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Whiskeytown, California

Whiskeytown, California

Gold miners near Whiskeytown, mid-nineteenth century. According to legend, a whiskey barrel broke loose from a mule's pack and landed in the creek the below, giving the town and adjacent mining area of Whiskey Creek their monikers. The US Postal Service only recognized the town's name in 1952, under pressure from the Women’s Improvement League of Whiskeytown. Eleven years later, Whiskeytown Dam submerged the community.

About this community

Dam
Whiskeytown Dam
River
Sacramento River
Established
1852
Inundated
1963

The community that was displaced

Displacement cost
$10,213,047
Property value
$485,759
Vocations
farmer, fisherman, rancher
Birthplaces
local