Trinity County, California
County of Trinity | ||
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— County — | ||
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Location in the state of California | ||
California's location in the United States | ||
Country | United States | |
State | California | |
Region | North Coast | |
Incorporated | February 18, 1850[1] | |
County seat | Weaverville | |
Area | ||
• Total | 8,307.5 km2 (3,207.54 sq mi) | |
• Land | 8,232.6 km2 (3,178.61 sq mi) | |
• Water | 74.9 km2 (28.93 sq mi) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 13,786 | |
• Density | 1.7/km2 (4.3/sq mi) | |
Time zone | Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8) | |
• Summer (DST) | Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) | |
Website | www.trinitycounty.org |
Trinity County is a large, rugged and mountainous, heavily forested county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California, along the Trinity River and within the Salmon/Klamath Mountains. It covers an area of over two million acres (8,000 km²), and as of the 2010 census its population was 13,786, up from 13,022 at the 2000 census. The county seat and largest town is Weaverville, with a population of approximately 3,500 people.
Trinity County has no traffic lights, freeways, parking meters, or incorporated cities. Trinity County did not have a chain store or restaurant until 1999, when Burger King, Movie Gallery (closed), Longs Drugs (now CVS/pharmacy), and Subway opened for business.
Weaverville, the county seat, has the distinction of housing some of California's oldest buildings. The courthouse, built in 1856, is the second oldest in the state, and the Weaverville Drug Store has been filling prescriptions since 1852. The Joss House is an historic Taoist temple built in 1873.
Contents
History[edit]
The county takes its name from the Trinity River, named in 1845 by Major Pierson B. Reading, who was under the mistaken impression that the river emptied into Trinidad Bay. Trinity is the English translation of Trinidad.
Trinity County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were given to Klamath County in 1852 and to Humboldt County in 1853.
Geography[edit]
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 3,207.54 square miles (8,307.5 km2), of which 3,178.61 square miles (8,232.6 km2) (or 99.10%) is land and 28.93 square miles (74.9 km2) (or 0.90%) is water.[2] The county contains a significant portion of Shasta-Trinity National Forest, home to the Trinity Alps. The county hosts many visitors, especially during summer months, for camping, backpacking, and fishing. The summers tend to be clear, sunny, warm, and very dry, with little rain from June to September except for some mountain thunderstorms in the highest elevations. The winters tend to have copious precipitation, falling mostly as rain under 1000m/3300 ft in the valley bottoms, and mostly as snow over 1000m/3300 ft on the mountainsides. December, January, and February are the wettest. There is an extensive wild river and stream system, and the terrain is quite rugged and forested, with the highest points at around 9,000 ft (2,700 m). The Klamath Mountains occupy the vast portion of the county.
Towns and communities[edit]
Trinity County has no incorporated cities.
CDPs |
Unincorporated Communities |
Adjacent counties[edit]
- Mendocino County, California—south
- Humboldt County, California—west
- Siskiyou County, California—north
- Shasta County, California—east
- Tehama County, California—southeast
National protected areas[edit]
- Mendocino National Forest (part)
- Shasta-Trinity National Forest (part)
- Six Rivers National Forest (part)
- Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (part: Trinity unit only)
Transportation infrastructure[edit]
Major highways[edit]
Public transportation[edit]
Trinity Transit provides weekday intercity bus service on State Routes 3 and 299, with connecting service in Willow Creek and Redding. Service is also provided from Weaverville to Lewiston (MWF) and Hayfork (daily).
Airports[edit]
The county owns five general aviation airports: Trinity Center Airport, Weaverville Airport, Hayfork Airport, Hyampom Airport and Ruth Airport.
Politics[edit]
Year | GOP | DEM | Others |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | 47.9% 2,716 | 47.1% 2,674 | 4.8% 241 |
2008 | 46.1% 2,940 | 50.7% 3,233 | 3.2% 201 |
2004 | 54.7% 3,560 | 42.7% 2,782 | 2.6% 171 |
2000 | 57.6% 3,340 | 33.3% 1,932 | 9.1% 525 |
1996 | 42.9% 2,530 | 37.4% 2,203 | 19.7% 1,160 |
1992 | 31.3% 1,886 | 32.6% 1,967 | 36.1% 2,176 |
1988 | 54.6% 3,267 | 42.1% 2,518 | 3.3% 195 |
1984 | 59.7% 3,544 | 37.4% 2,218 | 2.9% 173 |
1980 | 55.0% 3,048 | 31.3% 1,734 | 13.8% 764 |
1976 | 45.7% 1,989 | 49.9% 2,172 | 4.5% 195 |
1972 | 50.8% 1,868 | 44.0% 1,621 | 5.2% 192 |
1968 | 43.1% 1,426 | 43.3% 1,433 | 13.5% 448 |
1964 | 36.4% 1,252 | 63.3% 2,175 | 0.4% 12 |
1960 | 38.4% 1,418 | 61.2% 2,262 | 0.5% 18 |
1956 | 50.4% 1,447 | 49.0% 1,406 | 0.6% 17 |
1952 | 57.1% 1,697 | 41.8% 1,242 | 1.0% 31 |
1948 | 45.1% 975 | 48.7% 1,053 | 6.3% 135 |
1944 | 42.2% 567 | 57.3% 770 | 0.5% 6 |
1940 | 34.8% 780 | 63.8% 1,431 | 1.4% 31 |
1936 | 30.9% 655 | 67.1% 1,424 | 2.0% 43 |
1932 | 21.1% 318 | 73.0% 1,101 | 5.9% 89 |
1928 | 48.9% 447 | 47.3% 433 | 3.8% 35 |
1924 | 36.5% 336 | 16.7% 154 | 46.8% 431 |
1920 | 62.9% 622 | 28.8% 285 | 8.3% 82 |
Trinity was a Republican-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections until recently. In the last presidential election (2008) and in the last two consecutive congressional elections (2008, 2010) it has voted Democratic. Voter registration also reflects this trend with Democratic and Republican registration in a near dead heat (D - 2,710, R - 2,716). Before 2008, the last Democrat to win in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976. It was the only county in California to vote for independent candidate Ross Perot in 1992. However, in 2008, Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican candidate John McCain 51% to 46%.
