Beckwourth (formerly, Beckwith and Beekwith) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plumas County, California, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 478.
Beckwourth is located in the Sierra Valley, east of Portola, near the head-waters of the Middle Fork of the Feather River.
Name The community was named for James P. Beckwourth, an explorer, mountain man, fur trader, and business man, who discovered Beckwourth Pass in 1851.
History The Beckwith post office opened in 1870 and changed its name to Beckwourth in 1932.
Geography Beckwourth is located at (39.827528, -120.403710).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which 99.96% is land and 0.04% is water.
Nervino Airport (FAA identifier: O02 or oscar-zero-two) is plotted three-quarters of a mile east of Beckwourth along State Route 70 on the Reconnaissance Peak, California 7.5 minute quadrangle. It has a runway and is located at .US Geological Survey, Reconnaissance Peak, California, 7.5 minute quadrangle, 1994. The US Geological Survey says variant names for the airport are Beckwourth Airport and Plumas County Airport.US Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database.
State facilities in the town include a State of California, Department of Water Resources maintenance yard and a Caltrans Maintenance Station. These appear to be colocated (at the same site).
Climate This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Beckwourth has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Beckwourth, California
Demographics
Beckwourth first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.
Racial and ethnic composition +Beckwourth CDP, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)31538741192.11%89.58%85.98%Black or African American alone (NH)0040.00%0.00%0.84%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)6811.75%1.85%0.21%Asian alone (NH)0220.00%0.46%0.42%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)3120.88%0.23%0.42%Other race alone (NH)2010.58%0.00%0.21%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)65181.75%1.16%3.77%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1029392.92%6.71%8.16%Total342432478 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Beckwourth had a population of 478. The population density was . 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
The median age was 59.4years. 12.8% of residents were under the age of 18, 4.4% aged 18 to 24, 15.1% aged 25 to 44, 34.5% aged 45 to 64, and 33.3% who were 65years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.4 males age 18 and over.
The whole population lived in households. There were 228 households, of which 15.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.1% were married-couple households, 4.4% were cohabiting couple households, 28.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 13.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.1. There were 148 families (64.9% of all households).
There were 360 housing units at an average density of , of which 228 (63.3%) were occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 6.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 30.4%. Of the occupied units, 88.6% were owner-occupied, and 11.4% were occupied by renters. Politics In the state legislature Beckwourth is located in , and .
Federally, Beckwourth is in .
Education The school district is Plumas Unified School District. - Text list
See also Beckwourth Pass State Route 70 Hallelujah Junction, California Loyalton, California Plumas National Forest Portola, California Vinton, California
Notable people Jim Beckwourth, mountain man, fur trader, and explorer Alice Marble, a World Number One American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships
References
External links Beckwourth Fire District Beckwourth Community Service Area