Dunsmuir

History

Sites in and near Dunsmuir have been inhabited for over 5000 years. At least three waves of early peoples swept through area, establishing residence. At the time of the first European-American contact in the 1820s, the site of Dunsmuir was within the range of the Okwanuchu tribe of Native Americans. During the 1820s, early European-American hunters and trappers passed through Dunsmuir's site, following the Siskiyou Trail. In the mid-1830s, pioneer horse and cattle drives came up the Sacramento Canyon, delivering livestock from Mexican California to the new settlements in the Oregon Country to the north. In 1841, an overland party of the famous United States Exploring Expedition passed through the area. The California Gold Rush led to increased traffic along the Siskiyou Trail through Dunsmuir's site, leading to the first non-Native American settlers at Upper Soda Springs in north Dunsmuir in the early 1850s. The discovery of gold at Yreka, California dramatically increased movement through the site of Dunsmuir, and a toll bridge and stagecoach hotel were built at Upper Soda Springs. In 1887, the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad along the line of the Siskiyou Trail led to the creation of the modern town of Dunsmuir. The railroad developed a division point on the flats south of Upper Soda Springs, where railroad steam engines would be serviced, and added to trains to push them up the steep grades north of town. A roundhouse and turntable were built. All this activity required the creation of a town, initially known as 'Poverty Flats' or 'Pusher'. South of the present downtown and north of Castella is an area known as Nutglade, which was previously known as Dunsmuir and before that, Cedar Flat. So the name moved north from the South rail yard to the main rail…

Geography

Dunsmuir is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 97.86% is land and 2.14% is water. Three water fountains are located on Dunsmuir Avenue in the Historic District. Two of the fountains previously ran 24 hours a day, however have since been changed in 2015 to only flow on demand due to water conservation measures placed on the state of California by Governor Jerry Brown.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Steller's Jay

  Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  4,364
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  3,405
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,224
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,202
• Red-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta canadensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,702
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  2,614
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  2,547
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,507

Largest nearby schools

• Golden Eagle Charter
  Other · Mount Shasta · 431 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Sisson
  Middle · Mount Shasta · 270 students · 20.8:1 ratio
• Mount Shasta High
  High · Mount Shasta · 266 students · 19:1 ratio
• Mt. Shasta Elementary
  Elementary · Mount Shasta · 194 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Dunsmuir Elementary
  Elementary · Dunsmuir · 93 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Dunsmuir High
  High · Dunsmuir · 66 students · 9.4:1 ratio
• McCloud Elementary
  Elementary · Mccloud · 48 students · 16:1 ratio
• McCloud High
  High · McCloud · 10 students · 5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.55 — 2026-08-18
  28 km NW of Weaverville, CA
• M 2.7 — 2026-08-06
  4 km SSE of Anderson, CA
• M 2.57 — 2026-07-17
  11 km ESE of Burney, CA
• M 2.64 — 2026-07-16
  30 km ESE of Somes Bar, CA
• M 2.95 — 2026-06-06
  27 km NE of Viola, CA
• M 2.52 — 2026-06-05
  24 km SSE of Somes Bar, CA