Trinity County is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.[3]
In the state legislature Trinity is in the 4th Senate District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen,[4] and the 2nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Wesley Chesbro.[5]
On November 2, 2010 Trinity county voted against Proposition 19 which would have taxed and regulated marijuana. This activity is currently illegal under both state and federal law, with the parameters of California's Proposition 215 giving medical marijuana producers and users only a legal defense against prosecution.
Demographics[edit]
2010[edit]
The 2010 United States Census reported that Trinity County had a population of 13,786. The racial makeup of Trinity County was 12,033 (87.3%) White, 59 (0.4%) African American, 655 (4.8%) Native American, 94 (0.7%) Asian, 16 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 217 (1.6%) from other races, and 712 (5.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 959 persons (7.0%).[6]
Population reported at 2010 United States Census | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Population |
|
American |
American |
|
Islander |
races |
more races |
or Latino (of any race) |
Trinity County | 13,786 | 12,033 | 59 | 655 | 94 | 16 | 217 | 712 | 959 |
places |
Population |
|
American |
American |
|
Islander |
races |
more races |
or Latino (of any race) |
Burnt Ranch | 281 | 241 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 19 |
Coffee Creek | 217 | 198 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
Douglas City | 713 | 639 | 0 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 29 | 47 |
Hayfork | 2,368 | 1,999 | 4 | 162 | 8 | 2 | 38 | 155 | 189 |
Hyampom | 241 | 199 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 19 |
Junction City | 680 | 597 | 1 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 31 | 49 |
Lewiston | 1,193 | 1,074 | 8 | 37 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 42 | 78 |
Mad River | 420 | 383 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 21 |
Ruth | 195 | 170 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
Trinity Center | 267 | 249 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
Trinity Village | 297 | 269 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 |
Weaverville | 3,600 | 3,162 | 11 | 152 | 41 | 1 | 38 | 195 | 255 |
communities |
Population |
|
American |
American |
|
Islander |
races |
more races |
or Latino (of any race) |
All others not CDPs (combined) | 3,314 | 2,853 | 33 | 168 | 17 | 3 | 66 | 174 | 249 |
2000[edit]
Historical populations | |||
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Census | Pop. | %± | |
1850 | 1,635 |
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|
1860 | 5,125 | 213.5% | |
1870 | 3,213 | −37.3% | |
1880 | 4,999 | 55.6% | |
1890 | 3,719 | −25.6% | |
1900 | 4,383 | 17.9% | |
1910 | 3,301 | −24.7% | |
1920 | 2,551 | −22.7% | |
1930 | 2,809 | 10.1% | |
1940 | 3,970 | 41.3% | |
1950 | 5,087 | 28.1% | |
1960 | 9,706 | 90.8% | |
1970 | 7,615 | −21.5% | |
1980 | 11,858 | 55.7% | |
1990 | 13,063 | 10.2% | |
2000 | 13,022 | −0.3% | |
2010 | 13,786 | 5.9% | |
Est. 2012 | 13,526 | −1.9% | |
2012 Estimate[8] |
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 13,022 people, 5,587 households, and 3,625 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 7,980 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.9% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 4.9% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.9% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. 4.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.1% were of German, 13.4% English, 12.1% Irish and 9.5% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.3% spoke English and 1.8% Spanish as their first language.
There were 5,587 households out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.80.
In the county the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 32.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,711, and the median income for a family was $34,343. Males had a median income of $31,131 versus $24,271 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,868. About 14.1% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Trinity County is the only county in California in which soft drinks are predominantly called "coke," rather than "soda" which is more common throughout the rest of the state.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trinity County, California |
- Hiking trails in Trinity County
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Trinity County, California
- Trinity Lakes American Viticultural Area
- Willow Creek American Viticultural Area
References[edit]
- ^ "Chronology". California Counties. California State Association of Counties. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
- ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ "California's 2nd Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
- ^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Census.gov. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links[edit]
- Trinity County official website
- Trinity County Chamber Of Commerce
- Trinity County Recreation Guide
- Weavervilleinfo
- Trinity Cam
- North Trinity Lake area
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Siskiyou County | |||
Humboldt County | Shasta County | |||
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Mendocino County | Tehama County |
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