignment and braced while a new foundation is
constructed. Since the tower faces south its siding has weathered
significantly.
Our plan for continuing the foundation
repair starts with the north wall that is very close to the N.I.D. irrigation
ditch. We believe that a five-foot high stemwall along the back of the building
will solve several problems and can be constructed in short sections so that
only parts of the north wall need be jacked and supported as the work is done.
FINANCES
The roof work cost approximately $25,000
and the foundation work already completed cost about $6,000. Because we didn’t
have quite enough money in the bank when we received the bid for the roof work,
we made a desperate plea for help. Donations from a number of generous
individuals enabled us to pay for the roof. And, over the next few years, we
accumulated enough money to complete the foundation work on the east wall.
Now, however, having depleted our bank
account to pay for supporting the east wall, we must find ways to raise enough
money to finance the remainder of the foundation work.
COST ESTIMATES
We believe that we can accomplish our
next two objectives, the north wall foundation and the bell tower straightening
and foundation work, for approximately $50,000.
As before, we will try to figure out
ways to accomplish the work efficiently and in small sections. In that way we
can do the work as we acquire funding; but it also means that the work cannot be
done quickly. Hiring a contractor to do major portions of the work would be
very nice, but financially prohibitive.
FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Twice during the past five years we have
sponsored events at the church in Smartsville. These events featured food,
crafts, tours of the church, a raffle, and music by the famous Fruit Jar Pickers
of Rough and Ready. Unfortunately, because of our temporary shortage in
personnel, we have not established the date for the next event, but we do want
to continue that tradition.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
We presently have only three members on
our board which is intended to have seven. Because of this shortfall in
personnel, everything is more difficult. New board members with energy, vision,
and perhaps construction experience are badly needed.
DONATIONS
We are appealing to the community and to
our friends who have helped us in the past to help us again. Donations in the
form of cash are critically needed. Other types of donations such as materials,
time as a volunteer or board member, or simply a referral, are always welcome.
All donations to help us restore this
historic, former church building are tax deductible. Checks can be made out to
SCRFI. Our tax I.D. number and address are listed at the top of the page.
CONTACT
Please call Kit Burton
at (530) 743-0413 if you would like more information or have questions.