Formed February 17, 1874 (52nd county)
Modoc County (8,700), Alturas (2,713)
The low dome and tall columns stand out in this high desert city. It was constructed in 1914 on Court Street between North and Modoc streets. United States Highway 395 is one block to the west. Frederic J. DeLongchamps provided the Classical Revival designs of the courthouse. There was an earlier courthouse built in 1883 in Alturas as Alturas has been the only county seat. Modoc County came into being on February 17, 1874 from Siskiyou County as the 52nd county. Alturas comes from the Spanish word for “High.” The county is named for the Modoc Native American tribe.
Modoc County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, controller, and treasurer (executive). It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.) Two Superior Court Judges, clerk, and counsel serve Modoc County (judicial.) The county is located in the far northeast corner of the state on the borders with Oregon and Nevada. The county center is 16.4 miles West of Alturas nearer Canby. The county is surrounded clockwise by Oregon and Nevada and Lassen, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties. The county is a square. Alturas is in the southeast quarter in the county. Alturas is the county seat and the largest and only incorporated city. It is 31.2% of the county population. The county is pronounced MOE-DOK. The county seat is pronounced AL-TUR-US.
The area of the county is 3944 square miles. It is 12 out of 58 in the state. It ranks 56 out of 58 in population in the state. It has a density of 2.2 persons per square mile making it 56 out of 58 in the state. Modoc County has 31.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 395 crosses north to south from Oregon to Lassen County.
Alturas
