Auto Parks in Yreka!

An early photo of the Yreka Auto Park situated along Yreka Creek.

Between the advent of the popularity and affordability of the automobile with the improvements made in roadways and "highways", especially the Pacific Highway which opened in 1913 (later rebuilt in newer sections and dubbed Highway 99) travel became a very popular past time for individuals and families. Yreka, the County Seat of Siskiyou was happily situated in the main route as the road traveled right through the center of town.

Most of the main roads or routes went from town to town as travelers would have a better opportunity to meet up with needed services. Taking along camping gear was also a "convenience" issue as folks knew breaking down was a possibility away from towns. It was also very convenient as well as an adventure! Many travelers thought themselves as pioneers and were able to camp on the outskirts of towns or anywhere along the road, it was inexpensive and many vacation destinations offered little in the way of accommodations.

In 1916 a editorial type article was written in The Siskiyou News stressing the need for an Auto Park in Yreka. The beginning of the article stated: "Yreka is acquiring a reputation among tourists for its lack of hospitality!" The article went on to argue that most towns along the state highway has a small piece of land for this purpose, the town businesses have profited from sales of groceries, gas, auto repair and other needs of the traveler.

Within a short time Yreka did have an auto camp, and eventually more than one that met the needs of the camping enthusiast. A interesting recount of staying in Yreka in 1922 by a family that wrote in their local paper (from Estherville, Iowa) said of their experience:

"We camped for the night at Yreka a pretty little place in the foot hills of the Shasta Mountains, where we were provided with free camp grounds with free water, electric lights, 'shower baths, comfort station and brick ovens for cooking."

Later on these free Auto Camps turned into offering small cabins for the traveler and more comforts and convenience. There are a few of these later enhanced auto parks that have remnants of earlier days still visible here in Yreka, but are quickly fading.

Copyright: Claudia A. East

Yreka on the Silver Screen

The Gillis Mansion on North Oregon Street, Yreka was turned into the home of the reining "cattle baron".

In September of 1977 the Quinn Martin Company (who produced full length TV movies) came to Yreka and the surrounding area and filmed what was to be titled “Legend at Sundown” entirely in Siskiyou County. Later during the editing the name of the film was changed to the title of “Standing Tall”. It was a movie that depicted the depression-era times of Montana. The story was about a young rancher, Shasta, who is given a rough time by the reigning cattle baron. One individual, Leeland Cook, who appeared in the movie was a former Yrekan and went on to appear in many western movies. Also starring in the movie was Linda Evans, then most known for her roles in the TV series, Big Valley. In addition Robert Forester plays the hero, Luke Shasta and was opposite the villain in the script with the ruthless cattle baron, Chuck Connors. (of “The Rifleman” fame) The role Connors played was described by the Siskiyou Daily News as “a villain who has absolutely no redeeming traits”.

Below are interesting tidbits:

· In the film a scene was filmed at the Ft. Jones Community Hall and the building was turned into the Benteen Community Hospital.

· Rodeo scenes were shot at Pleasure Park Area in Etna and local residents dressed up in 1930s style clothing and became part of the rodeo crowd.

· The Gillis Mansion on the corner of North Oregon and Yama Streets was used for interior scenes. The home (in the movie) belonged to the “evil” cattle baron (Chuck Connors). The filming was done during daylight hours, but the windows were draped with black curtains on the outside to simulate nighttime.

· The “first voice” one hears when the movie begins is the voice of Ron Lillard. Ron a local man, was the manager of the Siskiyou Golden Fair at the time. During the opening credits he is heard as a country-western disc jockey on a car radio.

· Some of the places (as listed in 1978) to look for in the film include: Lake Siskiyou, the former Siskiyou Stockyards, Little Shasta’s Johnson Ranch, Edgewood’s Gragnani Ranch, the town of Callahan as the town of Benteen, the Park Motel in Yreka and the City Hall at Fort Jones. Also the line shack at the Ben Brazie Ranch, mountain scenes at the Fred Burton Ranch (Forest House Ranch), party scenes at the Gillis Mansion, (then the Gordon Dunlap Home) and a kitchen scene at the Roland Dexter home in Montague.

