In 1878, while teaching in Shasta County, he began the study of the mining district codes or laws of the 49ers and after.

[12][13] The emphasis of the German folk moot tradition espoused while he was at Johns Hopkins influenced his often romanticized writings about the early mining camps.

[22] During the late 1880s, he served as managing editor of Overland Monthly while continuing to publish articles on nature, mining, and rustic California.

[23] Charles Howard Shinn was inspector of California Experiment Stations from 1890 to 1902[24][25][26] In 1892 he was a Charter member of the Sierra Club.

[29] In 1914 he worked for the San Joaquin Valley Counties Association [30] He retired from his Forest Service position in July 1924.

[32][33][34][35][36][37] She shared his interests in nature, worked at his side, and became one of the first women employed by the new U. S. Forest Service.

[29] Coincidentally "Ranger Shinn; The Story of a Man Who Shaped His Life to Get the Greatest Happiness" was published in Sunset Magazine in the month that he died.

Charles Howard Shinn wrote for the Overland Monthly using a pseudonym, Stoner Brooke.

The Mission Peak Heritage Foundation (MPHF) has managed the Shinn House[183] and archive room since 1972.