Yreka ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River and about 22 miles south of the state border with Oregon. The city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,807, reflecting an increase from 7,765 in the 2010 census. Yreka is home to the College of the Siskiyous, Klamath National Forest Interpretive Museum, and the Siskiyou County Museum. It was incorporated on April 21, 1857.
History In March 1851, Abraham Thompson, a mule train packer, discovered gold near Rocky Gulch while traveling along the Siskiyou Trail from southern Oregon. By April 1851, 2,000 miners had arrived in "Thompson's Dry Diggings" to test their luck, and by June 1851, a gold rush "boomtown" of tents, shanties, and a few rough cabins had sprung up. Several name changes occurred until the city was called Yreka. The name comes from , a word meaning "north mountain" or "white mountain", the name of nearby Mount Shasta in the Shasta language.
Mark Twain tells a different story:
In 1853–54, poet Joaquin Miller described Yreka as a bustling place with "a tide of people up and down and across other streets, as strong as if a city on the East Coast". Incorporation proceedings were completed on April 21, 1857.
Lynchings Two lynchings have been documented in Yreka. The first took place on August 26, 1895, when four men—William Null, Garland Stemler, Luis Moreno, and Lawrence Johnson—awaiting trial for various charges of murder and robbery, were simultaneously hanged by a lynch mob from a railroad tie suspended from two adjacent trees.
The second lynching occurred on July 28, 1935. Clyde Johnson and Robert Miller Barr robbed a local business and its patrons in Castella, California. They then stole a car from a patron and drove north to Dunsmuir, California, where they planned to abandon the car and make a getaway by train. Soon after they abandoned the car north of Dunsmuir, they were stopped by California Highway Patrolman George "Molly" Malone and Dunsmuir's 38-year-old honorary Chief of Police Frank R. "Jack" Daw. Johnson pulled out a Luger pistol and wounded both policemen. Malone recovered, but Daw died the next day.Chief Frank R. Daw Dunsmuir Police Department , California Peace Officers Memorial Foundation, accessed July 16, 2013 Johnson was caught a few hours later by a dragnet and taken into custody. Barr, who was holding the $35 that they obtained from the robbery, panicked during the shootout and ran off into the woods, then escaped on a freight train. Daw was a beloved figure in Dunsmuir. His title of chief of police was given to him because of his cool head and experience as a World War I veteran. The night of Daw's funeral, a dozen cars from Dunsmuir, carrying roughly 50 masked men, drove north to Yreka to lynch Johnson. On August 3, 1935, at 1:30 am, the vigilante mob reached the Yreka jail and lightly knocked on the door. Deputy Marin Lange, the only guard on duty at the jail, opened the door slightly and was quickly overtaken. He was driven 9 miles east of Yreka, where he was released, barefoot. The mob searched the jail, found Johnson, drove him away in one of the cars, and hanged him from a pine tree."California Mob Lynches Police Slayer", Omaha Bee-News, August 3, 1936, pp. 1–2. See also information on a photo of the lynching of Clyde Johnson on the book's website, Without Sanctuary. Barr was arrested over a year later, on September 4, 1936, in Los Angeles on a burglary charge."Nab suspect as slayer of police chief: Man long sought in Dunsmuir Crime in L.A. Jail", Lodi News-Sentinel, September 5, 1936, page 1, accessed July 16, 2013 During his time on the run, he secured a part as an extra in the Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald film Rose Marie, scenes of which were filmed near Lake Tahoe. He is credited in the film under his real name."Hunted Bandit Busy in Movie". Spokesman-Review. September 16, 1936. Associated Press. Spokane, Washington. p. 9.
Yreka rebellion
On November 27, 1941, a group of young men gained national media attention when, brandishing hunting rifles for dramatic effect, they stopped traffic on U.S. Route 99 south of Yreka, and handed out copies of a Proclamation of Independence, stating that the State of Jefferson was in "patriotic rebellion against the States of California and Oregon" and would continue to "secede every Thursday until further notice."
The secession movement ended quickly, though not before Del Norte County District Attorney John Leon Childs of Crescent City was inaugurated as governor of the State of Jefferson on December 4, 1941.
The first blow was the death of Mayor Gable on December 2, followed by the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Those in favor of secession focused their efforts on the war effort, which crippled the movement.
Geography
Yreka is about above sea level in the Shasta Valley, south of the Siskiyou Mountains and north of Mount Shasta, a dormant volcano that towers over the valley.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which (0.72%) is covered by water.
Natural history The official city flower of Yreka is the Yreka phlox (Phlox hirsuta)..
The only known specimen of Calochortus monanthus, the single-flowered mariposa lily, was collected near Yreka along the banks of the Shasta River by botanist Edward Lee Greene in June 1876.Treatment from the Jepson Manual 1993, University of California Press, 1993, Regents of the University of California, accessed August 7, 2013
Nearby settlements Nearby places include: Montague: east Grenada: southeast Fort Jones: southwest Klamath River: northwest Hornbrook: north
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification, Yreka has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa), but almost qualifies as a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb). The area features hot, dry summers and cool winters with regular snowfall. A high degree of diurnal temperature variation exists, especially in the summer.
