Before the area was settled by Anglo-Americans, a Maidu village called Bamom was located in the vicinity. Like many of the other towns in California's Mother Lode, Shingle Springs grew on the site of a mining camp set up by gold miners during the California Gold Rush, in this case a group of "49ers" who had followed the Carson-Emigrant Trail through Pleasant Valley, Nevada. It took its name from a horse-drawn shingle machine capable of producing 16,000 shingles a day that was located near the springs at the western edge of the camp. The Boston-Newton Joint Stock Association, which left BostonApril 16, 1849, camped there the night before their arrival at Sutter's Fort on September 27, after a remarkable journey across the continent. A rich store of written records preserved by these pioneers has left a detailed picture of the Gold Rush. As a result, the town is now designated California Historical Landmark #456. The Shingle Spring post office operated from 1853 to 1855. The Shingle Springs post office opened in 1865, the name was changed to Shingle in 1895, and reverted in 1955.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, of which, over 99% is land. For the 2000 census, the CDP had a total area of, of which, of it was land and 0.19% was water.
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Shingle Springs had a population of 4,432. The population density was 538.0 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Shingle Springs was 3,919 White, 14 African American, 108 Native American, 50 Asian, 3 Pacific Islander, 132 from other races, and 206 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 469 persons. The Census reported that 4,344 people lived in households, 88 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized. There were 1,627 households, out of which 527 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,015 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 163 had a female householder with no husband present, 73 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 76 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 12 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 291 households were made up of individuals and 104 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67. There were 1,251 families ; the average family size was 3.01. The population was spread out with 1,031 people under the age of 18, 334 people aged 18 to 24, 874 people aged 25 to 44, 1,568 people aged 45 to 64, and 625 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males. There were 1,718 housing units at an average density of 208.6 per square mile, of which 1,627 were occupied, of which 1,248 were owner-occupied, and 379 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 3,343 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,001 people lived in rental housing units.
Politics
In the state legislature, Shingle Springs is in, and. Federally, Shingle Springs is in.
