Great Republic of Rough and Ready The World's Smallest Nation

Rough and Ready, Ca.

On April 7, 1850, the town of Rough and Ready, angered at the lack of law and order, and the passage of a new mining tax, voted to secede from the Union and form the Great Republic of Rough and Ready, a free and independent republic, making it the world’s smallest nation.
In the heat of the rebellion, they elected Col. E.F. Brundage as President. The new President issued Brundage’s Manifesto, which read in part: “We...deem it necessary and prudent to withdraw from said Territory (of California) and from the United States of America to form, peacefully if we can, forcibly if we must, The Republic lasted less than 3 months when, the story goes, Nevada City refused to sell the “foreign” miners liquor! The town gathered again and decided to re-join the Union...just in time for the 4th of July celebration.

These days, Secession Days is celebrated on the last Sunday in June with food, fun and entertainment from 7am to 3pm. The day starts with a Pancake Breakfast to raise funds for the Rough and Ready Volunteer Fire Department. Crafters and merchants ply their trades, our Town Blacksmith fires up the forge in the Blacksmith Shop, and the Fruit Jar Pickers play their special brand of music. The highlight of the day is the annual musical/melodrama “The Saga of Rough and Ready” performed live on stage. Rough and Ready souvenir sales, raffles, and more food and fun makes this a safe and enjoyable day for the whole family!

The Fippin Blacksmith Shop

Built by carpenter John Single in 1849, Single rented the lean-to on the side of the shop to blacksmith John Fippin, who in 1867 married Single’s daughter, Julia. It was John and Julia’s first born son, William H., who later ran the shop whose name you see on the building today. As a blacksmith, Fippin repaired tools, buggies and wagons and shod horses and mules.

The Blacksmith Shop is the site of the famed anvil upon which young Lotta Crabtree, befriended by the famous Lola Montez, danced to the applause of the local miners and launched her successful entertainment career.

In recent years, the Fippin Blacksmith Shop has been restored, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Fruit Jar Pickers.