The Chinese in Yreka

Yreka's Chinatown, circa 1899.

The first Chinese to arrive in Yreka came in 1853.  They came to the west because in their own Kwang Tung Province in Southern China (today known as Guangdong, which essentially surrounds modern day Hong Kong) civil strife and crop failure caused many to immigrate to California with one of six major Chinese Companies, essentially as indentured servants. 

            The New York Daily Times on June 28, 1853 (page 3) likely reprinted an article from one of our more local papers, stated:  “It was a shocking arrival this day in June when 35 Chinamen arrived here in Yreka.  They are the first of this kind who have made their appearance here, and their arrival created quite an excitement in town.  The Chinamen promptly tendered the amount of the foreign miner’s tax, but no officer was authorized to receive it.  There was great discussion of what to do among the men present, and after quite some discussion they were permitted to remain.”  Between 1860 and 1870 the Chinese population doubled in Siskiyou County to 1,176 persons ~ but was likely higher as women weren’t always counted in the census at that time.

            The Chinese in Yreka did not have an easy life.  At first attitudes towards them were tolerant, but once it became apparent that they were not going to purchase many American made goods and better the local shopkeepers pocketbooks as well as embracing their different customs and lifestyles, attitudes against them hardened.  The majority of the Chinese worked in mining, while the older or less physically able may have worked as cooks, washers, or as Chinese shopkeepers selling goods largely from China.

            There were 3 different “Chinatown’s” in Yreka over the years.  The first area settled by the Chinese was on the south side of the 500 Block of West Miner Street, but many of them moved from that location by 1868.  Many merchants discouraged them from being on Miner Street as they were reported to live in “shacks” that caught fire easily, and had poor sanitary conditions, especially the laundry houses.

The Joss House in Yreka's Chinatown 

            The second location of Yreka’s “Chinatown” and likely the longest residency was along Main Street which was on both sides of the street from Center to Miner about half way up the block.  Their stores would have stopped just short of the location where the Rex Club is today at 111 South Main Street, Yreka.  In 1871 a great fire devastated Yreka and a great deal of the business section of town burned, including the Chinese section.  They went to work and rebuilt right away, this time many buildings were rebuilt with brick.  Misfortune came to the Chinese again when in 1886 the Main Street Chinatown was once again consumed by fire.    A “citizens meeting” followed immediately on the heels of this fire and a new Chinatown was created across Yreka Creek on what was then the far east end of Center Street. 

            In less than 5 years at the third Chinatown location, tragedy struck again.  The hard winter of 1889-90 followed by warm rains caused massive flooding in Yreka Creek and throughout the county.  The vast majority of Chinatown was literally washed downstream.   By 1900 there were only 4 or 5 Chinese stores that operated within a total of 14 buildings occupied by the Chinese settlers.  Today there is nothing left of the last “Chinatown” in Yreka, when Interstate 5 was created it essentially was built right over the top of the remains of Chinatown at the central exit.  While there were no buildings left by the time the freeway was constructed, some archaeological digs were performed in the area.

            There are many local stories and lore regarding the Chinese here in Yreka, for further information one can contact either Yreka Preservation or the Siskiyou County Historical Society.  Information for this article was found largely from the Meamber Research Files located at Yreka Preservation as well as some information from an article by the former Museum Director, Mike Hendryx as well as the 1990 edition of the Siskiyou Pioneer published by the Siskiyou County Historical Society.

Copyright:  Claudia East, 2015

Greenhorn

Greenhorn Sawmill, photo courtesy Siskiyou County Museum

By Claudia East

The term “greenhorn” when used as a noun is defined by the dictionary as an untrained or inexperienced person, a naïve or gullible person; someone easily tricked or swindled, and also as a newly arrived immigrant or newcomer.  So, where does that fall in the category of Yreka History?  Locals know of our delightful Greenhorn Park and Greenhorn Creek, situated just south and to the west of the most heavily populated part of town.  There is quite a bit of local lore written about “greenhorn”, but most of the stories are similar in nature.  One of the early records of Greenhorn is from Well’s History of Siskiyou where he explains that the creek was called Race Creek in the early days because as soon as gold was discovered at Thompson’s Dry Diggings (Yreka) people started looking frantically everywhere along nearby creeks, the one we know today was called Race Creek in the early days because folks “raced” to get there to search for gold.