Note: Information was obtained from a file in the Meamber Collection at Yreka Preservation. The Meamber's assisted the filmmaker in providing historical information about the Depression Era and about Siskiyou County and Yreka for this film.

Copyright: Claudia A. East, 2010. This article, written by Claudia East, was recently published in the monthly newsletter, Echoes, by Yreka Preservation.

The Yreka Ditch ~ 1853

Views of "The Yreka Ditch" just west of the Weed Airport.



It was 1851 when the first gold was discovered on Yreka “Flats” and within a very short time the area was crawling with miners hungry to find the promise of gold! Placer mining was the technique for the area and worked well as long as water was available. By late fall, however, water became in short supply. According to Richard Silva in his extensive research and his publication, “The Big Ditch” (published by the Siskiyou County Historical Society and Museum in 2002) he states that water, or “liquid gold” was “so limited that some miners made more money selling it [water] than panning for gold”.

The need for water during the dry months became more evident and as early as 1853 the Yreka Ditch Company was formed with the purpose of creating some sort of flume from the Shasta River to the mines both north and south of Yreka. Eventually a decision was made to create a channel rather than use a flume the entire distance. In due course the ditch was created and dug entirely by hand with crude tools of the era. It was completed within two years an amazing feat considering its length. The ditch is approximately 95 miles long and begins on the Shasta River just northwest of present day Weed. Although only about 30 miles “as the crow flies” the ditch winds around the foothills of the Shasta Valley on the western slope and in some areas travels west considerable distance. The ditch ran the entire west side of the valley and ended at Canal Gulch in Hawkinsville.

View of the Yreka Ditch along the edge of the hills along the Gazelle - Callahan Road.

According to Silva it was March of 1856 when water was turned into the ditch at the Shasta River, but because of a variety of problems such as squirrel holes, seepage and unsettled soil and leakage in flumes that crossed small ravines it took the water five months to reach Yreka. Once up and running it delivered 21,000 gallons of water per minute and sold to the miners for their use in placer mining at 50 cents per “miner’s inch”.

Much of the “big ditch” can still be viewed today as one travels between Yreka and Weed area along the hillside to the west. Parts of the ditch are gone and the land no longer bears any resemblance to it ever being there, but sections of it are actually still in use today, other sections are visible but have filled in with soil due to erosion and appear quite shallow! Several names have been used in reference to this engineering marvel of its day, according to the information in Richard Silva’s book, among the more well known names were: The Edson-Foulke Company Ditch, The Big Ditch, and the China Ditch as well as the Yreka Ditch. Silva goes on to point out that Chinese laborers did not construct the ditch; it was completed by miners, farmers, and other individuals. Apparently, the Chinese were quite involved with continuing the maintenance of the ditch once it was completed.

A copy of this great read, The Big Ditch, by Richard Silva can be purchased at the Siskiyou County Museum Gift Shop and usually at the The Book Store on Miner Street in Yreka.

A view of a portion of the Yreka Ditch that is no longer in use

Photos and Text Copyright: Claudia East, 2010

Yreka, Capital City ~ State of Jefferson

In December of 1941 Yreka was named the new Capital of the State of Jefferson. It was an exciting and fast moving time when counties from southern Oregon and Northern California first said the word “succession” from their respective states and wanted to form a new 49^th state!

This particular movement started with the “Curry County Incident” where a group of folks decided that Southern Oregon and Northern California were being ignored. Roads were bad, bridges were old, and our area was rich with timber and mineral resources that could easily be used for the war effort in Europe against Hitler. On November 17, 1941 a group from Curry County Oregon met with the Yreka Chamber of Commerce to discuss how they could develop our timber and resources for the war effort and our economic prosperity. Much discussion, planning, and late night activities prevailed by the movers and shakers of the time. Yreka’s 20-30 Club, comprised of young businessmen, were instrumental in keeping their plight in the news by feeding information via the state of the art teletypes and telegraphs in the area to major papers in San Francisco and beyond. Parades were held in various towns throughout the area and a favorite protest sign about the conditions of our roads was: “Our roads are not passable, they are hardly jackassable!”

