Shasta is an unincorporated community in Shasta County, California. 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. The discovery of gold near Shasta in 1849 brought California Gold Rush-era Forty-Niners up the Siskiyou Trail in search of riches - most passed through Shasta, and continued to use it as base of operations. Situated about six miles west of Redding, California along Highway 299, Shasta was once home to some 3,500 residents and a thriving commercial district. However, in the mid-1880s, the newly-constructed Central Pacific railroad bypassed Shasta, in favor of Redding and the town declined into "ghost town" status. The site of the town is now a California state historical park containing many of the original 1850s-era brick buildings, partially restored. The poet Joaquin 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. In his autobiography Miller describes his brief imprisonment in Shasta jail for horse-stealing and subsequent escape with the aid of his Native American wife. It is now a town of 750 people with the ruins of the gold mining town, a post office, a church, an elementary school, and a store.
Demographics
The US Census Bureau does not define a place called Shasta, California. However, the census does define the ZCTA (ZIP code tabulation area) for ZIP code 96087, which encompasses the entire community and has a very small square mileage, only 11.6 square miles or 30 square kilometers. As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 524 people, 436 households, and 367 families residing in 96087. The population density was 45.2 people per square mile (127.4/km²). There were 234 housing units at an average density of 17.5/sq mi (45.7/km²). The racial makeup of 96087 was 93.32% White, 0.56% African American, 0% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 1.14% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. 96087 will most likely expand to possibly 50 or more square miles to cover more addresses currently using 96001 because Redding will have too many people sharing one zip code. The community of Keswick which currently uses Shasta for PO boxes will use it for street addresses as well. If that happens, the same borders currently used in te zip code will be used to define Shasta as a CDP at the 2010 Census.
External links
- Official site of Shasta State Historic Park
- Shasta as a ghost town today
- Museum of the Siskiyou Trail
- Shasta State Historic Park
- Shasta, California is at coordinates Coordinates:
|
Shasta County, California |
||
|---|---|---|
| County seat: Redding | ||
| Cities |
 |
|
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities |
Bella Vista | Cassel | Castella | Hat Creek | Igo | Oak Run | Old Station | Platina | Pollard Flat | Shasta | Whitmore |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
| National Park System |
National Parks: Channel Islands • Death Valley • Joshua Tree • Kings Canyon • Lassen Volcanic • Redwood • Sequoia • Yosemite |
| State Parks |
State Parks: Ahjumawi Lava Springs • Andrew Molera • Angel Island • Annadel • Año Nuevo • Anza-Borrego Desert • Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland • Bidwell-Sacramento River • Big Basin Redwoods • Big River • Border Field • Bothe-Napa Valley • Burton Creek • Butano • Calaveras Big Trees • Castle Crags • Castle Rock • Caswell Memorial • China Camp • Chino Hills • Clear Lake • Crystal Cove • Cuyamaca Rancho • D. L. Bliss • Del Norte Coast Redwoods • Donner Memorial • Eastshore • El Escorpion • Emerald Bay • Fort Ord Dunes • Fremont Peak • Garrapata • Gaviota • Great Valley Grasslands • Grizzly Creek Redwoods • Grover Hot Springs • Hendy Woods • Henry Cowell Redwoods • Henry W. Coe • Humboldt Lagoons • Humboldt Redwoods • Jedediah Smith Redwoods • Julia Pfeiffer Burns • Leo Carrillo • Limekiln • MacKerricher • Malibu Creek • Manchester • McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial • Mendocino Headlands • Mendocino Woodlands • Montaña de Oro • Morro Bay • Mount Diablo • Mount San Jacinto • Mount Tamalpais • Navarro River Redwoods • Pacheco • Palomar Mountain • Patrick's Point • Pfeiffer Big Sur • Placerita Canyon • Plumas-Eureka • Point Mugu • Portola Redwoods • Prairie Creek Redwoods • Red Rock Canyon • Richardson Grove • Rio de Los Angeles • Robert Louis Stevenson • Russian Gulch • Saddleback Butte • Salt Point • Samuel P. Taylor • San Bruno Mountain • San Simeon • Sinkyone Wilderness • South Yuba River • Sugar Pine Point • Sugarloaf Ridge • Sutter Buttes • The Forest of Nisene Marks • Tolowa Dunes • Tomales Bay • Topanga • Van Damme • Washoe Meadows • Wilder Ranch State Reserves: Año Nuevo • Antelope Valley California Poppy • Armstrong Redwoods • Azalea • Caspar Headlands • John B. Dewitt • John Little • Jug Handle • Kruse Rhododendron • Los Osos Oaks • Mailliard Redwoods • Mono Lake Tufa • Montgomery Woods • Point Lobos • Smithe Redwoods • Torrey Pines • Tule Elk State Historic Parks: Anderson Marsh • Antelope Valley Indian Museum • Bale Grist Mill • Benicia Capitol • Bidwell Mansion • Bodie • California Citrus • California State Indian Museum • Chumash Painted Cave • Colonel Allensworth • Columbia • Cowell Ranch/John Marsh • El Presidio de Santa Barbara • Empire Mine • Folsom Powerhouse • Fort Humboldt • Fort Ross • Fort Tejon • Governor's Mansion • Hearst San Simeon • Indian Grinding Rock • Jack London • La Purísima Mission • Leland Stanford Mansion • Los Angeles • Los Encinos • Malakoff Diggins • Marconi Conference Center • Marshall Gold Discovery • Monterey • Old Sacramento • Old Town San Diego • Olompali • Petaluma Adobe • Pigeon Point Light Station • Pío Pico • Point Sur • Railtown 1897 • San Juan Bautista • San Pasqual Battlefield • Santa Cruz Mission • Santa Susana Pass • Shasta • Sonoma • Sutter's Fort • Tomo-Kahni • Wassama Round House • Watts Towers of Simon Rodia • Weaverville Joss House • Will Rogers • William B. Ide Adobe • Woodland Opera House State Beaches: Asilomar • Bean Hollow • Bolsa Chica • Cardiff • Carlsbad • Carmel River • Carpinteria • Caspar Headlands • Cayucos • Corona del Mar • Dockweiler • Doheny • El Capitán • El Porto • Emma Wood • Gray Whale Cove • Greenwood • Half Moon Bay • Huntington • Leucadia • Lighthouse Field • Little River • Malibu Lagoon • Mandalay • Manresa • Marina • McGrath • Montara • Monterey • Moonlight • Morro Strand • Moss Landing • Natural Bridges • New Brighton • Pacifica • Pelican • Pescadero • Pismo • Point Dume • Point Sal • Pomponio • Refugio • Robert H. Meyer Memorial • Robert W. Crown Memorial • Salinas River • San Buenaventura • San Clemente • San Elijo • San Gregorio • San Onofre • Santa Monica • Schooner Gulch • Seacliff • Silver Strand • Sonoma Coast • South Carlsbad • Sunset • Thornton • Torrey Pines • Trinidad • Twin Lakes • Westport-Union Landing • Will Rogers • William Randolph Hearst Memorial • Zmudowski State Recreation Areas: Admiral William Standley • Auburn • Austin Creek • Benbow Lake • Benicia • Bethany Reservoir • Brannan Island • Candlestick Point • Castaic Lake • Colusa-Sacramento River • Folsom Lake • Franks Tract • George J. Hatfield • Harry A. Merlo • Kenneth Hahn • Kings Beach • Lake Del Valle • Lake Oroville • Lake Perris • Lake Valley • McConnell • Millerton Lake • Picacho • Providence Mountains • Salton Sea • San Luis Reservoir • Silverwood Lake • Standish-Hickey • Tahoe • Turlock Lake • Woodson Bridge Other: Burleigh H. Murray Ranch • California Mining and Mineral Museum • California State Capitol Museum • California State Railroad Museum • Castro Adobe • Delta Meadows • Estero Bay • Hatton Canyon • Indio Hills Palms • Marital Cottle Project • Point Cabrillo Light Station • Point Lobos Ranch • Point Montara Light Station • Reynolds Wayside Campground • San Timoteo Canyon • Stone Lake • Verdugo Mountains • Ward Creek • Wildwood Canyon |
