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36-577: The line was originally part of the narrow gauge Nevada–California–Oregon Railway (NCO) and was constructed around 1908. In 1926 the NCO became an operating subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). By 1929 the NCO was entirely operated by the SP. In March 1985 the SP filed to abandon the line and the abandonment was approved 5 months later. The county stepped in to save

72-481: A gun fight between two members. For a period of time, there were two separate boards of directors trying to run the company. The railroad reached Oneida, California, 30 mi (48 km) north of Reno, on October 2, 1882. Regular service between the two cities began a month later. However, track construction remained slow, and the company’s business problems continued to grow. The Moran Brothers bank in New York

108-407: A low of 20.6 °F (−6.3 °C). The average July temperatures are a high of 89.1 °F (31.7 °C) and a low of 47.2 °F (8.4 °C). There are an average of 39.8 days with highs of 90 °F (32.2 °C) or higher and an average of 195.5 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record high was 107 °F (41.7 °C) on July 19, 1960, and July 10–11, 2002, and

144-421: A median income of $ 36,500 versus $ 21,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 19,281. About 23.0% of families and 27.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 38.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over. At the 2010 census Alturas had a population of 2,827. The population density was 1,154.5 inhabitants per square mile (445.8/km ). The racial makeup of Alturas

180-546: Is in the 1st Senate District , represented by Republican Brian Dahle , and the 1st Assembly District , represented by Republican Megan Dahle . In the United States House of Representatives , Alturas is in California's 1st congressional district , represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa . Alturas is served by U.S. Route 395 and California State Route 299 . U.S. 395 comes in from

216-717: The Modoc Line Rail Trail . The Nevada–California–Oregon Railroad built classic brick depots in Reno and Lakeview. A smaller stone masonry station was constructed in Alturas. All three passenger depots still exist, and are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places along with the locomotive house and machine shop in Reno. The N-C-O railway office in Alturas and

252-530: The Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and other recreation areas, and is the trade center for the agricultural region, which produces beef, sheep, potatoes, alfalfa and lumber. Despite its abundance of wilderness, recreational opportunities, hunting and fishing resources, and natural environment, tourism is not a major sector of the local economy – largely due to the city's remote location. Local, State, Federal, and Tribal governments are

288-538: The Modoc Northern Railroad . During the Modoc Northern years, a lot of investment was made in rail infrastructure to shore up the line and try to eliminate the frequent derailments that plagued the route, but train speed was still limited to 10 mph (16 km/h) for most of the line. Following the Modoc Northern's failure in 2009, Lake County contracted with Frontier Rail, who operated

324-581: The Oahu Railway and Land Company during World War II. On October 20, 1985, Southern Pacific abandoned the 54.45-mile (87.63 km) section between Lakeview, Oregon and Alturas, California , which is now operated by Lake County Oregon as the Lake County Railroad , running about 20 cars per week in two trips per week. At Alturas it joins with Union Pacific . The line from south of Alturas to Wendel, California has been converted into

360-590: The Southern Pacific Company purchased the company. By 1928, Southern Pacific had converted all the remaining Nevada–California–Oregon track to 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge and sold its 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge equipment. Several locomotives subsequently ran on the former Carson and Colorado Railroad . One was sold to the Pacific Coast Railway , and later passed to

396-563: The Willamette Valley . However, no further construction ever took place. Locomotives were converted from wood fuel to oil-burners by 1910. Financially, the railroad's best year was 1913, but decline followed quickly as traffic shifted to the recently completed standard-gauge Western Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific branch to Susanville. The railroad's last rolling stock purchase was in 1915 when two locomotives, three passenger cars , two mail cars , and 78 freight cars from

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432-852: The Lake County line from Lakeview to Alturas, as well as the Union Pacific's line from Alturas to Perez, CA, as the LRY LLC (d.b.a Lake Railway). Lake County subsequently terminated the lease with Frontier Rail in September 2017 after a lengthy contractual dispute and litigation. Lake County subsequently contracted with the current operator Nexxt Rail LLC, who continues to operate the Lake County-owned Lakeview to Alturas line as Goose Lake Railway LLC . The Alturas to Perez UP-owned line segment reverted to operation by UP at

