Shasta County, California

History

Shasta County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county was named after Mount Shasta. The name is derived from the English equivalent for the Shasta people. Their population declined in the 1850s due to disease, low birth rate, starvation, killings and massacres as white settlers moved in. Before statehood the name of the tribe was spelled in various ways. The process of naming the county determined the present version, Shasta. Throughout most of Shasta County the 14,179 ft peak of Mount Shasta in adjacent Siskiyou County is visible to the north. The mountain was originally within Shasta County, but a section went toward the formation of Siskiyou County in 1852. Another section contributed to the formation of Tehama County in 1856.

In 1992, the Fountain Fire burned more than 63000 acre and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures, including large parts of Round Mountain and Montgomery Creek. More than 7,000 people were forced to evacuate. Estimated losses totaled $105.6 million (equivalent to about $ million in ).

Shasta has served as the epicenter of the revived Jefferson State proposal since 2016 which wants to have Northern California and Southern Oregon form a new State. The movement is associated with the Republican Party as its supporters argue that the Democratic controlled legislatures of both states have ignored the needs of the rural parts of their states.

The Fountain Wind project, proposed by energy firm ConnectGEN LLC, includes up to 71 wind turbines, 679 ft tall, with the capacity to generate 216 megawatts of electricity. In 2021, the Shasta County Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject the project's use permit, followed by an appeal to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors that similarly resulted in a 4–1 vote to deny the appeal. Wildfire risks and firefighting challenges, among other issues, were given as a primary reason for the rejection of the project. In early 2023, ConnectGen resubmitted its application to the California Energy Commission under Assembly Bill 205 which established a new certification program for non-fossil-fuel powered plants of 50 megawatts or more and related facilities.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3847 sqmi, of which 72 sqmi (1.9%) are covered by water. Mountains line the county on the east, north, and west. The Sacramento River flows out of the mountains to the north, through the center of the county, and toward the Sacramento Valley to the south.

Flora and fauna

According to early California botanist and conservationist Willis Linn Jepson, the biota of Shasta County was not explored in a scientific manner until just before 1900. Until the 1920s, the Southern Pacific Railroad Company owned vast tracts of natural grasslands, but during the 1920s, the railroad sold off much of its grassland holdings, leading to the rapid clearing of brush and large-scale conversion from habitat to agricultural uses. Shasta County has extensive forests, which cover over one half the land area with commercially productive forest systems. Common forest alliances include mixed-oak woodland and mixed conifer-oak woodland, as well as Douglas fir forest. Common trees found include white-bark pine, California black oak, and California buckeye.

Adjacent counties

• Siskiyou County – north
• Modoc County – northeast
• Lassen County – east
• Plumas County – southeast
• Tehama County – south
• Trinity County – west

National protected areas

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest (part)
• Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2015

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 182,155. The median age was 42.8 years, 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18, and 22.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 78.4% White, 1.0% Black or African American, 2.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.3% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.6% from some other race, and 10.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.8% of the population.

66.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 33.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 72,836 households in the county, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 79,380 housing units, of which 8.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.6% were owner-occupied and 35.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Shasta County had a population of 177,223. The racial makeup of Shasta County was 153,726 (86.7%) White, 1,548 (0.9%) African American, 4,950 (2.8%) Native American, 4,391 (2.5%) Asian, 271 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 4,501 (2.5%) from other races, and 7,836 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14,878 persons (8.4%).

2000

As of the census of 2000, 163,256 people, 63,426 households, and 44,017 families were residing in the county. The population density was 43 /mi2. The 68,810 housing units had an average density of 18 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 89.3% White, 0.8% African American, 2.8% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. About 5.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. About 15.7% were of German, 12.3% English, 11.2% Irish, 9.9% American, and 5.2% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000; 94.0% spoke English and 3.3% Spanish as their first language.

Of the 63,426 households, 31.7% had children under 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were not families. About 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52, and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, theage distribution was 26.1% under 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,335, and for a family was $40,491. Males had a median income of $35,959 versus $24,773 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,738. About 11.3% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the United States House of Representatives, Shasta County is in .

In the California State Legislature, Shasta County is in ,{{Cite web | access-date = September 24, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151023054153/http://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/downloads/meeting_handouts_072011/handouts_20110729_q2_sd_finaldraft_splits.zip | archive-date = October 23, 2015 | url-status = dead

Shasta at one time favored the Democratic Party in Presidential elections. The economy was shaped by the construction of Shasta Dam, and at one point some 60 percent of its registered voters were pro-labor Democrats. It went Democratic in all but one presidential election from 1932 to 1976, and was one of the few counties in the state to be won by George McGovern. Since 1980, it has become one of the most Republican counties in the state in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to carry the county in a presidential race was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Indeed, Carter is the last Democrat to manage even 40 percent of the county's vote.

