Trinity County, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Trinity County, California | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of California |
|
 California's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1850 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Weaverville |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
3,208 sq mi (8,309 km²) 3,179 sq mi (8,234 km²) 29 sq mi (75 km²), 0.90% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
13,022 5/sq mi (2/km²) |
| 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. As of 2000 its population was 13,022. Its county seat and largest town is Weaverville, at around 3500 people. There are no incorporated cities in Trinity County, and there is not a single freeway, traffic light, or parking meter. It is well over half the size of Connecticut or a little over 1/3 of New Jersey or a little under 1/2 of Massachusetts. Trinity County did not have a single name-brand store or restaurant until 1999, when Burger King, Movie Gallery, Longs Drugs and Subway opened in the Tops SuperFoods shopping center.
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[edit] History
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. Klamath County ceased to exist in 1874 after it was dissolved due to corruption and widespread electoral fraud.
The county takes its name from the Trinity River, named in 1845 by Major Pearson B. Reading, who was under the mistaken impression that the river emptied into Trinidad Bay. Trinity is the English version of Trinidad.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,208 square miles (8,307 km²), of which, 3,179 square miles (8,233 km²) of it is land and 29 square miles (75 km²) of it (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 very clear & sunny, warm, and very dry, with little rain at all from June to September excepting a couple of 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/3300ft on the mountainsides. The months of December, January, and February are the wettest. There is an extensive wild river & stream system, and the terrain is quite rugged & forested, with the highest points at around 9,000 ft (2,700 m) The Klamath Mountains occupy the vast portion of the county.
[edit] Cities and towns
Trinity County has no incorporated cities.
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CDPs |
Unincorporated Communities |
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Mendocino County, California - south
- Humboldt County, California - west
- Siskiyou County, California - north
- Shasta County, California - east
- Tehama County, California - southeast
[edit] National protected areas
- Mendocino National Forest (part)
- Shasta-Trinity National Forest (part)
- Six Rivers National Forest (part)
- Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (part)
[edit] Transportation Infrastructure
[edit] Major highways
[edit] Public Transportation
Trinity Transit provides bus service on State Routes 3 and 299, serving Hayfork, Douglas City and Weaverville.
[edit] Airports
The county owns five general aviation airports: Trinity Center Airport, Weaverville Airport, Hayfork Airport, Hyampom Airport and Ruth Airport.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] 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.
[edit] Politics
| Year | GOP | DEM | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Trinity is a Republican-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. It was also the only county in California to vote for independent candidate Ross Perot in 1992.
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 Patty Berg, and the 4th Senate district, which is held by Republican Sam Aanestad.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
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