Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ruth yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ruth is an unincorporated community in Trinity County, California, United States. Ruth is located in the southern portion of the county. The community and the adjacent Ruth Lake were named after Ruth McKnight, daughter of settlers. It is located near the headwaters of the Mad River and adjacent to the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness. Ruth sits at an elevation of 2,933 feet (894 m). Its population is 254 as of the 2020 census, up from 195 from the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Ruth as a census-designated place (CDP). The ZIP code is 95526. The community is inside area code 707.
Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 195 to 254 (+30%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Ruth in 1895
Passages that mention Ruth, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Ruth and Marie. A fascinating story of the nineteeth century1895 · page 27Read the page →
Read the text
Ruth's words seemed to Marie the most foolish she had ever heard, and straightway she demanded an explanation. Ruth replied : "You know, Marie, that Judge Earnestine said himself that in a certain manufactory where a large portion of Mr. Rumsford's money is invested the income is five hundred dollars a day. Is he not in the saloon business and is he not murdering our men and wrecking the happiness of homes? No, Miss Earnestine, you need
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.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.
