Belfast is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Lassen County,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is located northwest of Litchfield, at an elevation of 4134 feet (1260 m). The town was founded by Capt. Charles A. Merrill in 1880. The name reflects Capt. Merrill's hometown of

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay (Main ...

, which itself was named after the city of the same name in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was expected that a railroad would be built through the Belfast townsite, but this never happened. Merrill did, however, successfully build an irrigation flume to aid in farming; in 1922, the Belfast area was subdivided into forty-acre plots in the hopes of reestablishing a farming community. A few farms can be found in the area today. The Willow Creek Canyon in the Belfast area is an important archaological site, with rock structures and

petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

suggesting it was a major hunting ground to native peoples. The Belfast Site rock features are believed to be around 3000 years old.

References

Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in Lassen County, California Populated places established in 1880 1880 establishments in California {{LassenCountyCA-geo-stub