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B−History
History · Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta’s post office opened in 1870, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #181 of 847 in California. What drives it

Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1890.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mount Shasta’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mount Shasta began

When was Mount Shasta founded?

1870

The Mount Shasta post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Berryvale (1870) and Sisson (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 556 in 18902020 census: 3,223156 years

How historic is Mount Shasta?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Mount Shasta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mount Shasta’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Shasta is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #181 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Shasta’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.8% of homes (±9.8) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 79%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mount Shasta’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Mount Shasta’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers, 1860–1980.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mount Shasta.
★ What stands out · By decade

Mount Shasta, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1900s11 items
Shasta Valley from Long Gulch Mountain1860Shasta Valley from Long Gulch MountainMt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley and Sisson California, U.S.A1890Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley a…Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley and Sisson California, U.S.A.Alternate Title: The 'Perfec' Stereogr…1890–1910Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley a…Town of Sisson at the foot of Mount Shasta in winter, ca.1900 (CHS-1928)c. 1900Town of Sisson at the foot of Mount Shasta in winter,…Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley and Sisson, California, U. S. A1905Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley a…Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley and Sisson, California, U. S. A..Alternate Title: The "Perfec" ster…1905Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley a…Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley and Sisson, California, U. S. A..Alternate Title: The "Perfec" ster…1905Mt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley a…08455-Sisson, Cal.-1906-Sisson Tavern-Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag190608455-Sisson, Cal.-1906-Sisson Tavern-Brück & Sohn Ku…Postcard08456-Sisson, Cal-1906-Berryvale Inn-Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag190608456-Sisson, Cal-1906-Berryvale Inn-Brück & Sohn Kun…Postcard08457-Sisson, Cal.-1906-School at Sisson-Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag190608457-Sisson, Cal.-1906-School at Sisson-Brück & Sohn…PostcardMt. Shasta, Grass Lake, Siskiyou, Cal1907Mt. Shasta, Grass Lake, Siskiyou, Cal
1910s7 items
Mt. Shasta crater1913Mt. Shasta craterMt. Shasta crater1913Mt. Shasta craterMt. Shasta glaciers1913Mt. Shasta glaciersMt. Shasta from timber line1913Mt. Shasta from timber lineMt. Shasta from top of crater1913Mt. Shasta from top of craterMt. Shasta from top of crater1913Mt. Shasta from top of craterMt. Shasta1919Mt. Shasta
1930s1 item
Burhl R. Harwood 102 - Mt. Shasta From Fish Hatchery Mt. Shasta City, Calc. 1938Burhl R. Harwood 102 - Mt. Shasta From Fish Hatchery …Postcard
1940s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s4 items
Mount Shasta, California1980Mount Shasta, CaliforniaMount Shasta, California1980Mount Shasta, CaliforniaMount Shasta, California1980Mount Shasta, CaliforniaMount Shasta, at 14,162 feet the highest peak in the California Cascades1980Mount Shasta, at 14,162 feet the highest peak in the …
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
July4 near2013July4 nearJuly 4 fair at2013July 4 fair atGnarled wood, with the appearance of driftwood, in a corner lot of the town of Mt. Shasta, near the famous mountain of …2012Gnarled wood, with the appearance of driftwood, in a …Gnarled wood, with the appearance of driftwood, in a corner lot of the town of Mt. Shasta, near the famous mountain of …2012Gnarled wood, with the appearance of driftwood, in a …Mount Shasta from Mount Shasta City2011Mount Shasta from Mount Shasta CityMount Eddy from Mount Shasta City2011Mount Eddy from Mount Shasta City
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Mount Shasta’s post office has been open since 1870. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Berryvale
1870–1888
Mount Shasta
1870–today
Sisson
1888–1924
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Mount Shasta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mount Shasta.

Read it all →

The site of the present-day city of Mount Shasta was within the range of the Okwanuchu tribe of Native Americans.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Mount Shasta in 1881

Passages that mention Mount Shasta, cut from the printed page as they were published.

selected that appeared the most reliable, preference having been given to the altitudes recorded by the railroad surveyors whenever they conflict with others. The altitude of Mount Shasta is that given by Professor Whitney. The others were most all taken by Hon. John Daggett and Rev. S. A. Redding.
History of Siskiyou County, California1881 · page 38Read the page →
Read the text

selected that appeared the most reliable, preference having been given to the altitudes recorded by the railroad surveyors whenever they conflict with others. The altitude of Mount Shasta is that given by Professor Whitney. The others were most all taken by Hon. John Daggett and Rev. S. A. Redding.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Mount Shasta, 1860 to 1996

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860In the archiveShasta Valley from Long Gulch Mountain
  3. 1870Post officeThe Berryvale post office opens
  4. 1870Post officeThe Mount Shasta post office opens
  5. 1888Born hereAnita Loos is born here
  6. 1888Post officeThe Berryvale post office closes
  7. 1888Post officeThe Sisson post office opens
  8. 1890In the archiveMt. Shasta (14440 ft.) north over Strawberry Valley and Sisson California, U.S.A
  9. 1891Born hereAnn Little is born here
  10. 20th century
  11. 1900In the archiveTown of Sisson at the foot of Mount Shasta in winter, ca.1900 (CHS-1928)
  12. 1913In the archiveMt. Shasta crater
  13. 1924Post officeThe Sisson post office closes
  14. 1938In the archiveBurhl R. Harwood 102 - Mt. Shasta From Fish Hatchery Mt. Shasta City, Cal
  15. 1940Born hereTerry Huntingdon is born here
  16. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  17. 1980In the archiveMount Shasta, California
  18. 1996Born hereD. J. Wilson is born here
On the map

Mount Shasta on the map, 1954 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mount Shasta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Mount Shasta on the 1954 USGS mapMount Shasta on the 1986 USGS mapMount Shasta on the 1998 USGS map1954Weed sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mount Shasta.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Shasta Valley from Long Gulch Mountain
Retake this viewShasta Valley from Long Gulch Mountain, 1860

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mount Shasta’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Mount Shasta, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,621

Between 542 and 3,621 people in every census since 1890.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mount Shasta’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Mount Shasta

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Anita LoosAmerican actress and writer · b. 1888
Ann LittleActress · b. 1891
D. J. WilsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1996
Terry HuntingdonAmerican beauty queen · b. 1940
J
John BarnettBoeing employee and whistleblower · b. 1962
L
Lanto GriffinGolfer · b. 1988
Help out

Finish Mount Shasta’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewShasta Valley from Long Gulch Mountain: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Mount Shasta’s history

What year was Mount Shasta founded?

The Mount Shasta post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mount Shasta rank for history?

Mount Shasta is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #181 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Mount Shasta?

24% of Mount Shasta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1972.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (14), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.