The annual average temperature of Yreka is . July is the hottest month with , and December is the coldest month with . The average annual precipitation is , and the precipitation in winter (December–February) accounts for almost 48% of the whole year. The wettest "rain year" was from July 2005 to June 2006 with , and the driest was from July 1954 to June 1955 with . The annual snowfall is , which is basically concentrated from November to February of the next year.
The annual extreme temperature ranged from on January 20, 1937, January 22, 1937, February 2, 1950, and December 9, 1972, to on July 16, 1925, July 17, 1925, and July 27, 1939; the record cold daily maximum is , set on January 22, 1962, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is on July 22 and 23, 1915. There are 66.6 afternoons each year with the highest temperature over , 11.4 afternoons with the highest temperature over , and 142.2 mornings with the lowest temperature below .
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Yreka had a population of 7,807 and a population density of . The median age was 41.1 years. The age distribution was 22.9% under 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 86.1 males 18 and over.
The census reported that 97.9% of the population lived in households, 0.9% lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and 1.2% were institutionalized. Of the 3,368 households, 27.3% had children under 18, 35.3% were married-couple households, 8.5% were cohabiting-couple households, 19.9% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 36.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 36.8% of households were made up of individuals, and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.27, and 1,881 families represented 55.8% of all households.
The 3,668 housing units had an average density of , of which 8.2% were vacant and 91.8% were occupied. Of occupied units, 50.8% were owner-occupied, and 49.2% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%, and the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%; 94.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 6.0% lived in rural areas.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percentage White 5,643 72.3% Black or African American 73 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 700 9.0% Asian 149 1.9% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 10 0.1% Some other race 257 3.3% Two or more races 975 12.5% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 958 12.3%
2023 estimates In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 1.7% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 92.4% spoke only English at home, 6.5% spoke Spanish, 0.7% spoke other Indo-European languages, 0.2% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.3% spoke other languages. Of those 25 or older, 89.0% were high-school graduates and 19.4% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income was $42,664, and the per capita income was $29,389. About 17.4% of families and 22.0% of the population were below the poverty line.
Economy
Tourists visit Yreka because it is at the northern edge of the Shasta Cascade area of Northern California. The core of the historic downtown, along West Miner Street, is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a California Historical Landmark. Yreka is home to the Siskiyou County MuseumSiskiyou County Museum website accessed February 21, 2008. and a number of Gold Rush-era monuments and parks. Visitors also come to enjoy trout fishing in the nearby Klamath, Sacramento and McCloud Rivers, or to see and climb Mount Shasta, Castle Crags or the Trinity Alps. Visitors also ski (both alpine and cross-country), or bike or hike to the waterfalls, streams, and lakes in the area, including nearby Falls of the McCloud River, Burney Falls, Mossbrae Falls, Lake Siskiyou, Castle Lake, and Shasta Lake.
The town hosts Gold Rush Days every year in June.
In addition, because it is the county seat of Siskiyou County, a number of businesses related to the county courts, county recorder, and other official county functions are in the city. Butte Valley National Grassland is in northern Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, but is administered from Yreka offices.
Government In the state legislature Yreka is in , and .
Federally, Yreka is in .
Education Yreka is home to a branch campus of the College of the Siskiyous which hosts the Rural Health Science Institute and Administration of Justice programs. The college is one of 10 California community colleges to offer on-campus housing. High-school buses carry students from towns that would not otherwise be able to fund a secondary education.
In Yreka, the gold-mining era is commemorated with a gold museum, as well as with a remnant of a silver-mining operation in Greenhorn Park. The Yreka Union High School District sports mascot is a gold miner. School colors are red and gold. Yreka High School was the first high school in the county, founded in 1894. It has 11 feeder districts that serve the approximately county area.Yreka Union School District
The Yreka elementary school district is composed of Evergreen Elementary and the Jackson Street Middle School.
Local media KSYC-AM 1490 Jefferson Public Radio, Yreka (silent as of 2022) KSYC-FM 103.9 Jefferson Public Radio, Yreka KZRO-FM 100.1 Mount Shasta KKLC 107.9 K-LOVE, Fall River Mills KSQU Mount Shasta/KEDY Fort Jones/KYRE Yreka, Internet Radio (Siskiyou Broadcast Group)Siskiyou Broadcast Group website Siskiyou Country Radio (Internet Radio), YrekaSiskiyou Country Radio websiteSiskiyou Country Radio player Siskiyou Daily News Vyve Broadband YCTV 4 Yreka Community Television/Siskiyou Media CouncilLive Stream , Siskiyou Media Council, accessed August 7, 2013