Uploaded April 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
A film by John de Graaf
*People's Choice Award, Wild & Scenic Film Festival*
Available for educational use from Bullfrog Films. bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/repro.html
Born in the California Gold Rush, Nevada City was once the scene of some of the most destructive environmental practices on earth. By the 1960s, the town was a backwater, its extractive industries dying. Then it was discovered by the “back to the land movement.” It was a second gold rush but with a different idea of gold based on nature, community and a sense of place.
The Yuba River brought conflicting factions of the community together while different ideas about the meaning of wealth have led to changes in local food production, education, arts, music and a commitment to building community. Once a place whose essence was individualism, competition and extractive industries, Nevada City is now moving toward a future of solidarity, stewardship, and livelihoods based on renewable resources, husbandry and sustainability.
Featuring two dozen of Nevada City’s most active citizens and their stories, REDEFINING PROSPERITY: The Gold Rushes of Nevada City is the remarkable story of a beautiful California town and the outward-looking, creative people who call it home and forged its new identity.
A film by John de Graaf
*People's Choice Award, Wild & Scenic Film Festival*
Available for educational use from Bullfrog Films. bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/repro.html
Born in the California Gold Rush, Nevada City was once the scene of some of the most destructive environmental practices on earth. By the 1960s, the town was a backwater, its extractive industries dying. Then it was discovered by the “back to the land movement.” It was a second gold rush but with a different idea of gold based on nature, community and a sense of place.
The Yuba River brought conflicting factions of the community together while different ideas about the meaning of wealth have led to changes in local food production, education, arts, music and a commitment to building community. Once a place whose essence was individualism, competition and extractive industries, Nevada City is now moving toward a future of solidarity, stewardship, and livelihoods based on renewable resources, husbandry and sustainability.
Featuring two dozen of Nevada City’s most active citizens and their stories, REDEFINING PROSPERITY: The Gold Rushes of Nevada City is the remarkable story of a beautiful California town and the outward-looking, creative people who call it home and forged its new identity.
