Greenville is a

unincorporated community 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 ...

Plumas County, California Plumas County () is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county ...

, United States, on the north-west side of Indian Valley. Most of the buildings were destroyed by the Dixie Fire in August 2021. The population was 1,129 at the 2010 census, down from 1,160 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

has defined Greenville as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP). According to the Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

History

The Maidu people had been living in the valley area around present-day Greenville for centuries when English-speaking settlers arrived in the 1850s during the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

. Among the earliest structures built in the community was a boarding house operated by Mr. and Mrs. Green. The community was named for Green, who was killed in the collapse of the first Round Valley Dam. When Henry C. Bidwell arrived in 1862 and opened a trading post, several business owners moved down from Round Valley to Greenville. Cheney Lumber Company built a wood mill near Greenville.

1881 fire

A fire destroyed many buildings in 1881; they were quickly rebuilt. Greenville's population in 1882 was 500.

2021 fire

On August 4, 2021, about 75% of Greenville's buildings were destroyed by the Dixie Fire, the largest single (i.e. non-complex) wildfire in the state's history, and the second-largest overall (after the August Complex fire of 2020). Fire officials stated that the library, fire department, and most downtown homes were burned. The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

estimated that about $1 billion, through government aid, insurance payouts, lawsuits against

Pacific Gas & Electric The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

, corporate investment and philanthropic donations, has been promised, paid or will be forced to pay for the damage and rebuilding of Greenville.

Climate

This region experiences hot and dry summers with temps as high as and cold sometimes wet winters, which can get as cold as . According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Greenville has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Its winter temperatures approach that of a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...

, and

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak da ...

is large, especially during summer.

Demographics

For statistical purposes, the

has defined Greenville as a

(CDP).

2010

At the 2010 census Greenville had a population of 1,129. The population density was . The racial makeup of Greenville was 897 (79.5%) White, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 109 people (9.7%), 1 (0.1%) African American, 133 (11.8%) Native American, 11 (1.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 17 (1.5%) from other races, and 70 (6.2%) from two or more races. The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized. There were 496 households, 139 (28.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 181 (36.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 77 (15.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 25 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 52 (10.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 171 households (34.5%) were one person and 67 (13.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.28. There were 283 families (57.1% of households); the average family size was 2.91. The age distribution was 256 people (22.7%) under the age of 18, 78 people (6.9%) aged 18 to 24, 227 people (20.1%) aged 25 to 44, 378 people (33.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 190 people (16.8%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males. There were 613 housing units at an average density of 76.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 251 (50.6%) were owner-occupied and 245 (49.4%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. 583 people (51.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 546 people (48.4%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 1,160 people, 496 households, and 308 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 581 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the CDP was 84.05% White, 9.31% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race, 0.09% Black or African American, 9.31% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 2.84% from other races, and 3.45% from two or more races. Of the 496 households 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 33.1% of households were one person and 12.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.90. The age distribution was 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median household income was $23,309 and the median family income was $26,354. Males had a median income of $27,143 versus $24,000 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $11,659. About 13.9% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Greenville's students attend the Indian Valley Elementary and Greenville Junior/Senior High Schools. The schools come under the authority of the Plumas County Board of Education and the Plumas Unified School District. The school's mascots are the 'Wolf Pack' for the elementary school and the 'Indians' for the Junior/Senior High School.

Politics

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

, Greenville is in , and . Federally, Greenville is in .

Transportation

State Route 89 The following highways are numbered 89: Canada * Manitoba Highway 89 * Highway 89 (Ontario) Israel * Highway 89 (Israel) United States * Interstate 89 ** Interstate 87 (North Carolina–Virginia) (former proposal) * U.S. Route 89 * Alabama Stat ...

Notable people

James Marsters James Wesley Marsters (born August 20, 1962) is an American actor, musician, singer, comic book writer, and audiobook narrator. He is sometimes credited in various anime series and video games as David Gray and Sam Majesters in the series ''Dr ...

(born 1962), actor and musician * Marie Mason Potts (1895–1978),

Mountain Maidu The Maidu are a Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather and American rivers. They also reside in Humbug Valley. In Maiduan languages, ''Maidu'' means "man." ...

journalist and activist; attended Greenville Indian School for a few years. *

Bill Wattenburg Willard Harvey Wattenburg (February 9, 1936 – August 2, 2018) was an American inventor, engineer, author, and Talk radio, talk radio show host from California. Advertisements for his show often referred to him as "The Smartest Man in the Wo ...

(1936–2018), inventor, author, and radio talk show host

References

External links

''Indian Valley Record''
- Local newspaper
Dixie fire photo gallery
- Los Angeles Times

- CNN {{Authority control Census-designated places in Plumas County, California Census-designated places in California *