Ten days after that meeting, on November 27, the Yreka 20-30 Club presented their Proclamation of Independence for the hopeful new state. Road blocks were set up along Highway 99 (the main artery of the time heading north and south) at intermittent times. Folks stopped cars and passed out the Proclamation of Independence and then let them on their way. One day a week it was suggested that merchants keep buckets by their cash registers and keep the sales tax from California sales to go to the State of Jefferson.

December 2, 1941 the news media descended upon Yreka and began to report the news of the budding new state and creating news reels to be shown in the theaters of the day. (Newsreels were the CNN and Fox News of 1941; no television, just radio, newspapers and the newsreels one would see at the movies.) The San Francisco Examiner even sent their star reporter, Stanton Delaplane to cover the events. As an interesting side note ~ later Mr. Delaplane received the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage on Yreka and The State of Jefferson in 1942.

On December 4, 1941 a large parade was held in Yreka. Folks from all the counties involved came and marched, there were bands from various areas, folks carrying signs and torches, cars and trucks full of enthusiasts and the streets were packed with observers. On the Siskiyou County Courthouse Square the inauguration of the new Governor of the State of Jefferson, Judge John Childs, from Del Norte County was sworn in and gave a stirring speech to the overflowing crowds. It was the culmination of a swift and productive movement. Folks were told the newsreels would be shown on December 8, 1941 and the new state citizens were eagerly awaiting the reaction of the rest of the United States!

The newsreels, however, were never shown; on December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese and the United States suddenly was at war. On December 8, 1941 a statement was issued to the press by the State of Jefferson Territorial Committee that the current national emergency was of highest importance and all activity of the State of Jefferson would cease.

The State of Jefferson although not an actual separate state, has existed as a state of mind for many citizens within northern California and Southern Oregon for over 155 years. The first recorded news account of this area seeking independence (by this author) was in The New York Daily Times, January 1855.

Copyright, Claudia East

Yreka a major stage destination!

Yreka, Miner Street View Circa 1905



Yreka was considered a major hub in the transportation world of Northern California for over 100 years. Yreka is half way between San Francisco and Portland and was also the major starting and ending point for most of the smaller towns and villages for a great many miles. The "stage" brought so many important things to the community. Mail being one of the most important. The miners would come to town to wait for the mail, and near the stage stop folks met and talked over all of the news of the day. In Yreka the main stage stop was along Miner Street right at or near the Franco-American Hotel. The post office was also located nearby.

The stage office (often called the express office) was a thriving business. There were big steel strapped boxes often filled with gold dust that were lifted up into the front boot under the drivers seat and secured by lock and chain to the floor. This was a security measure so if some enterprising thief wanted to hold up the stage for the gold they would have to wrangle this off themselves. On board the stage was a Express messenger that carried a sawed-off shotgun loaded with buck shot. The cost of running the stage company was no little amount, estimated to be an annual expense of $40,000 in addition to paying tolls over many of the roads they traveled. This could amount to another $12,000 a year for the rights to use the roads.

The California and Oregon system is reported to have used about 430 miles of roadway and its branches alone served from Redding to Roseburg, via Yreka, Ashland and Jacksonville; Redding to Yreka, via Shasta, Tower House, Trinity Center, Callahans, Etna and Fort Jones and others. This operation alone utilized nearly 400 horses with 20 drivers in the summer and 26 in the winter. There were 50 stablemen, 6 mechanics and horse-shoers in addition to the clerks in the offices. They ran 16 stages in summer and 21 in winter besides 2 large sleighs over Scott Mountain in snow time. Horses had to be changed every 12 miles and a new driver took the reins each 10 hours. And, this was only one of many stage lines that came through Yreka.