Vandals paint over newly-installed plaque honoring Jewish community in Nevada County

A plaque honoring the Jewish community of Nevada County’s Gold Rush population was vandalized with red paint last week.

The plaque is at Nevada City’s Hirschman’s Pond, once part of a hydraulic mine operated by Jewish miner Leb Hirschman in the 1860s and ’70s. Chairman of the Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission Bernie Zimmerman said that the pond endures as “the last remaining readily visible evidence” of the large Jewish community that immigrated to Nevada County during the Gold Rush.

The area was registered as a historical landmark in July 2021, and a dedication ceremony was held for the plaque this May. A hiker reported to Zimmerman on July 22 that the plaque had been doused in red paint.

“There are about 200 historical plaques in the county, and this is the only one that has been defaced, as far as we know.” Zimmerman said. “It’s also the only plaque in the county that has any reference to the Jewish community in it.”

Zimmerman noted that there are a number of additional signs surrounding the plaque identifying local wildlife, but that they were not vandalized.

County crews removed the plaque for cleaning, and have since added a plexiglass cover to shield the plaque from future attacks.

An investigation into the vandalism is ongoing, according to Nevada City Police Chief Daniel Foss.

“We’re investigating it as a possible hate crime, but we have no indication that that’s what it is,” Foss said.

While no suspect has been identified, Foss said that the Nevada City Police Department had several people that they were “interested in speaking to” about the incident.