Guilbert & Siskiyou County Bank Building 1872 & 1899

Still sitting proudly on the Northeast corner of Miner and Third Streets is a victorian business building that has served the community of Yreka and the surrounding area for over 100 years. Prior to the great fire of 1871 another building sat on this spot and was owned by a Buenaventura Guilbert. The building hosted a variety of businesses including a billiard saloon, a boot store and coffee and lunch stand. The building was rebuilt following the fire and was back in operation by 1872. At this time Mr. Guilbert had a soda factory in the building, and auction sales were regularly held in the front portion of the structure. This building even served as one of the main exhibit halls during the local County Fair for a number of years. During this time it was a single story structure.

Between the years of 1878 and 1886 a variety of businesses occupied the premises. In July of 1886 the Siskiyou County Bank and the Wells, Fargo Express Company moved in to the building. At this time a vault was built expressly for the bank and Wells, Fargo. In 1899 the building was enlarged with a second story. Folks who may have travelled to Yreka at the turn of the century would still recognize this building today. A few changes have occurred over the years, but the basic structure has remained intact, the largest changes being the front door that originally was at the corner on Third Street rather than in the center location where it appears today. This building operated as a bank from 1886 until 1955.

Since 1955 there have been a wide variety of businesses that have occupied this building. It currently has a rather "fanciful" painted theme, however, for a vast majority of its years the building was a light plain color on the stucco exterior, and prior to being stuccoed and painted, it was simply brick.

Copyright: Claudia East, 2008