Shasta - California Ghost Town

SHASTA

NAME: Shasta
COUNTY: Shasta
ROADS: 2WD
GRID #(see map): 1
CLIMATE: Mild winter, warm summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime.

COMMENTS: Just west of Redding, Semi-ghost. It's a historical State Park. So yes there still are residents. A store and some other commerical building still function for visitors. Beautiful views of Mt. Shasta (hence the name) Take 299 toward Eureka from the city of Redding.
REMAINS: Many old buildings, some restored some are still in ruins. Great historical site .

Actually a shipping center rather than a mining town until 1872 when the California and Oregon Railroad laid track to the six mile distant city of Redding, Shasta was the entrance to the rich mines in the back country as well as a stage stop between the Valleys of the Sacramento. Because of its location, Shasta was the supply depot for mule trains heading for the mines. History says a hundred mule trains and teams were known to stop at Shasta on a single night. The railroad signaled the demise of Shasta, which occurred around 1888. Not to be confused with the city of Mount Shasta, located at the base of the mountain of the same name, Shasta is an interesting stop along the way. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth. Six miles west of Redding on Highway 299 a row of old, half-ruined, brick buildings remind passing motorists that Shasta City, the lusty "Queen City" of California’s northern mining district, once stood on this site. Old Shasta was once "the" city in northern California. It was the commerical hub and county seat. That was until the railroad came to Redding. I'm not sure of the actual date of desertion, and I guess technically it has remained occupied, but it's definately a Ghost Town--One of California's best preserved!! Iron shutters still swing on massive, old, iron hinges before the doors and windows of grass-filled, roofless buildings that once were crowded with merchandise, and alive with the human sounds of business, trade, and social endeavor. Across the road is another old brick building that has now been restored to its 1861 appearance, the year when it was converted from commercial uses to become the Shasta County Courthouse. Today the building is filled with historical exhibits, and an unparalleled collection of historic California Artwork that make it the central figure of Shasta State Historic Park. The ghostly unrestored, brick ruins are part of the park too, as are some twenty acres of land and an old Trinity River hay barn. These buildings and some of the nearby roads, cottages, and cemeteries are all silent but eloquent vestiges of the intense activity that was centered here during the California gold rush. Submitted by: Eric Moore Shasta's gold discovery came in the spring of 1849, sparking California's second god rush. Through the summer of 1849, Argonauts from Oregon and the Mother Lode poured into this mushrooming camp. It was a tent city of more than 500 persons by October. But Shasta was to have its problems. An old mule train built by the Hudson's Bay Company was all that connected it with Sacramento, 188 miles to the south. The winter of 1849 was the wet winter that flooded Northern California and made the streets of Sacramento like the canals of Venice, Italy. Shasta, dreading both flood and isolation, panicked. Many people sold what they had and left for safer ground. After this experience, Shasta became transportation conscious and become the transportation hub to the northwest. The town is one of the truly romantic ruins among California ghost towns. Masonic Hall -- erected 1853 Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Cemetery Courtesy Dolores Steele Marker - 1887 Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet	Longest row of brick buildings erectred in 1853 -54 in Northern California. Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta General Store Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Wells Fargo Courtesy Dolores Steele Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet Shasta Courtesy Mark Overstreet

Actually a shipping center rather than a mining town until 1872 when the California and Oregon Railroad laid track to the six mile distant city of Redding, Shasta was the entrance to the rich mines in the back country as well as a stage stop between the Valleys of the Sacramento. Because of its location, Shasta was the supply depot for mule trains heading for the mines. History says a hundred mule trains and teams were known to stop at Shasta on a single night. The railroad signaled the demise of Shasta, which occurred around 1888. Not to be confused with the city of Mount Shasta, located at the base of the mountain of the same name, Shasta is an interesting stop along the way. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

Six miles west of Redding on Highway 299 a row of old, half-ruined, brick buildings remind passing motorists that Shasta City, the lusty "Queen City" of California’s northern mining district, once stood on this site. Old Shasta was once "the" city in northern California. It was the commerical hub and county seat. That was until the railroad came to Redding. I'm not sure of the actual date of desertion, and I guess technically it has remained occupied, but it's definately a Ghost Town--One of California's best preserved!! Iron shutters still swing on massive, old, iron hinges before the doors and windows of grass-filled, roofless buildings that once were crowded with merchandise, and alive with the human sounds of business, trade, and social endeavor. Across the road is another old brick building that has now been restored to its 1861 appearance, the year when it was converted from commercial uses to become the Shasta County Courthouse. Today the building is filled with historical exhibits, and an unparalleled collection of historic California Artwork that make it the central figure of Shasta State Historic Park. The ghostly unrestored, brick ruins are part of the park too, as are some twenty acres of land and an old Trinity River hay barn. These buildings and some of the nearby roads, cottages, and cemeteries are all silent but eloquent vestiges of the intense activity that was centered here during the California gold rush. Submitted by: Eric Moore

Shasta's gold discovery came in the spring of 1849, sparking California's second god rush. Through the summer of 1849, Argonauts from Oregon and the Mother Lode poured into this mushrooming camp. It was a tent city of more than 500 persons by October. But Shasta was to have its problems. An old mule train built by the Hudson's Bay Company was all that connected it with Sacramento, 188 miles to the south. The winter of 1849 was the wet winter that flooded Northern California and made the streets of Sacramento like the canals of Venice, Italy. Shasta, dreading both flood and isolation, panicked. Many people sold what they had and left for safer ground. After this experience, Shasta became transportation conscious and become the transportation hub to the northwest. The town is one of the truly romantic ruins among California ghost towns.