Shasta | |
|---|---|
 Historic Masonic Hall | |
  Shasta Position in California. Show map of California Shasta Shasta (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:40°35′32″N122°28′40″W / 40.59222°N 122.47778°W /40.59222; -122.47778 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Shasta |
| Area | |
• Total | 10.941 sq mi (28.337 km2) |
| • Land | 10.936 sq mi (28.325 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0046 sq mi (0.012 km2) 0.04% |
| Elevation | 843 ft (257 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,043 |
| • Density | 95.37/sq mi (36.82/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 2583135 |
| U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Shasta, California; | |
Shasta State Historic Park | |
| Location | Shasta, California |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000199[3] |
| CHISL No. | 77[4] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 14, 1971 |
| Designated CHISL | 1932 |
Shasta is acensus-designated place (CDP) inShasta County,California,[2] United States. Shasta sits at an elevation of 843 feet (257 m).[2] 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 aghost town andCalifornia State Historic Park.
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.[5] The discovery of gold near Shasta in 1848 broughtCalifornia Gold Rush-eraForty-Niners up theSiskiyou Trail in search of riches - most passed through Shasta, and continued to use it as base of operations. Those that stayed worked theplacer gold diggings of nearby, short-lived camps likeHorsetown, Buckeye, andWhiskeytown, California.
Situated about six miles (10 km) west ofRedding, California 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 theCentral Pacific Railroad bypassed Shasta, in favor ofRedding and the town began its decline into near "ghost town" 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 poetJoaquin Miller 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.[6][7] In this book, Miller describes his brief imprisonment in a Shasta jail for horse-stealing and subsequent escape with the aid of hisNative American wife.
The site of the town is now aCalifornia State Historic Park calledShasta 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 theCarr Fire in 2018, during which the elementary school was destroyed and the brewery and cemetery were damaged.[8]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 10.9 square miles (28.3 km2), 99.96% of it land and 0.04% of it water.[1]
According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Shasta has ahot-summer mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Shasta was 115 °F (46.1 °C) on July 28, 1976, and August 8, 1981, while the coldest temperature recorded was 14 °F (−10.0 °C) on December 21–22, 990.[9]
| Climate data for Shasta Dam, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1943–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 80 (27) | 80 (27) | 88 (31) | 97 (36) | 107 (42) | 111 (44) | 115 (46) | 115 (46) | 114 (46) | 104 (40) | 90 (32) | 80 (27) | 115 (46) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 66.3 (19.1) | 71.5 (21.9) | 78.3 (25.7) | 86.3 (30.2) | 93.7 (34.3) | 101.6 (38.7) | 106.3 (41.3) | 105.3 (40.7) | 101.7 (38.7) | 91.9 (33.3) | 76.3 (24.6) | 65.3 (18.5) | 108.0 (42.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 55.0 (12.8) | 58.7 (14.8) | 63.4 (17.4) | 69.6 (20.9) | 78.9 (26.1) | 88.2 (31.2) | 97.0 (36.1) | 96.0 (35.6) | 90.3 (32.4) | 77.6 (25.3) | 62.4 (16.9) | 54.2 (12.3) | 74.3 (23.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 47.8 (8.8) | 50.2 (10.1) | 53.6 (12.0) | 58.6 (14.8) | 67.4 (19.7) | 75.6 (24.2) | 83.0 (28.3) | 81.8 (27.7) | 76.6 (24.8) | 66.2 (19.0) | 54.2 (12.3) | 47.4 (8.6) | 63.5 (17.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 40.5 (4.7) | 41.7 (5.4) | 43.9 (6.6) | 47.6 (8.7) | 55.4 (13.0) | 63.0 (17.2) | 69.0 (20.6) | 67.7 (19.8) | 63.0 (17.2) | 54.8 (12.7) | 46.0 (7.8) | 40.6 (4.8) | 52.8 (11.5) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 32.2 (0.1) | 34.0 (1.1) | 35.4 (1.9) | 37.7 (3.2) | 44.4 (6.9) | 51.2 (10.7) | 60.1 (15.6) | 58.8 (14.9) | 52.9 (11.6) | 45.6 (7.6) | 36.9 (2.7) | 32.4 (0.2) | 29.2 (−1.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 19 (−7) | 21 (−6) | 25 (−4) | 28 (−2) | 35 (2) | 38 (3) | 50 (10) | 44 (7) | 43 (6) | 34 (1) | 30 (−1) | 14 (−10) | 14 (−10) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 10.51 (267) | 11.41 (290) | 9.24 (235) | 4.61 (117) | 2.93 (74) | 1.51 (38) | 0.14 (3.6) | 0.16 (4.1) | 0.52 (13) | 3.43 (87) | 6.59 (167) | 11.99 (305) | 63.04 (1,600.7) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 13.9 | 12.7 | 13.3 | 9.6 | 7.8 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 5.0 | 10.3 | 13.5 | 92.5 |
| Source 1: NOAA[10] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[9] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,771 | — | |
| 2020 | 1,043 | −41.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] 2010[12] | |||
Shasta first appeared as acensus designated place in the2010 U.S. census.[12]
The2020 United States census reported that Shasta had a population of 1,043. The population density was 95.4 inhabitants per square mile (36.8/km2). The racial makeup of Shasta was 894 (85.7%)White, 0 (0.0%)African American, 27 (2.6%)Native American, 17 (1.6%)Asian, 2 (0.2%)Pacific Islander, 16 (1.5%) fromother races, and 87 (8.3%) from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56 persons (5.4%).[13]
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.[13]
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%) werecohabiting 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.[13] There were 330families (79.9% of all households).[14]
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 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.6 males.[13]
There were 467 housing units at an average density of 42.7 units per square mile (16.5 units/km2), of which 413 (88.4%) were occupied. Of these, 341 (82.6%) were owner-occupied, and 72 (17.4%) were occupied by renters.[13]
In thestate legislature Shasta is inthe 1st senatorial district, represented byRepublican Megan Dahle,[15] andthe 1st Assembly district, represented byRepublican Heather Hadwick.[16]
Federally, Shasta is inCalifornia's 1st congressional district, represented byRepublican Doug LaMalfa.[17]
Municipalities and communities ofShasta County, California,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
