Belfast, California

Belfast
Unincorporated community
Belfast Location in California Show map of California Belfast Belfast (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°26′37″N 120°27′06″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Lassen County
Elevation [1]	4,134 ft (1,260 m)

Belfast is an unincorporated area of Lassen County, California.[1] It is located 5.5 miles (8.9 km) northwest of Litchfield,[2] at an elevation of 4134 feet (1260 m).[1]

The town was founded by Capt. Charles A. Merrill in 1880.[2] The name reflects Capt. Merrill's hometown of Belfast, Maine, which itself was named after the city of the same name in Northern Ireland.[2] It was expected that a railroad would be built through the Belfast townsite,[3] but this never happened. Merrill did, however, successfully build an irrigation flume to aid in farming; in 1922, the Belfast area was subdivided into forty-acre plots in the hopes of reestablishing a farming community.[4] A few farms can be found in the area today.

The Willow Creek Canyon in the Belfast area is an important archaological site, with rock structures and petroglyphs suggesting it was a major hunting ground to native peoples. The Belfast Site rock features are believed to be around 3000 years old.[5]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Belfast, California
2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 355. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
3. Reproduction of Fariss and Smith's History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties, California, 1882. Howell-North Books. 1971. p. 399. ISBN 9780831070830.
4. "Will place good land on market". The Lassen Weekly Mail. Susanville, CA. March 31, 1922. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
5. "Belfast Site: 3000 year old window". Lassen County Times. Susanville, CA. February 12, 1991. Retrieved January 1, 2024.