Shasta 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 Shasta 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. Shasta sits at an elevation of . Its population is 1,043 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,771 from the 2010 census. Shasta State Historic Park located at Shasta is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

and California State Historic Park.

History

A bustling town of the 1850s through the 1880s, Shasta was for its time, the largest settlement in Shasta County and the surrounding area. Sometimes referred to today as "Old Shasta", the town was an important commercial center and a major shipping point for mule trains and stagecoaches serving the mining towns and later settlements of northern California. The discovery of gold near Shasta in 1848 brought

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 ...

-era Forty-Niners up the Siskiyou Trail in search of riches - most passed through Shasta, and continued to use it as base of operations. Those that stayed worked the placer gold diggings of nearby, short-lived camps like Horsetown, Buckeye, and Whiskeytown, California. Situated about six miles (10 km) west of

Redding, California Redding is a city in and the county seat of Shasta County, California, and the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, California, Sacrame ...

along Highway 299, Shasta was once home to some 3,500 residents, the county seat, and a thriving commercial district. However, in 1873, the under construction Oregon-bound branch of the Central Pacific Railroad bypassed Shasta, in favor of Redding and the town began its decline into near "

" status. In 1888, Shasta lost the county seat to Redding. By the twentieth century, and after several fires, a distinctive row of gold rush era buildings remained along its Main Street, which attracted preservationists and their efforts to save all the local stories and landscape, and the remaining first generation of 1850s brick and iron door architecture. The poet

Joaquin Miller Cincinnatus Heine Miller ( ; September 8, 1837 – February 17, 1913), better known by his pen name Joaquin Miller ( ), was an American poet, author, and frontiersman. He became known as the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about wh ...

refers to Shasta in his 1870s novel, '' Life Amongst the Modocs,'' based on the experiences of Miller as a young man living in the area in the 1850s. In this book, Miller describes his brief imprisonment in a Shasta jail for horse-stealing and subsequent escape with the aid of his Native American wife.

Shasta State Historic Park

The site of the town is now a California State Historic Park called Shasta State Historic Park, containing many of the original 19th century brick buildings, partially restored. Shasta is now a town with the ruins of the gold mining town, a post office, a church, the oldest Masonic lodge in California, and a store. The park was damaged by the Carr Fire in 2018, during which the elementary school was destroyed and the brewery and cemetery were damaged.

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 11.0 square miles (28.4 km), 99.96% of it land and 0.04% of it water.

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, Shasta 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. The hottest temperature recorded in Shasta was on July 28, 1976, and August 8, 1981, while the coldest temperature recorded was on December 21–22, 990.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Shasta had a population of 1,043. The population density was . The racial makeup of Shasta was 894 (85.7%)

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 (0.0%)

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 ...

, 27 (2.6%) Native American, 17 (1.6%) Asian, 2 (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 ...

, 16 (1.5%) from other races, and 87 (8.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56 persons (5.4%). The census reported that 1,041 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 413 households, out of which 119 (28.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 273 (66.1%) were married-couple households, 18 (4.4%) were cohabiting couple households, 54 (13.1%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 68 (16.5%) had a male householder with no partner present. 61 households (14.8%) were one person, and 33 (8.0%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 330

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 ...

(79.9% of all households). The age distribution was 181 people (17.4%) under the age of 18, 49 people (4.7%) aged 18 to 24, 187 people (17.9%) aged 25 to 44, 347 people (33.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 279 people (26.7%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 54.0years. For every 100 females, there were 111.6 males. There were 467 housing units at an average density of , of which 413 (88.4%) were occupied. Of these, 341 (82.6%) were owner-occupied, and 72 (17.4%) were occupied by renters.

Politics

In the state legislature Shasta is in , and . Federally, Shasta is in .

Notable people

* Jim Hanks, actor, brother of

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, was born in Shasta. * Bronco Charlie Miller, horse trainer and Pony Express rider * Scott Leary, swimmer

References

External links

Official Shasta State Historic Park websiteMuseum of the Siskiyou Trail website
{{authority control California State Historic Parks Census-designated places in Shasta County, California Mining communities of the California Gold Rush Museums in Shasta County, California History of Shasta County, California Open-air museums in California History museums in California Ghost towns in California Parks in Shasta County, California Populated places established in 1848 1848 establishments in California Census-designated places in California