Magalia (formerly Butte Mills and Dogtown)
is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
and
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
Butte 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 ...
, United States. The population was 11,310 at the 2010 census.
History
Originally established after the 1849
California Gold Rush
The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
as a mining camp, the town was first called Mountain View. A dog breeding operation started in 1850 which led to the name Dogtown.
A post office opened in 1857, which was shared with the adjacent settlement of
Mill City; the two eventually united.
In 1861 the name was changed to Magalia
after the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word for cottages.
On April 12, 1859, at the Willard Claim, a hydraulic mine in the
Feather River Canyon
Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exampl ...
northeast of the town, a 54-pound (20 kg)
gold nugget
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of Native metal, native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placer deposit, placers. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits wher ...
was discovered, the largest in the world at the time. Dubbed the "
Dogtown Nugget", it made the town famous.
2018 fire
The community suffered extensive damage in the
Camp Fire, a wildfire which began on November 8, 2018. As of December 13,
Butte County Sheriff's Department
In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French word , meaning ' ...
reported that at least seven people died in Magalia during the Camp Fire. Some survivors sheltered in place at a Baptist church along the only evacuation route north of the ridge.
Geography and natural history
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. There are numerous flora and fauna species found in the vicinity including mammals such as
Black tailed deer,
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...
, and grey squirrel. A considerable number of amphibians are also found such as the
Rough-skinned Newt
The rough-skinned newt or roughskin newt (''Taricha granulosa'') is a North American newt known for the strong toxin exuded from its skin.
Appearance
A stocky newt with rounded snout, it ranges from light brown to olive or brownish-black on t ...
, whose southern range in the California interior occurs near Magalia. The soil, deep reddish-brown loam for the most part, supports forest dominated by tall
incense cedar and
bull pine.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Magalia 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 ...
, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.
Demographics
2020
The
2020 United States census reported that Magalia had a population of 7,795. The population density was . The racial makeup of Magalia was 84.3%
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 ...
, 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 ...
, 1.6%
Native American, 1.1%
Asian, 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 ...
, 2.5% from
other races, and 9.9% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.9% of the population.
The census reported that 98.9% of the population lived in households, 1.1% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
[
There were 3,103 households, out of which 22.3% included children under the age of 18, 43.4% were married-couple households, 9.7% 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, 24.5% had a female householder with no partner present, and 22.3% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.9% of households were one person, and 14.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48.[ There were 2,011 ]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 ...
(64.8% of all households).
The age distribution was 18.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% aged 18 to 24, 21.0% aged 25 to 44, 29.2% aged 45 to 64, and 25.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 49.6years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males.[
There were 3,442 housing units at an average density of , of which 3,103 (90.2%) were occupied. Of these, 80.5% were owner-occupied, and 19.5% were occupied by renters.][
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 3.7% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 93.6% spoke only English at home, 2.9% spoke ]Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
, 1.7% spoke other Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
, 1.8% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 91.4% were high school graduates and 20.1% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $60,625, and the per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $30,786. About 6.8% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States Censusfamilies
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 ...
(67.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.75.
The population was spread out, with 2,165 people (19.1%) under the age of 18, 789 people (7.0%) aged 18 to 24, 2,104 people (18.6%) aged 25 to 44, 3,573 people (31.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,679 people (23.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.
There were 5,355 housing units at an average density of , of which 4,825 were occupied, of which 3,713 (77.0%) were owner-occupied, and 1,112 (23.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. 8,212 people (72.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,085 people (27.3%) lived in rental housing units.
Education
Almost all of Magalia is in the Paradise Unified School District. Small pieces of the census-designated place extend into the Chico Unified School District
Chico Unified School District (CUSD) is a public school district in Butte County, California, serving the city of Chico and the surrounding unincorporated communities.
The current superintendent is Kelly Staley, who will be retiring.
High ...
.[ ]
Text list
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References
External links
Magalia info, weather, history and more
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Butte County, California
Paradise, California
Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Census-designated places in California