Foresthill, California

History

Foresthill is located on a broad ridge between the North and Middle Forks of the American River on the gold-bearing gravel bed of an ancient river.

In the spring of 1850, miners came to the Forest Hill Divide in large numbers. There was one route from Auburn through Yankee Jim's and one from Coloma. At the junction of these trails, the Forest House hotel and trading post was built. The height of mining activity in Foresthill began in 1853 after a winter landslide at the head of Jenny Lind Canyon exposed numerous nuggets of gold. The Jenny Lind mine produced about $2,500 of gold a day for a while, up to a total output over $1 million by 1880. The combined production of all the mines in the Forest Hill area was estimated at $10 million by 1868 with gold selling for $16 an ounce.

In the 1860s, there were about 125000 ft of hard-rock tunnels dug into the hillsides in, around and under Foresthill. By 1857, this area had become an important center for trade among the many gold camps on the divide. In 1862, the Hardy-Kennedy building was erected - the first fireproof store in Foresthill. This building, now known as the Langstaff building, is still being used by the merchants of Foresthill.

By 1880, Foresthill was one of the largest towns in Placer County, with an 80 ft wide main street. Today the town has a marker identifying it as a California Historical Landmark. The marker is located at 24540 Main Street.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau Foresthill has a total area of 11.2 sqmi, all of it land.

Climate

Foresthill has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate that is characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers (Köppen climate classification Csa).

Points of Interest

Foresthill Bridge

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1990 2000 2010

Foresthill first appeared as a census designated place in the 1980 United States census.

The 2020 United States census reported that Foresthill had a population of 1,692. The population density was 151.3 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Foresthill was 1,367 (80.8%) White, 7 (0.4%) African American, 41 (2.4%) Native American, 10 (0.6%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 26 (1.5%) from other races, and 240 (14.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 161 persons (9.5%).

The whole population lived in households. There were 673 households, out of which 153 (22.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 338 (50.2%) were married-couple households, 26 (3.9%) were cohabiting couple households, 107 (15.9%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 202 (30.0%) had a male householder with no partner present. 199 households (29.6%) were one person, and 80 (11.9%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51.

The age distribution was 368 people (21.7%) under the age of 18, 115 people (6.8%) aged 18 to 24, 451 people (26.7%) aged 25 to 44, 447 people (26.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 311 people (18.4%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.8years. For every 100 females, there were 108.1 males.

There were 756 housing units at an average density of 67.6 /mi2, of which 673 (89.0%) were occupied. Of these, 502 (74.6%) were owner-occupied, and 171 (25.4%) were occupied by renters.

References

References

1. "Final Maps {{!}} California Citizens Redistricting Commission".
2. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 3
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
4. "US Census Bureau".
5. {{GNIS. 2408229
6. {{cite ohp. 399. Foresthill. 2012-10-11
7. "Decennial Census by Decade".
8. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
9. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
10. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
11. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
12. "Foresthill CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
13. "Foresthill CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".