Stirling 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 ...
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 ...
, located on Paradise Ridge in the western foothills of the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
. Contrary to its name, Stirling City is not a city. Its
ZIP Code is 95978 and
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 ...
. It lies at an elevation of 3570 feet (1088 m). Stirling City had a population of 295 at the 2010 census.
Stirling City is located at , around 32 miles (45 km) northeast of
Chico, California
Chico ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 United Sta ...
. It is built around a loop (which terminates a winding spur line) of the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
, built to collect lumber from the
Lassen National Forest
Lassen National Forest is a United States national forest of 1,700 square miles (4,300 km2) in northeastern California. It is named after pioneer Peter Lassen, who mined, ranched and promoted the area to emigrant parties in the 1850s.
Overv ...
.
History
It was founded in 1903 by the
Diamond Match Company
The Diamond Match Company is a brand of matches and toothpicks, and formerly other wood products and plastic cutlery, that has its roots in a business started in 1853 by Edward Tatnall in Wilmington, Delaware. Ownership passed to William H. ...
of
Barberton, Ohio
Barberton is a city in Summit County, Ohio, Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,191 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located directly southwest of Akron, Ohio, Akron, it is a suburb of the Akron metropolitan are ...
, as a center for processing cut lumber from the surrounding forests. Diamond Match official Fred Clough named the city, taking the name from the boiler used at Diamond's Baberton plant, made by the Stirling Boiler Company.
The sawmill closed in the early 1970s. The land surrounding Stirling City is still harvested for timber, and the cleared area is farmed for cattle, fruit, and nuts.
A post office opened in 1903.
[
The town received minimal damage during the 2018 Camp Fire, during which it was protected by members of the ]California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, colloquially known as CAL FIRE, is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various area ...
(Cal Fire).
Demographics
Stirling City first appeared as 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 ...
in the 2010 U.S. Census.[
The 2020 United States census reported that Stirling City had a population of 284. The population density was . The racial makeup of Stirling City was 194 (68.3%) ]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 ...
, 2 (0.7%) 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 ...
, 5 (1.8%) Native American, 1 (0.4%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) 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 ...
, 25 (8.8%) from other races, and 57 (20.1%) 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 41 persons (14.4%).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, 25 (20.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 34 (27.4%) had a male householder with no partner present. 27 households (21.8%) were one person, and 9 (7.3%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.29.[ There were 82 ]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 ...
(66.1% of all households).
The age distribution was 67 people (23.6%) under the age of 18, 16 people (5.6%) aged 18 to 24, 56 people (19.7%) aged 25 to 44, 76 people (26.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 69 people (24.3%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 46.0years. For every 100 females, there were 121.9 males.[
There were 158 housing units at an average density of , of which 124 (78.5%) were occupied. Of these, 69 (55.6%) were owner-occupied, and 55 (44.4%) were occupied by renters.][
]
Climate
Stirling City is categorized as being within the 8a USDA hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...
, meaning temperatures can get as low as 10 to 15 °F.[ Retrieved on June 30, 2013.] There are also 2 days each year where the temperature drops below 20 F.
Education
It is in the Paradise Unified School District.[ ]
Text list
/ref>
In popular culture
* Stirling City, CA, is depicted as a location in early stories of the Slender Man
The Slender Man (also called Slenderman, Slender, or Slendy) is a fictional supernatural character (arts), character that originated as a creepypasta Internet meme created by Something Awful forum user Eric Knudsen (also known as "Victor Surge") ...
internet mythology
See also
References
External links
Stirling City community website
Stirling City Historical Society website
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Butte County, California
Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Populated places established in 1903
1903 establishments in California
Census-designated places in California