Merrimac (formerly, Merrimack, Pea Vine, and Peavine) was 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 ...

Butte County, California Butte County () is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County comprises the Chico, California, metropolitan stat ...

located along Oroville-Quincy Road about south of the Plumas County line at an elevation of 3999 feet (1219 m). Nearby is Rogers Cow Camp, a campground in Lassen National Forest. Merrimac was the site of a sawmill between 1870 and the early 1900s, and was the terminus of a narrow-gauge logging railroad. At its peak the town had 1800-2000 residents, a hotel, saloons, a bank, two blacksmiths, and a school. By 1955, only the hotel remained. When

Plumas National Forest Plumas National Forest is a 1,146,000-acre (464,000 ha) National forest (United States), United States national forest located in northern California at the northern terminus of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Forest was named after i ...

was established in 1905, Merrimac became the headquarters of the Merrimac Ranger District. The headquarters was moved to Brush Creek in 1930, but the name Merrimac Ranger District persisted until 1971. The community was located along Oroville-Quincy Road between the towns of Buckeye and Junction House. As the name implies, the road continues to intersect with State Route 70 in Quincy. This road is also called Forest Service Road 119. Merrimac does not appear on the 1958 State of California highway map. The Pea Vine post office operated from 1856 to 1864. The Merrimac post office operated from 1883 to 1902 and 1915 to 1934.

References

* ''Road Map of California'', State of California, Department of Public Works, Division of Highways, 1958. Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in Butte County, California {{ButteCountyCA-geo-stub