General George Wright, head of Fort Reading Fort Reading is a historical site in

Anderson, California Anderson is a city in Shasta County, California, approximately south of Redding. Its population is 11,323 as of the 2020 census, up from 9,932 from the 2010 census. Located north of Sacramento, the city's roots are as a railroad town near ...

Shasta County Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding. ...

. Fort Reading site is a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

No. 379 listed on March 31, 1933. Founded on January 3, 1844, on west side of Cow Creek, Fort Reading was built to protect the settlers,

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

s and travelers in the area. Fort Reading was founded by

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

by Second Lieutenant E. N. Davis, Co. E, 2nd Infantry. Davis was sent to build the fort by Lieutenant Colonel George M. Wright. At the time the large fort was the first fort in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

. The fort was built in 10 acres of land that had been cleared for good visibility. Fort Reading was named after Pierson Barton Reading. Most of the larger base of troops was removed on April 1, 1856. The second draw down of troops was on June 13, 1867. The Fort Reading was completely abandoned on April 6, 1870. The Cow Creek would flood some years, flooding the fort sometimes. No trace of Fort Reading remains. The marker at the site of the Fort Reading was placed there in 1934 by the U.S. Army and the Shasta Historical Society.

References

{{Central Valley Rivers California Historical Landmarks History of Shasta County, California 1861 in California 1861 establishments in California

See also

References