For more, maybe much more, than 7,000-10,000 years, this valley and its springs were a natural way station and resting place for people traveling along the Siskiyou Trail between what is today northern California, and into Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. (For  comparison, the pyramids of Egypt were constructed 4,500 years ago!)

The first non-native travelers came as fur traders in the 1820’s, and the first immigrant settlers came during the gold rush in the 1850s. By the 1880s the train made it here and our town became a popular destination to come and “take the healing waters”. Originally known as Pusher because it was here that additional engines were added to steam trains to push them up the greater inclines beyond, the town got its name from young Canadian dilettante Alexander Dunsmuir. While visiting in 1888, he was so taken with the beauty of the land and the vitality of the water that he pledged the town a fountain if we agreed to change our name to his - and we said, okay.

More than 100 years ago, Dunsmuir was the largest California town north of Sacramento and today it is a nationally designated historic district. We now have 1600 residents but we continue to be a way station for travelers on trains, Interstate 5, the Sacramento River, and the Mexico-to-Canada Pacific Crest Trail – all of which bring travelers who continue to be astounded by the water.