A vintage barn at Shasta State Historic Park in the now-deserted town of Shasta City, west of Redding. There, a row of old, half-ruined, brick buildings reminds passing motorists that Shasta City, the lusty "Queen City" of California’s northern mining district, once stood on this site. These ruins and some of the nearby roads, cottages, and cemeteries are all silent but eloquent vestiges of the intense activity that was centered here during the California gold rush.

The old county courthouse there has been restored to its appearance in 1861, the year when it was converted from commercial uses to become the Shasta County Courthouse. Today the building is filled with historical exhibits, and a collection of historic California artwork that make it the central figure of Shasta Stat2 Historic Park. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2018.