Alton is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Humboldt County

Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-southeast of Fortuna

Fortuna, California

Fortuna is a city in western-central Humboldt County, California, United States. The population was 11,926 at the 2010 census, up from 10,497 at the 2000 census. The city lies on the northeast shore of the Eel River , and is on U.S...

, at an elevation of 62 feet (19 m). Alton is located along U.S. Route 101 and State Route 36

California State Route 36

State Route 36 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is routed from U.S. Route 101 in Humboldt County to U.S. Route 395 just east of Susanville in Lassen County. The portion of SR 36 travelling past Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lake Almanor is part of the...

. The ZIP Code is 95562. The community is inside area code 707

Area code 707

North American area code 707 is a Californian telephone area code which covers Napa, Sebastopol, Vallejo, Benicia, Fairfield, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Fort Bragg, Crescent City, Eureka, Clearlake, Vacaville, Ukiah, and northwestern California. It was split from area code 415 on March 1, 1959...

.

History

The name Hansen honors Mads P. Hansen, its first postmaster. The Hansen post office opened in 1888, changed its name to Alton in 1889, and closed for good in 1865. The origin of the name Alton is disputed. Some say Alton was a corruption of its founder's name, Alta Oliver. Another source indicates the community was named in 1862 for the founder's hometown of Alton, Illinois

Alton, Illinois

Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...

.

The Eel River and Eureka Railroad was built in 1884 to provide Humboldt Bay shipping access to lumber mills and farms of the lower Eel River

Eel River (California)

The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...

. In 1885, Pacific Lumber Company

Pacific Lumber Company

The Pacific Lumber Company, officially abbreviated PALCO, was one of California's major logging and sawmill operations, located south of Eureka and north of San Francisco. The once storied company and its historically positive relationship with conservationists begun in the 1920s was altered...

 built a rail connection from their Scotia

Scotia, California

Scotia is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located south-southeast of Fortuna, at an elevation of 194 feet . The ZIP Code is 95565. The population was 850 at the 2010 census....

 lumber mill to the Eel River and Eureka Railroad at Alton. Alta Oliver laid out the town at the junction of the two railroads in 1887. The California Midland Railroad was formed in 1902 to extend rail service from Alton up the Van Duzen River

Van Duzen River

The Van Duzen River is a river on the north coast of California. It is a major tributary of the Eel River and drains , mostly in Humboldt County, with a small portion in Trinity County. The river travels from its headwaters on the west side of the North Coast Range to its confluence with the Eel...

 to Carlotta

Carlotta, California

Carlotta is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located southeast of Fortuna, at an elevation of 131 feet ....

. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

 merged Alton's railroads into the San Francisco and Northwestern Railway

San Francisco and Northwestern Railway

San Francisco and Northwestern Railway was a Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway subsidiary formed in 1903 to connect Humboldt Bay to the Santa Fe rail system....

 in 1903; and Alton was linked to the national rail network by completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad

Northwestern Pacific Railroad

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...

 in 1914.

Politics

In the state legislature

California State Legislature

The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...

 Alton is located in the 2nd Senate

California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

 District, represented by Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Noreen Evans

Noreen Evans

Noreen Evans is an American politician in the California State Senate. She is a Democrat representing the 2nd district, encompassing Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, and Napa counties, as well as parts of Sonoma and Solano counties....

, and in the 1st Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 District, represented by Democrat Wesley Chesbro

Wesley Chesbro

Wesley P. Chesbro is a Democratic politician from California. He is currently the Assembly member for the 1st Assembly district in California. Previously, Chesbro served as a State Senator from California's 2nd district from 1998 until 2006...

. Federally, Alton is located in California's 1st congressional district

California's 1st congressional district

California's 1st congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California and presently consists of the northern coastline and includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino and Napa counties and parts of Sonoma and Yolo counties.The district is currently...

.