The location

Mount Shasta City Park in Mount Shasta.

How to get there

Drive north on Interstate 5 to the main Mount Shasta city exit. Turn right at the freeway offramp and drive to Mount Shasta Boulevard. Turn left and drive one mile to the park entrance on the left. Drive over the railroad tracks and into the park.

What to see

The old remaining buildings of the Chico Normal School (now Chico State University) summer campus. You'll also see the headwaters of the Sacramento River. It's a very cool place.

The history

The property was purchased at Sisson (now Mount Shasta) by the state in 1919 as a cool location to escape the valley heat to build a summer extension school for Chico Normal School.

Classes consisted of a six-week refresher course for teachers and classes for students who needed to earn extra units. Buildings and dormitories weren't constructed until 1926. Until then, the students and teachers "camped out" in tents with wooden floors and attended classes in rooms with the same type of accommodations.

The total cost of buildings and equipment was $65,000. The campus included an assembly hall, dormitories, a library, an administration hall, a bookstore, an infirmary, a laundry, bathhouses and storerooms. Many of the buildings are still there.

Courses taught included English, industrial arts, art (handcraft, creative art and metal craft), public speaking, geography, political science, physical education, economics, stagecraft (direction and production of plays, mechanical features of the stage, scene design and lighting), drama, music and journalism.

A total of 247 students were enrolled in 1929; enrollment dropped to 202 students in 1930. In 1932, tuition was $15 and board for the entire six-week term was $65 (in a dormitory), or you could camp and pay only $10 for your accommodations.

In 1942, the school closed because a shortage of rubber and gasoline during World War II. Also, the noise of passing trains had become increasingly disruptive to the classes.

The land was deeded from the college to the city of Mount Shasta in 1947. The city now leases the park to the Mount Shasta Recreation and Parks District. Some of the original structures were given to city groups who moved them away from the park. Some have been destroyed, and others are still there and being used. The remaining buildings are used to hold recreation classes, social functions and business meetings. Festivals, concerts and weddings are held on the park lawn area. In addition, summer recreation programs for children are held throughout the park and in the buildings.

Dottie Smith is the author of "The Dictionary of Early Shasta County History" and the former curator of the Shasta College Museum. Check out her daily history blog at Redding.com.