            So, how did Greenhorn come to bear its name?  As the story goes that little, if anything, was found along Race Creek and was soon abandoned by the miners.  One day a new arrival, perhaps an Englishman, came to town and asked where he could find a good place to mine for gold as he was ready to find his fortune.  The miners, thought they would put “one over” on this “greenhorn” and sent him up Race Creek to dig fully believing he wouldn't find anything.  As he began to work the area along the creek the local miners continued to enjoy their joke on this newcomer.  To perpetuate the joke, they began to call it Greenhorn Creek.  The joke, however, turned out to be on the miners, as he mined over $7,000 in gold in only a few days!  As soon as the word was out, the Greenhorn rush was on; miners quickly wanted to make their own claims along the five mile stretch of the creek.  During the years the area was mined, over $11 million in gold was mined from this area.  Greenhorn was one of the best producers of gold in the county from 1850 on.  The area was even dredged in later years until high bedrock was hit and the dredge could no longer be floated.

           

            While the creek was producing gold, however, like many other places throughout the county a small little town came into being and was even given a voting precinct of its own.  At one time (circa 1870 – 1881) it had a little general store, a tannery, a glove factory and small furniture factory, and sawmill.  There was also a small schoolhouse established in 1859.  Today all vestiges of the former town are gone except the Greenhorn Schoolhouse located near the south entrance to Greenhorn Park; the original school building is long gone and the little red schoolhouse we see today was built sometime before 1935 but replaced the original building.   The location of the schoolhouse is not in the original position, reported to have been moved between 1947 and 1957; it was originally located near the confluence of Greenhorn and Yreka Creek.  This may have been somewhere near where the interstate crosses today.

            There is a lot of history in this small area near Yreka, there was even an event called the Greenhorn War that initiated over water rights for mining.  Today, the Greenhorn Creek as it was seen 150 years ago looks very different today, instead of miners and a sawmill we have a beautiful park, lovely trails, and a lake that is home to many birds and animals.  

Copyright:  Claudia East

J. P. Churchill Building

Gone, but not forgotten!

Located on the northwest corner of Main and Miner Streets, Yreka, CA



Photo:  Courtesy of Yreka Preservation


In 1851 while Yreka was in its early infancy, Jerome Churchill arrived at the “flats” and erected a general merchandise store in a tent on what is now the Northwest corner of Miner and Main.  Almost everything constructed during that time was temporary -- merchants stayed in business as long as the miners came and money was to be made.  Unfortunately Churchill’s tent, according to research, burned twice during the first few years, so in 1855 he built a permanent structure from brick for his store on the corner of Main and Miner.  In 1871 the “great conflagration” happened and the building was burned out.  One third of Yreka burned that fateful day in July.  The building was repaired from the walls and continued to be home to a general merchandise store for a number of years.

It is not known when the general merchandise store was moved elsewhere, but for several years the building was home to at least two or three different saloons.  It housed the Last Chance Saloon, (not to be confused with the long established Last Chance Saloon previously in neighboring Hornbrook) and later the Branch Saloon (later renamed the Bella Union Saloon).  It is roughly estimated that the building was home to the saloons between 1890 and 1915.

In 1919 a newspaper article said that the Electric Supply Company was busy moving into the building and that the back half of the building would become home to the California-Oregon Power Company (COPCO) for a repair shop.   It was only two years later that the California-Oregon Power Company purchased the building from Churchill and occupied the entire structure.  [If you have a copy of the book, Yreka, Images of America you can view a portion of this building as it appeared when owned by the power company on page 20.]

In 1933 the power company was getting prepared to replace the building with a newer more modern one that would be two stories high and sport a full basement.  For several reasons this never materialized and the offices were moved.  For a number of years COPCO was at home in the DeWitt & Peters Building (the current Elks Building) at the corner of Miner and North Oregon Streets.

In 1934 major changes were happening in Yreka.  The State of California decided there was a definite need to widen Main Street a full twenty feet from city limit to city limit.  Main Street at the time served as the State Highway 99 and the traffic had increased considerably from former days.  To accommodate the new requirements twenty feet was slashed from property fronting Main Street.  In some blocks the entire twenty feet was taken from one side only, at other places it was half on one side and half on the other.  The State wanted a straight shot through town.

Once the construction was finished, the Lot 1, Block 28 at the northwest corner of Main and Miner was an empty lot.  The building had been razed and the J. P. Churchill Building was gone forever.  The current building located at this spot was completed in 1937.  Today this corner is home to the Miner Street Sports Bar.

Copyright, Claudia East

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

Happy New Year! ~ Past and Present

It was December 31, 1982 when the Siskiyou Daily News ran this image on their front page to wish their patrons a Happy New Year.

At the time this photo was taken my family lived in the home seen in the background and my husband with the help of our (then) 14 year old daughter created the sculpture in snow as a way to bring in the New Year! 1982 was on its way out and 1983 was ready to arrive.

