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.

Yreka and the 1930s

Photo of Miner Street during the 1930's from the National Archives.

During the 1930s our country faced the "Great Depression", Yreka certainly had its trials, but on the whole the local economy fared better than many. During the early part of the 1930s major road work was completed through town with the widening of Highway 99 (The Pacific Highway) and many buildings along Main Street were either moved back, suddenly became very close to the road, or were demolished and new ones built. Also in the early 30s the new Highway 99 was completed through the Shasta Canyon just north of town. This was a major feat and news paper accounts of the new bridges and the road conditions were touted throughout California!

In addition to the road construction, the early 30s also brought some major commercial building to town. The new Montgomery Ward Building on Broadway opened in Sept. of 1929, the Warren's Building opened for business in 1930 as well as the new Broadway Theatre! In 1931 the new Ley Fire Station was built, and towards the end of the decade the new Lake's Building was constructed just to the south of the Broadway Theatre.

In public service we see familiar "old family" names such as A. L. Herzog, Mayor; B. F. Ackerman, Councilman; V. W. Hart, Councilman; John Goodrich, Councilman; and J. G. Goble, Councilman. Bernard Pollard was Fire Chief, and U. F. Brown was City Clerk. Charles Doggett served as Chief of Police, and R. C. Collier was Police Judge.

Reviewing the City Directory it can be learned that there were many businesses in town, at least 5 Auto Camps, 5 Auto Dealers with names like Graham-Paige, Chrysler-Plymouth, Chevrolet, Ford, and Studebaker. There were three Drug Stores, dry cleaners and laundry, furniture stores, and gold buyers, six different grocery stores including Safeway and Purity, two lumber stores, three hotels, four meat markets, and six different places to shop for millinery goods! In addition there were 11 restaurants and a host of other businesses and services!

During the 1930s the economy was fueled by gold, lumber, agriculture, and county and city government as well as travelers along the new Highway 99. People did business locally and "going to town" meant going to Yreka! The population was much smaller, an estimated 2,500 - 3,000 people within the city limits.

Copyright: Claudia A. East