Almost a century ago, devastating floods and droughts plagued Shasta County's agricultural region. To ensure the valley remained fruitful, California wanted to build a dam. Amid the Great Depression, the dam project provided 4,700 much needed jobs. When the building ended in 1945, the Shasta Dam was the second tallest dam behind the Hoover Dam and became known as an engineering marvel of its time.
The Shasta Historical Society, the Shasta Lake Heritage and Historical Society and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Northern California office will share the history of the dam's construction as well as the local residents involved with the project at the Visitors Center at Shasta Dam in Shasta Lake next Saturday and Wednesday afternoons. Overlooking Shasta Dam, Lake Shasta and the city, the auditorium will give visitors a chance to listen to the history unfold while peering at the picturesque scenery outside the window.
"We look forward to people walking away from the presentation with an appreciation of the significant public works project with the construction of Shasta Dam and Keswick Dam downstream as well as Shasta County's role in the broader Central Valley project managing and providing water resources throughout the state," said Pat Carr, lecture series coordinator at Shasta Historical Society.
The events are a part of the Shasta Historical Society's nine-month lecture series and Shasta Lake Heritage and Historical Society's monthly lectures. Seeing 100,000 visitors a year, the bureau usually holds a historical lecture once a week.
"We want them to know about the people who were here prior to the dam and the people who came here to help build the dam," said Barbara Cross, president of the Shasta Lake Heritage and Historical Society. "The building of the dam is very well-documented, but the history of the people is not. We're trying to preserve that history." Since her father worked on the Shasta Dam project, Cross co-founded the historical society nine years ago to make the local history more available to the public.
The event will cover everything from saving California's leading agricultural sector from meteorological disaster to the current water management proposal to raise the dam. Sheri Harral, public affairs specialist with the bureau, will discuss the economic, environmental and social benefits of the dam.
"Our lives would be so different without the Central Valley project," Harral said. "We're the No. 1 producer in cattle, almonds, just all kinds of vegetables, hay. We're the second largest producer of bees, goats, cheese, honey. People don't realize what comes from the Central Valley is important, and Shasta is the keystone of it."
Before the dam, the population in Redding and surrounding areas stood at about 8,000. During construction, population boomed, even establishing new towns such as Central Valley City, Summit City and Project City. The dam brought people to the region, but with the state population rising exponentially, Harral said the dam has to adapt to accommodate the future growth.
"What the Reclamation is doing with the expansion of the population is we're starting to look at ways to conserve water resources," she said. "In 2050, there will be 60 million people in California. We've got to educate and find reliable water resources to provide for all these people. Right now, we have 36 million, and 2050 is not that far away when you think about it."
The three organizations are working together to preserve more than 12,000 archival photographs from the building of the dam. The digitized photographs are being carefully copied and scanned into computers. This is the first time all three organizations are coming together to hold an event chronicling the story of the dam.
If you go
What: The History of Shasta Dam lecture.
When: 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19 with Shasta Historical Society; 3 p.m. Feb. 23 with Shasta Lake Heritage and Historical Society.
Where: Shasta Dam Visitors Center Auditorium, 16349 Shasta Dam Blvd., Shasta Lake.
Need Help? Call us at 1-877-710-6185.
Monday-Friday: 6am-6pm / Saturday: 7am-10am / Sunday: 7am-11am