468-748: The Southern Pacific depot in Santa Barbara and the Mission Inn in Riverside. The architect for many N-C-O buildings was Carl Werner of San Francisco. However, he did not design the railroad's three main depots. Alturas, California Alturas ( Spanish for "Heights"; Achumawi : Kasalektawi ) is a city and the county seat of Modoc County, California . Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California ,

504-414: The age of 18 living in them, 507 (41.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 181 (14.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 65 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 102 (8.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 9 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 403 households (32.6%) were one person and 160 (12.9%) had someone living alone who

540-479: The city had a population of 2,715 at the 2020 census . Alturas is located at the confluence of the south and north forks of the Pit River , east of the center of Modoc County, at an elevation of 4,370 feet (1,330 m). Alturas is one of the largest cities in the region and a local economic hub. Alturas occupies what was initially an Achumawi (Pit River) village known as Kosealekte or Kasalektawi. The city

576-679: The city was incorporated on September 16, 1901. Because of its central location, Dorrisville became the county seat when Modoc County formed in 1874, even though both Adin and Cedarville were then larger towns. Alturas straddles the North Fork of the Pit River , near its confluence with the South Fork in the north end of South Fork Valley, in the extreme northeastern corner of California at 41°29′14″N 120°32′33″W  /  41.48722°N 120.54250°W  / 41.48722; -120.54250 . The tall Warner Mountains lie to

612-553: The city was 85.9% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 4.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.8% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. 11.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,181 households 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 32.5% of households were one person and 14.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size

648-529: The depot at Lakeview are examples of the 1880s style of architecture known as Mission Revival. The features include solid massive walls with buttressing, broad unadorned wall surfaces, wide projecting eaves, low-pitched tile roofs, corridors with Roman aqueduct-like arches, terraced bell towers and mission belfry facades. (See The Journal of the Modoc County Historical Society, No. 11, 1989.) The style showed up at Stanford University,

684-526: The dismantled Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad were obtained for the bargain price of $ 22,750. In 1917, the company began selling branch lines in California. The next year, the Reno station was closed, and the company headquarters and maintenance shop were relocated to Alturas. By 1922, the railroad was in serious financial trouble, and the Moran Bank wanted out of the business. On April 30, 1925,

720-519: The east, the wetlands and wild rice fields of South Fork Valley to the south, and the extensive Modoc Plateau to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km ) and 0.57% of it is covered by water. The climate in Alturas has a dry-summer continental climate ( Köppen : Dsb ). The average January temperatures are a high of 43.0 °F (6.1 °C) and

756-487: The end of 2019. Nevada%E2%80%93California%E2%80%93Oregon Railway The Nevada–California–Oregon Railway was a 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge railroad originally planned to connect Reno , Nevada , to the Columbia River . However, only 238 mi (383 km) of track were laid so service never extended beyond Lakeview , Oregon . Because of the company’s reputation for mismanagement, it

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792-483: The largest employers in Alturas. A vibrant timber industry collapsed in the early 1980s due to increased production costs and low market prices for softwood lumber. The Modoc Joint Unified School District is headquartered in Alturas. The Alturas Rancheria , a band of Pit River Indians, operates a small casino just outside the city limits. In the California State Legislature , Alturas

828-475: The line from SP on January 18, 1986, to keep the line open. The LCR began operations on November 1, 1997, when it took over the 54.45 miles (87.63 km) formerly operated by the Great Western Railway of Colorado under contract. The county operated the rail line on precarious financial footing with frequent derailments and grants needed for maintenance funding. The line was leased in 2005 to

864-676: The line reached Madeline, California. The tracks were extended to Likely, California, in October 1907; Alturas, California , in December 1908; and finally, Lakeview, Oregon , on 10 January 1912. The company planned to continue north through Prineville, Oregon , to The Dalles, with separate branches running west to Klamath Falls and on to the Rogue River Valley , and over the Cascade Mountains to Eugene, Oregon , in

