Smartsville's 15th annual Pioneer Day a restoration fundraiser
Apr. 18—A gold rush event, Smartsville's Pioneer Day, is returning for its 15th annual festival on April 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Pioneer Day offers historic guided tours, music, and a story-telling area where historical characters and pioneer family members will present insights into early life in the area. There also will be exhibits, a blacksmith demonstration and children's activities.
Smartsville Church will reopen its doors for the event, and proceeds from the festival will go toward the historic church's restoration efforts. The church began after Catholic miners who lived in Rose Bar abandoned Rose Bar and built a new church building in Smartsville. That first church burned to the ground in a fire around the 1870s; a replacement church was erected on the foundation soon after.
