in Rough and Ready, a small settlement near Grass Valley, California. The first established settlement in Rough and Ready was made in the fall of 1849 by a mining company from Wisconsin known as the Rough and Ready Company. Their leader, Captain A. A. Townsend, named the company after General Zachary Taylor (nicknamed "Old Rough and Ready") who had recently been elected the 12th president of the United States. The post office at Rough and Ready was established by February 1851. Photo by Carol Highsmith.