Modoc County, California

Modoc County lies at the far northeast corner of the state. It has an area of 4,296 square miles. The population is now about 7,000, but the census of 1880 gave it 4,399. Alturas, the county seat, lies at the meeting of the north and south forks of Pitt River, and is the center of a large trade. The surface is broken, more than half the area consisting of mountainous land, while a great tract, 100 miles by 60, in the northeastern part, is covered by the lava-beds, and is fit only for grazing. Stock raising is the chief pursuit, and large herds are driven annually out of the mountains. Dairying and lumbering also are important industries. Only lack of rail communication prevents Modoc from being a fine grain and agricultural country. The assessed valuation in 1889 was $3,000,000.

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Source: California State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1890, Volume II, R. L. Polk & Company, 1890.