Lassen County comprises the Susanville, Californiamicropolitan statistical area. A formerfarming,mining, andlumber area, its economy now depends on employment at one federal and two state prisons; the former inHerlong and the latter two in Susanville. In 2007, half the adults in Susanville worked in one of the facilities.[7]
Lassen County was formed on April 1, 1864,[8] from parts ofPlumas andShasta counties following the two-day conflict known as theSagebrush War, also called theRoop County War,[9] that started on Sunday morning, February 15, 1863. Due to uncertainties over the California border, the area that is now Lassen County was part of the unofficialNataqua Territory andRoop County, Nevada, during the late 1850s and early 1860s.
The county was named by California afterPeter Lassen,[10] along withLassen Peak, which is in adjoining Shasta County.[11] Lassen was one of GeneralJohn C. Fremont's guides, and a famous trapper, frontiersman, and Indian fighter. He was murdered under mysterious circumstances near theBlack Rock Desert in 1859, and his murder was never solved.
By the 1880s small towns began to spring up all over Lassen County.Bieber developed at the north end of the county, in rich farmland. Gold was discovered at Hayden Hill, and the small town developed to support the miners. Hayden Hill no longer exists: when the mining stopped, the townspeople left for other communities. Madeline was formed at the north end of another rich farming valley, and along the railroad tracks heading north toAlturas, California. This community still has about 50 people living in and around the town. In the 1890s many immigrant family groups arrived in the county, primarily coming fromLincolnshire andHerefordshire,England as well as the towns ofBelgrade,Novi Sad,Niš andKragujevac inSerbia.[12][13] Several "Yankee" settlers arrived fromWaldo County, Maine andLincoln County, Maine as well.[14]
During World War I, the area was heavily in favor of American entry into the war, and a disproportionate amount of volunteers from Lassen County signed up to take part in the war effort. A pro-German newspaper editor from San Francisco noted that "the inhabitants of Lassen County" were "sympathetic to Britain, hostile to Germany, and indifferent to France."[15][16][12][17]
In 1913, the Fernley & Lassen Railroad was built and it was used to export timber from the large forests of Lassen County. As this railroad was completed, the Red River Lumber Company set up shop,[10] building the town ofWestwood, California, to support its massive logging operation. Two other lumber mills followed the Red River Lumber Co. They built their mills in the county seat of Susanville. The Lassen Lumber and Box Company and the Fruit Growers Company both operated mills in Susanville for several decades.
In 2003,Anderson-based Sierra Pacific Industries announced plans to relocate or lay off 150 workers as they closed the last lumber mill in Susanville due to the lack of large timber for the mill.[18] Sierra Pacific chose to close the mill permanently rather than spend the several million dollars required to convert the mill from large to small timber.
Since the late 20th century, three prisons have been opened in and near Susanville:California Correctional Center (minimum security, 1963) andHigh Desert State Prison (California) (maximum security, 1995), both in the city; and the nearbyFederal Correctional Institution, Herlong (opened 2007). In 2007, half the adults in Susanville worked in one of the three prisons.[7] In "job-starved rural America, ... residents see them [prisons] as the last and only chance for employment after work at the lumber mill or the dairy dries up."[7]
Lassen County is served byLassen Community College, Lassen High School District, Mt. Lassen Charter School, Thompson Peak Charter School, Diamond Mountain Charter High, Diamond View Middle School, Herlong High School, Meadow View Elementary, McKinley Elementary, Long Valley Charter School, Fort Sage Charter School, and Westwood Junior Senior High School.
Hog Flat Reservoir covered in snow during early April
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,720.115 square miles (12,225.04 km2), of which 4,541.369 square miles (11,762.09 km2) is land and 178.746 square miles (462.95 km2) (3.79%) is water.[19] It is the 8th largest county in California by total area.[20] Part ofLassen Volcanic National Park extends onto a western corner of the county.
