Trinity County, California

County of Trinity
—  County  —
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	North Coast
Incorporated	1850
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 a locally famous Taoist temple built in 1873.

History

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 version 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

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. 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.

Cities and towns

Trinity County has no incorporated cities.

CDPs

• Burnt Ranch
• Coffee Creek
• Douglas City
• Hayfork
• Hyampom
• Junction City
• Lewiston
• Mad River
• Ruth
• Trinity Center
• Trinity Village
• Weaverville

Unincorporated Communities

• Big Bar
• Helena
• Peanut
• Salyer
• Zenia

Adjacent counties

• Mendocino County, California—south
• Humboldt County, California—west
• Siskiyou County, California—north
• Shasta County, California—east
• Tehama County, California—southeast

National protected areas

• Mendocino National Forest (part)
• Shasta-Trinity National Forest (part)
• Six Rivers National Forest (part)
• Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (part: Trinity unit only)

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

• State Route 3
• State Route 36
• State Route 299

Public transportation

Trinity Transit provides bus service on State Routes 3 and 299, serving Hayfork, Douglas City and Weaverville.

Airports

The county owns five general aviation airports: Trinity Center Airport, Weaverville Airport, Hayfork Airport, Hyampom Airport and Ruth Airport.

Politics

Trinity County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
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 is part of California's 2nd congressional district, which is held by Republican Wally Herger. In the state legislature Trinity is in the 1st Assembly district, which is held by Democrat Wes Chesbro, and the 4th Senate district, which is held by Republican Doug LaMalfa.

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

2010

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%).

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Trinity County	13,786	12,033	59	655	94	16	217	712	959
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic 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
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	3,314	2,853	33	168	17	3	66	174	249

2000

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	1,635		—
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%
source:

As of the census 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 88.87% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 4.85% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 4.38% from two or more races. 3.97% 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. Interestingly, while this county leans Republican, it receives among the highest levels of federal government direct assistance at $9,924 per resident. And since almost 36 percent of all income in this county comes from the federal government that makes it one of the largest beneficiaries of financial aid in the country on a per capita basis.

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.

See also

• 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

External links

• Trinity County official website
• Trinity County Chamber Of Commerce
• Trinity County Recreation Guide
• Weavervilleinfo
• Trinity Cam
• North Trinity Lake area