The first settlement in the area was called Pokerville, and was located about a mile or so downstream of the present town on Little Indian Creek. The camp was established around 1852, and as water was scarce and the placers stingy, the camp kind of faded away as the miners drifted upstream to a new site, a site which became known as Puckerville in 1855. This new camp proved to be more prosperous than the old, but not by much. A number of claims, with names such as the Southerland, the Aden, and the Simpson, were located about a mile east of town and as the years went by they helped the camp hold its own, neither booming nor busting, but surviving.

The Empire Store was run by the Empire Mine, Later privately operated

Nothing of much excitement occurred in Pokerrville or the surrounding area until 1871, when Alvinza Hayward purchased an interest in the Aden-Simpson, or "Plymouth Mine." Hayward was a sharp mining man, having made a fortune in his mines in Sutter Creek and the Comstock Lode. He must have seen something worthwhile in the Plymouth.Mining gold takes money, and Hayward certainly had that. He authorized construction of a new stamp mill and began more work on the claim itself, extensive exploration and deeper mining. One of the results of this capital outlay was an increase in jobs. More jobs needed more men, and more men needed more places to spend their wages. Hotels, saloons, stores, and other places were men like to spend money were quickly constructed..

Nothing of much excitement occurred inPokerrville or the surrounding area until 1871, when Alvinza Hayward purchased an interest in the Aden-Simpson, or "Plymouth Mine." Hayward was a sharp mining man, having made a fortune in his mines in Sutter Creek and the Comstock Lode. He must have seen something worthwhile in the Plymouth.Mining gold takes money, and Hayward certainly had that. He authorized construction of a new stamp mill and began more work on the claim itself, extensive exploration and deeper mining. One of the results of this capital outlay was an increase in jobs. More jobs needed more men, and more men needed more places to spend their wages. Hotels, saloons, stores, and other places were men like to spend money were quickly constructed.

All graphics created and owned by Ray and Cheryl Herndon