A 2022 successful recall unseated supervisor, Leonard Moty, Redding's ex-police chief who describes himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate, after enough signatures were collected to have the election. The county's Board of Supervisors shifted to a conservative supermajority in subsequent elections. The board issued a declaration opposing state vaccine mandates and fired the health officer after the change in the makeup of the all Republican board. The Board cancelled its contract with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to pursue other options including the possibility of counting votes by hand. The county's contract with Dominion was not up for renewal until 2025. County supervisor Kevin Crye met privately with Mike Lindell in Minnesota before the vote. According to Lindell, they discussed how to run elections without voting machines. State and federal law require that voters with disabilities have access to an electronic voting system. The county selected Hart InterCivic as the new provider of voting equipment.

Voter registration statistics

Cities by population and voter registration

Transportation

Major highways

• [[File:I-5 (CA).svg|20px]] Interstate 5
• [[File:California 36.svg|20px]] State Route 36
• [[File:California 44.svg|20px]] State Route 44
• [[File:California 89.svg|20px]] State Route 89
• [[File:California 151.svg|20px]] State Route 151
• [[File:California 273.svg|20px]] State Route 273
• [[File:California 299.svg|20px]] State Route 299

Public transportation

Redding Area Bus Authority (RABA) provides service in and around Redding. One route operates to Burney via State Route 299.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight serves Redding Station once a day in each direction.

Amtrak Thruway provides twice daily service from Redding to/from Stockton or Sacramento for connections to the Gold Runner, which serve the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles area via rail and bus connections.

Airports

Redding Municipal Airport has scheduled passenger flights. Other (general aviation) airports within the county include Benton Field (near Redding), Fall River Mills Airport, and Shingletown Airport.

Law enforcement

The Shasta County sheriff provides prison administration and coroner services for the entire county, and patrol, investigative, and coroner services for the unincorporated portions of the county.

Redding and Anderson have municipal police departments.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Education

School districts include:

Unified:

• Fall River Joint Unified School District
• Gateway Unified School District

Secondary:

• Anderson Union High School District
• Dunsmuir Joint Union High School District
• Red Bluff Joint Union High School District
• Shasta Union High School District

Elementary:

• Antelope Elementary School District
• Bella Vista Elementary School District
• Black Butte Union Elementary School District
• Cascade Union Elementary School District
• Castle Rock Union Elementary School District
• Columbia Elementary School District
• Cottonwood Union Elementary School District
• Enterprise Elementary School District
• French Gulch-Whiskeytown Elementary School District
• Grant Elementary School District
• Happy Valley Union Elementary School District
• Igo, Ono, Platina Union Elementary School District
• Indian Springs Elementary School District
• Junction Elementary School District
• Millville Elementary School District
• Mountain Union Elementary School District
• North Cow Creek Elementary School District
• Oak Run Elementary School District
• Pacheco Union Elementary School District
• Redding Elementary School District
• Shasta Union Elementary School District
• Whitmore Union Elementary School District

High schools and below

• 43 elementary schools
• 10 junior high schools
• 8 high schools
• 35 private schools

Colleges and universities

Shasta County has four colleges and universities:

• Shasta College, Redding: 2-year, fully accredited
• Simpson University, Redding: 4-year, fully accredited
• National University, Redding: 4-year, fully accredited
• Shasta Bible College: 4-year

Points of interest

• Shasta Dam - second-largest dam in US
• Lassen Peak
• Lassen Volcanic National Park
• Shasta Lake
• Turtle Bay Exploration Park
• Hat Creek Radio Observatory
• Iron Mountain Mine - one of the nation's most toxic waste sites
• Sundial Bridge/Turtle Bay, an architectural beauty and a natural habitat area surrounded by urbanization
• Burney Falls
• Whiskeytown Dam and Lake, with John F. Kennedy Memorial

Annual events

• Kool April Nites (April): A classic car show
• Rodeo Week Festivities (May)
• Art Fair and Fiddler's Jamboree (May)
• Whiskeytown Regatta (May)
• Watershed Festival (May)
• Strawberry Festival (May)
• Shasta Dragonwood Celtic Faire (May)
• Redding Exchange Club Air Show (June)
• Shasta District Fair (June)
• Fall River Valley Century Bike Ride (July)
• Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration (July)
• Burney Basin Days (July)
• Fall River Valley Wild Rice Festival (Aug)
• Intermountain Fair, Fall River Valley (September) The Shasta County Fair
• Stillwater Pow Wow (September)
• Walk To End Alzheimer's (September)
• Big Bike Weekend (October)
• Fall River Valley Lights of Christmas Parade (December)
• Palo Cedro Honey Bee Festival (September)

Communities

Cities

• Anderson
• Redding
• Shasta Lake

Unincorporated communities

• Beegum
• Bella Vista
• Big Bend
• Burney
• Cassel
• Castella
• Centerville
• Cottonwood
• Dana
• Enterprise
• Fall River Mills
• French Gulch
• Happy Valley
• Hat Creek
• Igo
• Ingot
• Johnson Park
• Jones Valley
• Keswick
• Lakehead
• McArthur
• Millville
• Montgomery Creek
• Motion
• Mountain Gate
• Oak Run
• O'Brien
• Old Station
• Ono
• Palo Cedro
• Platina
• Pollard Flat
• Round Mountain
• Shasta
• Shingletown
• Viola
• Whiskeytown
• Whitmore

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Shasta County. † county seat

Notes

References

References

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38. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
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40. not an option in the 1990 Census
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