900-608: The occupied units 691 (55.8%) were owner-occupied and 547 (44.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%. 1,563 people (55.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,251 people (44.3%) lived in rental housing units. Alturas is the headquarters to the Modoc National Forest , the Applegate Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management ,

936-471: The record low was −34 °F (−36.7 °C) on December 9, 1972. Freezing temperatures have occurred in every month of the year; cool nights are common even on the hottest summer days. Precipitation averages 11.68 inches (297 mm) annually. There are an average of 90.8 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1952 with 20.80 in (528 mm) and the driest year was 2013 with 6.29 in (160 mm). The most precipitation in one month

972-582: The route, vital to local businesses and the state legislature enacted a law permitting local governments to own railroads outside of the state, and then the Oregon State Lottery agreed to fund up to 85% of the purchase price if the county could find an operator. The county went to work, and the Great Western Railway, an established shortline based out of Colorado, agreed to operate the line on a contract basis. Lake County purchased

1008-476: The south from Susanville and Reno . State Route 299 comes in from the west from Redding . Both highways merge in Alturas and head out of the city as a concurrency northeast toward Lakeview, Oregon ; and Cedarville , respectively. The Modoc Subdivision track of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Lake County Railroad (of Lake County, Oregon ) serve the area. Alturas Municipal Airport

1044-488: Was 2,430 (86.0%) White, 15 (0.5%) African American, 81 (2.9%) Native American, 45 (1.6%) Asian, 7 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 118 (4.2%) from other races, and 131 (4.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 347 people (12.3%). The census reported that 2,814 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, none lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 13 (0.5%) were institutionalized. There were 1,238 households, 391 (31.6%) had children under

1080-419: Was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00. The age distribution was 28.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median household income was $ 24,351 and the median family income was $ 31,385. Males had

1116-552: Was 6.17 in (156.7 mm) in October 1962, and the most in 24 hours was 3.51 in (89.2 mm) on December 11, 1937. Snowfall averages 30.9 in (78 cm) per season. The most snowfall in a season was 85.5 in (217 cm) in 1952. At the 2000 census there were 2,892 people in 1,181 households, including 753 families, in the city. The population density was 1,316.3 inhabitants per square mile (508.2/km ). There were 1,367 housing units at an average density of 622.2 per square mile (240.2/km ). The racial makeup of

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1152-573: Was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.27. There were 753 families (60.8% of households); the average family size was 2.85. The age distribution was 702 people (24.8%) under the age of 18, 219 people (7.7%) aged 18 to 24, 672 people (23.8%) aged 25 to 44, 802 people (28.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 432 people (15.3%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 39.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males. There were 1,407 housing units at an average density of 574.6 per square mile, of

1188-417: Was cheaper than 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge construction. Site survey and grading work for the railroad began in December 1880. The first spike was driven in Reno on May 28, 1881. However, the company was short of money so construction was slow. In addition, the board of directors was plagued by corruption and intrigue. One board meeting actually ended with

1224-537: Was initially known as Dorris Bridge or Dorris' Bridge , named after Pressley and James Dorris, who built a bridge across the Pit River at this location. The Dorris Bridge post office opened in 1871. The town was renamed Dorrisville in 1874 and Alturas in 1876, the latter meaning "heights" in Spanish. The census of 1880 showed a population of 148. However, settlement continued over the next two decades, until

1260-725: Was often called the "Narrow, Crooked & Ornery" railroad. The railroad was organized in Reno in June 1880 as the Nevada and Oregon Railroad . It was decided that the best plan was to build north to the Columbia River to service cattle ranches and farms in northeastern California and eastern Oregon . The northern terminus was to be The Dalles, Oregon , since that city was located on the Columbia River and had no eastern or southern rail connections at that time. The company decided to lay 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge track because it

1296-495: Was the company’s largest investor. In April 1884, the bank took full control of the railroad, purchasing the company at a court ordered auction for just over $ 372,000. The company spent the next few years improving existing lines and trying to build up local business. On January 1, 1893, the name of the railroad was changed to the Nevada–California–Oregon. The next northward extension commenced in 1899. In April 1902,

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