It is said that Grass Valley was named by settlers whose cattle
had wandered from their campsite on Greenhorn Creek to a “grassy
valley” nearby where the grazing was better. The “grassy valley”
proved to be a convenient location for constructing buildings and
Wolf Creek.
During the goldrush countless tin miners immigrated from
Cornwall, England and settled in Grass Valley to try their hand
at gold mining Grass Valley, home to two of the most lucrative
mines in California: The Empire Mine and the North Star Mine. The
Cornish brought with them their Cornish heritage which still
permeates Grass Valley’s culture, especially during annual events
such as Cornish Christmas and St. Piran’s Day.
On March 13th, 1893 the City of Grass Valley was
incorporated as a charter City. The Constitution of the State of
California grants Charter Cities a large degree of control over
local affairs, independent of the State government.
Grass Valley’s Charter has been amended several times over the
years. The most recently revised Charter establishes a
Council-Manager form of government, in which the elected
Council provides political leadership and sets policy, while the
City Manager directs the various City departments in carrying out
that policy.
Sister Cities
Bodmin
At its meeting of January 28, 1997 the City Council voted
unanimously to approve the development of a “Sister City”
relationship with the Town of Bodmin, Cornwall.
Bodmin has a population of 12,000 and is located inland in the
center of the County of Cornwall, at the intersection of its two
major highways. The similarities of the two towns and the
historical Cornish influence on Grass Valley made the sister city
relationship very natural and appropriate. The Cornish
involvement in Grass Valley’s gold mines is well documented and
continues with a popular Grass Valley cuisine – the
“pasty”. 
In efforts to explore the possibility of this “Sister City”
relationship, Mayor Terry Hocking of Bodmin visited Grass Valley
in April of 1997. Following this visit, the “twinning” between
Grass Valley and Bodmin was formalized and this link established
by adoption of Resolution No. 97-68. This resolution states in
part that by establishing a Sister City relationship with the
Town of Bodmin, we resolve to 1) establish and maintain friendly
relations with the Town of Bodmin; 2) foster and develop mutual
understanding and respect between the people of the two
localities; 3) encourage and assist organizations, clubs, groups
and all classes of persons in the two localities to communicate
and exchange visits with each other; and 4) conduct further
genealogical research into the common ancestors of the people of
the two communities, thereby developing human and cultural
relations and establishing a firm foundation for future
understanding, respect and friendship between the people of the
City of Grass Valley and the Town of Bodmin for all
time.
Since then, former Mayor Mark Johnson visited Bodmin
and recently a contingent of visitors spent ten days
visiting Grass Valley/Nevada County, expressing their pleasure in
our town, its hospitality and similar backgrounds. These
exchanges of visits continue and the resulting experiences
continue to bond the City of Grass Valley with its Sister City,
the Town of Bodmin, Cornwall.
Limana
Interest was expressed by members of the community and the
Council in forming a Sister City relationship with the town of
Limana, Italy. At their meeting of March 22, 2005, Council
adopted Resolution No. 05-15 supporting the twinning of the two
cities. In early May of 2005, Mayor Tassone traveled to
Limana, Italy to finalize a Sister City relationship. Primary
goals of a Sister City relationship are to foster and
develop mutual understanding and respect between the people of
both locations, encourage and assist persons in communicating and
exchanging visits with each other and developing human and
cultural relationships that grow over time.