| National Forests |
National Forests: Angeles • Cleveland • Eldorado • Inyo • Klamath • Lassen • Los Padres • Mendocino • Modoc • Plumas • San Bernardino • Sequoia • Shasta-Trinity • Sierra • Six Rivers • Stanislaus • Tahoe |
| State Forests |
Boggs Mountain Demonstration • Ellen Pickett • Jackson Demonstration • Las Posadas • LaTour Demonstration • Mount Zion • Mountain Home Demonstration • Soquel Demonstration |
| National Wildlife Refuges |
Antioch Dunes • Bitter Creek • Blue Ridge • Butte Sink • Castle Rock • Clear Lake • Coachella Valley • Colusa • Delevan • Don Edwards San Francisco Bay • Ellicott Slough • Farallon • Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes • Hopper Mountain • Humboldt Bay • Kern • Lower Klamath • Marin Islands • Merced • Modoc • Pixley • Sacramento • Sacramento River • Salinas River • San Diego Bay • San Diego • San Joaquin River • San Luis • San Pablo Bay • Seal Beach • Sonny Bono Salton Sea • Stone Lakes • Sutter • Tijuana Slough • Tule Lake |
| State Wildlife Areas |
Wildlife Areas: Antelope Valley • Ash Creek • Bass Hill • Battle Creek • Big Lagoon • Big Sandy • Biscar • Butte Valley • Buttermilk Country • Cache Creek • Camp Cady • Cantara/Ney Springs • Cedar Roughs • Cinder Flats • Collins Eddy • Colusa Bypass • Coon Hollow • Cottonwood Creek • Crescent City Marsh • Crocker Meadows • Daugherty Hill • Decker Island • Doyle • Dutch Flat • Eastlker River • Eel River • Elk Creek Wetlands • Elk River • Fay Slough • Feather River • Fitzhugh Creek • Fremont Weir • Grass Lake • Gray Lodge • Green Creek • Grizzly Island • Hallelujah Junction • Heenan Lake • Hill Slough • Hollenbeck Canyon • Honey Lake • Hope Valley • Horseshoe Ranch • Imperial • Indian Valley • Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains • Kinsman Flat • Knoxville • Laguna • Lake Berryessa • Lake Earl • Lake Sonoma • Little Panoche Reservoir • Los Banos • Lower Sherman Island • Mad River Slough • Marble Mountains • Mendota • Merrill's Landing • Miner Slough • Monache Meadows • Morro Bay • Moss Landing • Mouth of Cottonwood Creek • Napa-Sonoma Marshes • North Grasslands • O'Neill Forebay • Oroville • Petaluma Marsh • Pickel Meadow • Pine Creek • Point Edith • Putah Creek • Rector Reservoir • Red Lake • Rhode Island • Sacramento River • San Felipe Valley • San Jacinto • San Luis Obispo • San Luis Reservoir • San Pablo Bay • Santa Rosa • Shasta Valley • Silver Creek • Slinkard/Little Antelope • Smithneck Creek • South Fork • Spenceville • Surprise Valley • Sutter Bypass • Tehama • Truckee River • Upper Butte Basin • Volta • Warner Valley • Waukell Creek • West Hilmar • Westlker River • White Slough • Willow Creek • Yolo Bypass |
| National Landscape Conservation System |
National Monuments: California Coastal • Carrizo Plain • Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains |
| National Marine Sanctuaries |
|
| National Estuarine Research Reserves |
Elkhorn Slough • San Francisco Bay • Tijuana River |
| University of California Natural Reserve System |
Año Nuevo Island • Bodega Marine • Box Springs • Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center • Burns Piñon Ridge • Carpinteria Salt Marsh • Chickering American River • Coal Oil Point • Dawson Los Monos Canyon • Eagle Lake Field Station • Elliott Chaparral • Emerson Oaks • Fort Ord • Hastings • James San Jacinto Mountains • Jenny Pygmy Forest • Jepson Prairie • Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh • Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino • Landels-Hill Big Creek • McLaughlin • Motte Rimrock • Quail Ridge • Sagehen Creek Field Station • San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh • Santa Cruz Island • Scripps Coastal • Sedgwick • Stebbins Cold Canyon • Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains • Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center • Valentine Eastern Sierra • Younger Lagoon |
