Research notes on the exact building date of this Yreka home is uncertain. The property on which it stands was owned by at least 2 different persons prior to Robert Nixon purchasing the property and other structures may have been on this ground. The house as viewed above is a current view of the home, and the original structure was likely built between 1856 and 1860.It was in 1866 that the home became the property of Robert Nixon, Jr. and it remained in his family for the next 47 years as reported in the book, Houses That Talk by Fred and Bernice Meamber, published in 1986.
Robert Nixon, Jr. is reportedly a direct ancestor of former President Richard M. Nixon, but specific information about this relationship has not been researched by this author. However, Robert Nixon arrived in Yreka in 1855 and worked for a local printer, he left and moved to Oregon and San Francisco returning to Yreka permanently in 1861. He purchased the Yreka Journal (newspaper) and published the first Republican paper north of Marysville according to Wells' History of Siskiyou County, published in 1881. Nixon was very civic and politically minded and was always eager to refute views by his Democratic counterparts. Robert Nixon, Jr. died in 1908. He is buried at the Yreka Evergreen Cemetery.
The home has changed over the years, but if Nixon were alive today, he would likely recognize it! Originally the window in the second story at the front of the house was pointed in the gothic style and the front windows below were flush with the walls. Rennovations were made according to Meamber research in 1889 and the bay windows on the sides of the home were added in 1895. The home has had an unusual number of residents from owners to renters, but it still stands as a symbol of the early days of Yreka. This proud home stands in the National Historic District at 325 Third Street, Yreka, California.
Copyright: Claudia A. East 2008
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