Leavitt is an unincorporated community in Lassen County

Lassen County, California

Lassen County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,895, up from 33,828 at the 2000 census...

, 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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located alongside the Southern Pacific Railroad

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

 7 miles (11 km) east of Susanville

Susanville, California

Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the south-central part of the county, at an elevation of 4186 feet . The population was 17,974 at the 2010 census, up from 13,541 at the 2000 census...

, and 7 miles west of Litchfield

Litchfield, California

Litchfield is a census-designated place in Lassen County, California. It is located east of Susanville, at an elevation of 4065 feet . The population was 195 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, at an elevation of 4104 feet (1,250.9 m).

Leavitt was named for Benjamin Hanson Leavitt (1834–18), a pioneer rancher and lumberman who came from the state of Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, born to a father who was a Maine farmer and a mother from New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, and who settled in Lassen County in 1864. Benjamin Leavitt was a descendant of Samuel Leavitt

Samuel Leavitt

Lieut. Samuel Leavitt was an early colonial settler of Exeter, New Hampshire, one of the four original towns in the colony of New Hampshire, where Leavitt later served as a delegate to the General Court as well as Lieutenant in the New Hampshire Militia, and subsequently as member of the New...

 of Exeter, New Hampshire

Exeter, New Hampshire

Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...

.

Benjamin Leavitt engineered the Honey Lake

Honey Lake

Honey Lake is an endorheic sink within the Honey Lake Valley located in northeastern California, near the Nevada border. Summer evaporation reduces the lake to a lower level of 12 km² and creates an alkali flat....

 Valley irrigation system, including Leavitt Lake. Leavitt also named nearby Clinton, California, for his hometown of Clinton in Kennebec County, Maine

Kennebec County, Maine

Kennebec County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 122,151. Its county seat is Augusta. The center of population of Maine is located in Kennebec County, in the city of Augusta....

. (The town was renamed Leavitt Lake in 1973 when house construction began there.) Benjamin Leavitt was married to Celara Cleveland (Edwards) Leavitt, born in Massachusetts.

A post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

at Leavitt was established in October 1914, and named after May F. Leavitt, the first postmaster. It was discontinued in December 1920.