Soda Springs (formerly, Summit Valley, Soda Springs Station, Hopkins, Hopkins Springs, and Tinkers Station) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in Nevada County,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. Soda Springs is located west of

Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual appro ...

. The population was 81 at the 2010 census. The Soda Springs Ski Resort is located just off Highway 80 near the

Donner Summit Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual appro ...

History

Mark Hopkins and

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Se ...

established a resort at the location in the 1880s. The Summit Valley post office opened in 1870, changed its name to Soda Springs in 1875, and closed in 1881. It was reopened in 1929. The Hopkins post office operated from 1885 to 1886. Alternately it was reportedly known as Hopkins Springs until the Soda Springs post office was established on March 8, 1875. The

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by Pacific Railroad Acts, U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in N ...

station was named Tinkers Station from 1867 to 1873, commemorating J.A. Tinker. Tinker was a "rough, hard-driving, hard-drinking teamster" who hauled freight between the mines on Forest Hill Divide and Soda Springs.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP covers an area of 0.3 square miles (0.9 km), all of it land

Climate

Soda Springs has a dry-summer continental climate (Köppen climate classification

Dsb DSB may refer to: Science, technology and devices * DsbA, a bacterial member of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes * Double strand break, a break in both DNA strands, part of DNA repair * in telecommunications, double-sideband transmission ...

) that is characterized by warm, dry summers, and cold, extremely snowy winters. Snow depth peaks at 93 inches (236.2 cm) during March. Soda Springs is listed as the snowiest place in the state of

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Soda Springs had a population of 81. The population density was . The racial makeup of Soda Springs was 79 (97.5%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0 (0.0%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 2 (2.5%) Native American, 0 (0.0%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0 (0.0%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0 (0.0%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 7 persons (8.6%). The Census reported that 81 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 41 households, out of which 6 (14.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8 (19.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2 (4.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 5 (12.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 17 households (41.5%) were made up of individuals, and 1 (2.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98. There were 15

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(36.6% of all households); the average family size was 2.33. The population was spread out, with 9 people (11.1%) under the age of 18, 9 people (11.1%) aged 18 to 24, 34 people (42.0%) aged 25 to 44, 21 people (25.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 8 people (9.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 211.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 200.0 males. There were 136 housing units at an average density of , of which 21 (51.2%) were owner-occupied, and 20 (48.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 42 people (51.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 39 people (48.1%) lived in rental housing units.

Politics

In the state legislature, Soda Springs is in , and . Federally, Soda Springs is in .

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in California Census-designated places in Nevada County, California Lake Tahoe Census-designated places in California