U.S. Decennial Census[22] 1790–1960[23] 1900–1990[24] 1990–2000[25] 2010–2020[5]
As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Lassen County was $264,340.[26]
As of the 2023American Community Survey, there are 9,060 estimated households in Lassen County with an average of 2.64 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $64,395. Approximately 17.1% of the county's population lives at or below thepoverty line. Lassen County has an estimated 39.5% employment rate, with 13.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 79.1% holding a high school diploma.[5]
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (81.9%), Spanish (15.0%), Indo-European (0.8%), Asian and Pacific Islander (2.1%), and Other (0.3%).
As of the 2023 estimate, there were 28,861 people and 9,060 households residing in the county. There were 12,238 housing units at an average density of 2.69 per square mile (1.0/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 81.5% White(63.5% NH White), 6.8% African American, 4.4% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 21.8% of the population.[27]
Lassen County, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, there were 32,730 people, 9,888 households, and 6,383 families residing in the county.[37] Thepopulation density was 7.2 inhabitants per square mile (2.8/km2). There were 12,216 housing units at an average density of 2.69 per square mile (1.0/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 64.36%White, 6.96%African American, 3.32%Native American, 1.51%Asian, 0.87%Pacific Islander, 15.06% from some other races and 7.91% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 23.01% of the population.[38]
As of the2010 census, there were 34,895 people, 10,058 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was 7.7 inhabitants per square mile (3.0/km2). There were 12,216 housing units at an average density of 2.80 per square mile (1.1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 73.17%White, 8.12%African American, 3.54%Native American, 1.02%Asian, 0.47%Pacific Islander, 10.21% from some other races and 3.47% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 17.53% of the population.
As of the2000 census, there were 33,828 people, 9,625 households, and 6,776 families residing in the county. The population density was 7.0 inhabitants per square mile (2.7/km2). There were 12,000 housing units at an average density of 3.0 per square mile (1.2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 80.81%White, 8.84%African American, 3.26%Native American, 0.74%Asian, 0.43%Pacific Islander, 3.23% from some other races and 2.69% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 13.84% of the population.
There were 9,625 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% weremarried couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. Of all households, 24.5% were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 168.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 192.2 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,310, and the median income for a family was $43,398. Males had a median income of $37,333 versus $26,561 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $14,749. About 11.1% of families and 14.0% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
From1932 through1976, Lassen was powerfullyDemocratic, voting for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election save1972, when it voted forNixon overMcGovern by just 6.8%. From1980 on, however, it has been overwhelminglyRepublican inpresidential andcongressional elections, coinciding with the dominance of the prisons in local employment.Jimmy Carter (in 1976) remains the last Democrat to have carried the county. In2016,2020, and2024, Lassen stood asDonald Trump's best county in the state, giving him a 50% or greater margin over overwhelming statewide winners Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris.
United States presidential election results for Lassen County, California[48][note 4]
Lassen Rural Bus (LRB), operated by the Lassen Transit Service Agency, runs a local service in Susanville, with longer distance routes to Westwood and Doyle.
The Lassen Municipal Utility District (LMUD) is the primaryelectric utility in the county, and was created in 1986 by purchasing transmission facilities from CP National (nowPacificorp) at a cost of $19 million.[54][55] In 2019 it had 42 employees, and the General Manager was Doug C. Smith.[56] It is powered in part by the Honey Lake biomass power plant, which runs onwood waste from the nearbyLassen National Forest.[57] TheWhaleback Fire caused a significant outage in 2018.[58]
^abSerbian Studies, Volumes 4–5 - North American Society for Serbian Studies, 1986
^Henderson, George; Olasiji, Thompson Dele (1995). Migrants, Immigrants, and Slaves: Racial and Ethnic Groups in America. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-9738-6.
^Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 355
^The Projection of BritainBritish Overseas Publicity and Propaganda 1919-1939 by Philip M. Taylor, Taylor Philip M. Taylor · 1981
^Serb World. 5–6. Neven Publishing Corporation. 1988. p. 40.
^California at War The State and the People During World War I By Diane M. T. North · 2018
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abcdefghiU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
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