The North Star Mine and Powerhouse museum sits at the southern edge of town, in an old stone powerhouse that once housed the enormous Pelton wheels used to power the mine. The collection focuses on the engineering history of hard-rock mining in Nevada County, and the centrepiece is a massive Pelton wheel — a water turbine that revolutionised how mines were powered in the late 19th century — displayed in the original turbine room.
The adjacent North Star House, a Victorian mansion built for the mine superintendent, gives a sense of how the mining industry's upper echelon lived. The museum is run by the Nevada County Historical Society and is staffed largely by volunteers with genuine expertise in local mining history. A quieter and more contemplative alternative to the Empire Mine.