Palo Cedro, California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palo Cedro (pop. 4,000) is nine miles east of Redding, California. The towns of Bella Vista (pop. 1218), Millville (pop. 610), Shingletown (pop. 2,222), Oak Run (pop. 1,160), Whitmore (pop. 593), and Round Mountain (pop. 1,222) lie within a fifteen-mile radius.

Palo Cedro is a census-designated place (CDP) in Shasta County, California, United States. The population was 1,247 at the 2000 census.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Education 5 External links

[edit] History

The earliest history of Palo Cedro comes from the diary of John Work. It is known that he and a group from the Hudson Bay Fur Traders passed along Cow Creek through the area now known as Palo Cedro in 1832

In 1883 a post office was established for this area but at that time the town was known as Albertson which was later changed to Roberts in 1885 and finally to Palo Cedro in 1893.

In the early 1890's T.W.H. Shannahan and Joe Enright bought 30 acres of land from Lem Benton and had it divided into 12 lots. Their dream of a town never materialized and the tree for which the site was named was cut down. Palo Cedro means, "Tall Cedar."

In 1897 or shortly before, the California Shasta Eastern Railroad was constructed from Anderson to Bella Vista passing through the settlement of Palo Cedro. Miners used this railroad, as did the Terry Lumber Company at Bella Vista. The train brought groceries and mail to the villages along its route. It also had a passenger car.

In the early 1900's the stage route went from Redding through Palo Cedro, Millville, Oak Run, and on to Fall River Mills.

Palo Cedro's first school house was located near the corner of Hillside Drive and Deschutes Road on the south side of town but was later moved to a site near the Grange Hall which is on the north side of Palo Cedro. The school remained there until the "new" Junction School was built on the south side of town in 1960.

In 1907 or thereabouts, Frank and Mary Love owned the Palo Cedro store. The store was on the west side of the tracks and their house on the east. There was a two story house on the northeast corner of Deschutes Road and Old Forty-Four Drive which may, at one time, have been a stopping place for stage drivers and travelers.

Sarah Addington later owned the Palo Cedro store. She was also the postmaster and handed the position down to her daughter, Mary Jones. She moved the post office next door into her home. John Gebauer has since owned the store. In the 1960's John moved to his new building on the south east side of Palo Cedro with several one-story spaces for commercial businesses. The largest business was the Palo Cedro Market and his son, John, now operates it. The post office moved into a part of John's building and Mary's assistants were her sisters, and the postmaster was Sylvia Metz. Requiring more space the post office was later moved to a two-story building on the north side of Palo Cedro.

The first Grange Hall and Feed Store were constructed in the early 1930's just off of Deschutes Road on Old Highway Forty-Four. The building was two stories with the meeting and/or dance hall upstairs. The dining room was downstairs in back and the feed store in front. This building burned down in the early 1940's and was immediately replaced with the one story hall one can see today. The feed store was built on the north side of Old Forty-Four Drive and is still there today.

[edit] Geography

Palo Cedro is located at 40°33′4″N, 122°14′3″W (40.551091, -122.234255)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.8 km² (3.8 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,247 people, 436 households, and 367 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 127.4/km² (330.1/mi²). There were 447 housing units at an average density of 45.7/km² (118.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.10% White, 0.56% African American, 1.12% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.88% from other races, and 2.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.57% of the population.

There were 436 households out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.5% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 13.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $51,471, and the median income for a family was $60,385. Males had a median income of $47,232 versus $33,125 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,419. About 5.4% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

• Elementary Schools:
  • North Cow Creek School
  • Junction Elementary School
• Middle Schools
  • Junction Intermediate School
  • Saint Francis Middle School
• High Schools
  • Foothill High School
  • Bishop Quinn High School

[edit] External links

• Palo Cedro Community Park Project

• Palo Cedro Chamber of Commerce

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.551091° -122.234255°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA