Foresthill is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in

Placer County Placer County ( ; ''Placer'', Spanish language, Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. It is part of the

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

– Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,692 at the 2020 census, up from 1,483 at the 2010 census.

History

Foresthill is located on a broad ridge between the North and Middle Forks of the

American River The American River is a List of rivers of California, river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. Via the Sacramento River, it ...

on the gold-bearing gravel bed of an ancient river. In the spring of 1850, miners came to the Forest Hill Divide in large numbers. There was one route from Auburn through Yankee Jim's and one from Coloma. At the junction of these trails, the Forest House hotel and trading post was built. The height of mining activity in Foresthill began in 1853 after a winter landslide at the head of Jenny Lind Canyon exposed numerous nuggets of gold. The Jenny Lind mine produced about $2,500 of gold a day for a while, up to a total output over $1 million by 1880. The combined production of all the mines in the Forest Hill area was estimated at $10 million by 1868 with gold selling for $16 an ounce. In the 1860s, there were about of hard-rock tunnels dug into the hillsides in, around and under Foresthill. By 1857, this area had become an important center for trade among the many gold camps on the divide. In 1862, the Hardy-Kennedy building was erected - the first fireproof store in Foresthill. This building, now known as the Langstaff building, is still being used by the merchants of Foresthill. By 1880, Foresthill was one of the largest towns in Placer County, with an wide main street. Today the town has a marker identifying it as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

. The marker is located at 24540 Main Street.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

Foresthill has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

Foresthill has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

that is characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers (Köppen climate classification Csa).

Points of Interest

Foresthill Bridge The Foresthill Bridge, also called the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge or the Auburn Bridge, is a road bridge crossing over the North Fork American River in Placer County, California, Placer County and the Sierra Nevada foothills, in eastern California. ...

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Foresthill had a population of 1,692. The population density was . The racial makeup of Foresthill was 1,367 (80.8%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7 (0.4%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 41 (2.4%) Native American, 10 (0.6%) Asian, 1 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 26 (1.5%) from other races, and 240 (14.2%) from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 161 persons (9.5%). The whole population lived in households. There were 673 households, out of which 153 (22.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 338 (50.2%) were married-couple households, 26 (3.9%) were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 107 (15.9%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 202 (30.0%) had a male householder with no partner present. 199 households (29.6%) were one person, and 80 (11.9%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51. There were 429

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(63.7% of all households). The age distribution was 368 people (21.7%) under the age of 18, 115 people (6.8%) aged 18 to 24, 451 people (26.7%) aged 25 to 44, 447 people (26.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 311 people (18.4%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.8years. For every 100 females, there were 108.1 males. There were 756 housing units at an average density of , of which 673 (89.0%) were occupied. Of these, 502 (74.6%) were owner-occupied, and 171 (25.4%) were occupied by renters.

References

External links

Foresthill Divide Museum
{{authority control Census-designated places in Placer County, California California Historical Landmarks Census-designated places in California