It has been 27 years since this photo was taken... time certainly does go by quickly. We no longer live in the "Senator Randolph Collier House" but truly enjoyed it while we were there. Many changes have occurred in Yreka during the past 27 years, but this lovely home still graces North Main Street.

As the author for this blog I would like to thank my readers for their views and time on my site and hope that the information presented here has given you both fond remembrances, and a look into the past. It is my desire that this blog helps preserve some of the history of our hometown, Yreka. I look forward to another year of Yreka History Blogging! Please return often, comments are welcome.

Happy New Year to all ~ Wishes for a happy, healthy and successful 2010.
Claudia East

Note: For those of you who have a copy of our book, Yreka, Images of America Series by Arcadia Publishing you can find more photos and information on this home on pages 62 and 63.

Yreka's Welcome Arch

Yreka's Welcome Arch graces the corner of Miner and Main Streets about 1920.


It has been read that Yrekans first saw our own Welcome Arch in 1917. It was an exciting time with travel by automobile staging a promising future! By automobile, Yreka was the midway point between San Francisco and Portland on the Great Pacific Highway. It was a common practice by cities and towns of this era, as well as later into the century, to erect a welcome arch to announce their city along major new highways! Many times the arches had abbreviated statements to advertise the area's prized features like "water" or "climate". Yreka's arch was illuminated so travelers could see the sign from a distance and know this was a progressive town and to hail a welcome to all travelers!

The image above at first glance does not seem familiar, however, looking closely one can determine the building on the right that would have been the Siskiyou County Bank (building still standing at Miner and Third Street today) and the I.O.O.F. Building at the left just beyond the figure in the image.

In the 1930's the Pacific Highway was "modernized" and the route officially changed into Highway 99. By 1931 the portion of the new Highway 99 through the Shasta Canyon was complete, but the changes were yet to come in Yreka proper. During the mid 1930's Main Street (Pacific Highway, later Highway 99) was widened through town. It was quite the project as many buildings were demolished and front yards consumed, on one side of the street or other to make room for this wider new Highway. The building on the corner of Miner and Main that one can see in the image above just beyond the tree would have been the office of the California and Oregon Power Company (COPCO). This building as well as most of the block next to it was torn down and later new more modern structures in modest Art Deco style were built. The once elegant entrance to the Yreka Inn turned into road, curb, and short driveway. Driving down Main Street today one can see where the road was widened, many buildings have virtually no front yard but those on the opposite side of the street may appear as they did prior to the reconstruction. The Yreka Arch was taken down in the 1930s during this reconstruction of the Pacific Highway into Highway 99. It was in storage and fell into disrepair until 1976 when the local Soroptimists made the move to restore and replace the sign. The citizens of Yreka helped with funding and support and in 1977 the Welcome Arch was rededicated. It now sits at the Central Yreka Interchange but seems somehow smaller at eye level. This author, for one, is pleased that our Welcome Arch is still visible for travelers and residents alike.

Another view of the Yreka Welcome Arch and a view North on Main Street from Miner can be viewed on page 20 of our book, Yreka Images of America Series from Arcadia Publishing.

Copyright, Claudia East, 2009

Yesterday ~ and Today!

What do these two buildings have in common?

Well, they are the same structure, or at least what remains. The photo at the right is one of the structure taken in 2008, The Yreka Motel and Trailer Park, located at 336 North Main Street, Yreka, CA. The black and white photo is an image of the home when it belonged to the Churchill family, in a time that graced a much "slower" Main Street in Yreka in 1897. The Churchill family has been a prominent local family and lineage goes back to some of the first pioneers in our area. This lovely victorian building served as a home until about the mid to late 1920's. It may have served a dual purpose during part of this time in the 20's, but maps in 1927 show the building to be "lodgings".

In 1939 the maps are still showing the building serving as "lodgings", and in addition, there was a small apartment building to the rear with four additional apartments. This author has not yet researched the actual date the home changed from a residence to a "lodging" or from a "lodging" to a motel and trailer park, but it is an educated guess that the motel appeared sometime after the early 1930's. The road right in front (our Main Street) was once the mighty Highway 99 and all the travelers who traveled through our area drove right by this location. It was in 1933-34 era that Highway 99 was widened and improved through Yreka. This establishment is listed as a motel and trailer park in the 1939 city directory, so it is clear it changed to a motel within that 10 year period. By 1948 the Yreka Motel and Trailer Park was very active and a first class concern! A lovely 1948 image of the Yreka Motel and Trailer Park is viewable at the U. C. Davis Special Collections ~ Photographs at their website.

