Shasta State Historic Park

About 6 miles west of Redding, CA, is the town of Shasta, or more accurately, the remnants of the town of Shasta. Shasta was a booming mining town in the 1850s into the 1870s, and what remains of the town is now part of Shasta State Historic Park. There's not a whole lot to Shasta, but what is there is a gem. The photo below shows the former Shasta County Courthouse, which is now a museum.

Pierson Reading, who was born in New Jersey, came to California in 1843 and worked for John Sutter for a time. You can read more about John Sutter in our previous post Sacramento, CA Part I: Sutter's Fort. Pierson Reading received a land grant from the Mexican government in 1844 for over 26,000 acres along the Sacramento River near the site of present-day Redding. Notice the difference in the spelling of the names. We'll explain that a little later.

Pierson Reading was one of the first to visit the site of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 to the south near Sarcamento. When he returned to his home, he also discovered gold nearby. Word spread, and soon there was a community of tents and lean-tos called Reading Springs. The town began to prosper as a commercial center, and the tents gave way to permanent houses, barber shops, stores, hotels, and saloons. In 1850, Reading Springs was renamed Shasta.

By the late 1860s, most of the mining claims were mined out, and the town started to decline. When the railroad decided in 1871 not to detour six miles out of its way to pass through Shasta, it was a big blow to the town. The new city that popped up on the banks of the Sacramento River six miles east of Shasta along the railroad line was named Redding by the railroad in honor of railroad man Benjamin Redding. In 1874, residents changed the name of the town to Reading in honor of the area's original resident Pierson Reading, but the railroad refused to accept the new name so it was changed back to Redding in 1880.

Redding grew quickly because of the railroad, and when the county seat was moved from Shasta to Redding, Shasta's fate was sealed. By the late 1880s, residents of Shasta began moving to Redding. Residents who couldn't sell their houses and businesses abandoned them. Some buildings were dismantled and rebuilt in Redding.

In the early 1900s, several individuals and groups recognized the historical value of the old town and made efforts to save the remaining buildings. The state acquired the property and opened the museum in the old courthouse in 1950.

The admission to the museum is $2. There is a 5-minute movie about the history of Shasta, as well as stories about life in Shasta and displays of some of the furnishings and other possessions that belonged to Shasta residents. There was a display of some balances and weights that were used for gold back in the day.

The courtroom, shown below, is set up the way it was in 1861.

 

The next photo shows the jail in the basement of the courthouse.

The photo below shows one of the cells. The cells were bigger than those at Alcatraz, but they were still grim. The cells in Shasta didn't look to be nearly as secure as those in Alcatraz, but the ball and chain on the floor would help take care of that.

Out on the main street, which is California Highway 299, you can see the remains of some of Shasta's businesses. The buildings have been stabilized with steel beams and supports, and it looks like there has been preparation for the installation of some informational plaques; but California's budget problems undoubtedly have put everything on hold. In fact, all the California State Parks we have visited are concerned about being closed altogether, or at least closed during the week. In the next photo, Margery is exploring the remnants of some of the old buildings.

 

Fire destroyed most of Shasta in 1852, but residents quickly rebuilt. When another fire destroyed about 70 businesses along Main Street six months later, the merchants rebuilt again, but this time with brick and heavy iron shutters which enabled them to boast they had fireproof construction.

The real star of Shasta State Historic Park is the Litsch General Store, shown in the next photo.

 

Frank Litsch purchased an existing building and opened the store in 1873. Even though this was after Shasta's heyday, the business prospered for a time. But the new railroad station in Redding and the moving of the county seat from Shasta to Redding in 1888 took their toll. Frank finally sold the business to his nephew in 1895 and moved to Redding himself.

The nephew kept the business going by adding postal services in 1903 and gasoline pumps in the 1920s. The antique store fixtures and old fashioned merchandise helped earn the store a reputation as a museum of sorts, which helped attract customers. Finally in 1960, the store and all its contents were sold to the State of California and became part of the State Historic Park.

The great thing about this general store is some of the items in the store are reproductions and some are antiques that are original to the store. The photo below shows the interior of Litsch General Store.

We have seen quite a few old general stores, but most of what was on display in them was pretty rusty and dusty. With many of the items on display being reproductions, the Litsch Store feels more like a real 1880s general store with new merchandise for sale rather than a museum. For example, the labels on the cans in the photo above were provided by Del Monte and are reprints of the original labels. The new look to the cans makes it feel like you are back in 1880.

Jon, who was the volunteer on duty the day we were there, was very informative. In the next photo, he is demonstrating a ribbon crimper. The purpose of crimping the ribbon was to make it more decorative for use as trim on things such as ladies' hats.

 

Another advantage to reproductions is that they can be handled. While the curators come in periodically with white gloves to clean and care for the antiques, visitors can pick up and examine the reproductions. Jon showed us a pair of blue jeans that Levi's made for the museum to their original 1870s pattern.

There is also a restored, working bakery in Shasta, but it wasn't open the day we were there.

If you're ever in the Redding, CA, area, we recommend checking out Shasta State Historic Park. The hours for the general store and bakery are different from those of the museum so call find out the hours, especially of the general store, before you go.

The Redding area still has more to see, so look for our next post.

Comments

[Laurie]

Thanks for the detailed look at the Litsch General Store! You make it look a lot more interesting than the official park site (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1301). If I'm ever out there, this is on my "must visit" list!