Junction City 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 Trinity County,

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 ...

. Junction City sits at an elevation of . Its population is 658 as of the 2020 census, down from 680 from the 2010 census. Junction City is located west of Weaverville. The Trinity River runs through the town and heads northwest from there. The ZIP Code is 96048. The community is inside

area code 530 Area codes 530 and 837 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in northeastern and Northern California. 530 was created in 1997 in an area code split of 916 and 837 was added to the same numbering plan area as an ov ...

History

Junction City was established when a few cabins were built in the 1850s at the mouth of Canyon Creek, it was originally called "Milltown" due to the number of mills, but in 1861 it was officially named Junction City since it served as a junction for several transportation routes at Canyon Creek and Trinity River. Junction City had the largest and most famous diversion dam. The Arkansas Dam, was built in 1851, four miles upstream of Junction City. After the dam washed out in the winter of 1851 and again in 1852, it was rebuilt so substantially as to withstand not only the winter storms but also contain an upstream dam break flood that occurred when the 14-foot-high diversion dam at Union bar gave way. The ensuing flood wiped out every water wheel, dam, and other structures along the river in the intervening 20 miles between the dams. In 1857, Arkansas dam was removed by the miners so they could reach the gold deposits beneath the dam. In 1988, a Tibetan Buddhist temple, Rigdzin Ling, part of the Chagdud Gonpa Foundation founded by

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche Chagdud Tulku (, 1930–2002) was a Tibetan teacher of the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill ...

In the May 8th, 2005 the hotel burned down under mysterious circumstances. It was one of the last remaining buildings in Junction City from the 1800s. In May 2006, the Junction Fire scorched , then later combined with the Bar Fire, making that . The Junction Fire threatened all of Junction City, and even some parts of the town of Weaverville, California, Weaverville. On July 20, 2008 fire threatened communities near Junction City; some areas were under mandatory evacuation. Many huge forest fires broke out because of a lightning storm which occurred on June 20, 2008 in Northern California.

Education

Public schools are run or overseen by the Junction City Elementary School District, which consists of one elementary school and they follow by a single track schedule, with school starting in late August or early September and concludes in June. The only school is a K-8 school listed below. * Junction City Elementary Schoolbr>

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 ...

, the CDP covers an area of 26.6 square miles (68.8 km²), 99.87% of it land and 0.13% of it water.

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 299. State route 299 runs through the middle of Junction City. This is part of SR 299 that is between Arcata and Redding is the Trinity Scenic Byway, a

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. List The following roadways were listed by the Fede ...

Parks and Trails

*Junction City Park

Demographics

Population

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Junction City had a population of 658. The population density was . The racial makeup of Junction City was 545 (82.8%)

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 ...

, 3 (0.5%)

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 ...

, 9 (1.4%) Native American, 15 (2.3%) Asian, 1 (0.2%)

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 ...

, 9 (1.4%) from other races, and 76 (11.6%) 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 46 persons (7.0%). The census reported that 97.3% of the population lived in households, 18 people (2.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 272 households, out of which 67 (24.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 136 (50.0%) were married-couple households, 19 (7.0%) 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, 51 (18.8%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 66 (24.3%) had a male householder with no partner present. 79 households (29.0%) were one person, and 43 (15.8%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35. There were 168

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 ...

(61.8% of all households). The age distribution was 79 people (12.0%) under the age of 18, 27 people (4.1%) aged 18 to 24, 178 people (27.1%) aged 25 to 44, 168 people (25.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 206 people (31.3%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 52.0years. For every 100 females, there were 118.6 males. There were 322 housing units at an average density of , of which 272 (84.5%) were occupied. Of these, 226 (83.1%) were owner-occupied, and 46 (16.9%) were occupied by renters.

Politics

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

, Junction City is in , and . Federally, Junction City is in .

Historical Markers

There is one historical marker in Junction City to commemorate its centennial

It is located next to the Junction City store.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Trinity County, California Census-designated places in California 1850s establishments in California Populated places established in the 1850s