(http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/specol/manu-collections/photographs/index.php?collection=eastman) Search for "Yreka" once the Eastman Collection is visible.

At some time after 1948 this beautiful building had a fire and the top floor burned and was never rebuilt and the building "modernized". The building once sat in a perfect location to be a host to travelers. In the late 1940s trailer travel was a booming business with young families as well as others following World War II. During this era highways went through towns and cities for access to services rather than avoiding them as we do today in an effort to reduce travel time.

This building has served as a motel and trailer park for many years, in addition it also served dual purpose as a bus station for Trailways in the 1960's or 1970s. It would be lovely if this once grand lady could be revitalized to her former glory.
Copyright, Claudia A. East, 2008

Yreka ~ a view from 1897

Photo from the Overland Monthly 1897 showing south side of West Miner Street in Yreka. (The Weekly Journal was on the corner of Miner and Oregon Streets.)


It was 1897 and Robert J. Nixon publisher and editor of the Yreka Journal wrote a long article on the history of Siskiyou County and its wealth in gold for the February issue of the Overland Monthly magazine. Nixon included a number of wonderful photos of Yreka in his article as well as photos of neighboring towns in Siskiyou.

Below is an excerpt from this article and in the words of Robert J. Nixon:

Yreka 1897

"The new mining camp grew in population until in a few years it contained more than five thousand inhabitants. The buildings, as in the greater number of mining camps, were irregularly constructed, with narrow streets, the main street, leading to the Yreka flats and familiarly known as Miner street, still bearing traces of this irregularity. With many characteristics of a mining camp, this little town nestling among the hills of Siskiyou possesses a natural beauty that endears it to its inhabitants until they feel that there is no place like Yreka. The flats where the gold was first discovered have now been worked out and are covered with shafts, tunnels, and prospect holes. The town itself has settled down to a place of some two thousand inhabitants, with numerous substantial business houses and beautiful residences, becoming the principal town of a county larger than some States. Once only, in 1871, was the place visited by a disastrous fire, and at that time was all but destroyed. It was soon rebuilt in a more substantial manner.

When the Southern Pacific railroad extended its line northward from Redding, Yreka was left to one side about six miles. With commendable pluck the citizens set about forming a joint stock company for the purpose of building a railroad of their own to connect with the main line, and the little engine can now be seen making its daily trips over the hill east of town to connect with the Southern Pacific line at Montague. Nearly every property owner in the town owns stock in this little road and takes pride in the fact that each year since it has been built it has more than paid running expenses.

Yreka has three churches, Episcopal, Catholic, and Methodist, a free public library, a cozy theater, three hotels, and other attractions that testify to the soundness of the place. The court house in course of construction is acknowledged by all who have seen it to be unsurpassed in its architectural beauty by any public building in the State. For years this town was the home station of the California and Oregon and Idaho stage line."

For other views through the years of Miner Street in Yreka one may find them in our book, Yreka, Images of America on pages 35, 33, 30, 38, 45, 52, 116, and 124.

The Erickson & James Garage

Photo by Claudia East, 2008

The building above can be seen from Main Street in Yreka, right near the corner of Yama and Main (221 North Main St.); today it serves as the "James Place Annex" and is filled with wonderful antiques as an addition to their lovely mansion that sits directly west of the building. (One can see a tiny portion of the roof and the distinctive blue color scheme.) Many of our local "old-timers" remember this building as the Erickson & James Garage and straight in front was a small service station where one could fill up the tank of their auto as they cruised down Highway 99 in Yreka. Those of you that have access or a copy to our book, Yreka, Images of America can see what this actually looked like in its heyday on page 41.

The garage was originally constructed in 1924 by the former owner of the Fry/James House, Donald Montgomery and within two years he sold it to Daggett & Moore, another historical business that was well known. This was touted as a "fireproof" garage and original dimensions were broadcast in the newspaper as being 125 feet long and 70 feet wide. Large garages of this type were in demand for winter storage of automobiles (as anti-freeze was not readily available) in addition to automobile repair and the like. Having a garage at one's home was not necessarily the norm in the 1920's. In 1939 the building became the Erickson and James Garage. The company provided sales and service for Pontiac, Buick, and GMC automobiles. The garage closed in 1968. Later it reopened as the James Place Annex.

A walk around this building both inside and out one can quickly imagine how it appeared to the weary traveler or the local folks ~ it was well kept and had a good business! It probably didn't hurt that it was nearly right next to the famous Yreka Inn during that time.

Copyright: Claudia A. East, 2008