Siskiyou County
California
Siskiyou County, California
Population
41,536
Indigenous Peoples
Major Waterways
Major Employers
Government
Education
Health Care
Major Attractions
Recreational Activities
- Agritourism
- Bicycling
- Camping
- Caving
- Climbing
- Fishing
- Golf
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Kayaking, rafting, boating, & paddleboarding
- Skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, & snowshoeing
Summary
Heralded as a four-season paradise, Siskiyou County is California’s northernmost county as well as its fifth-largest. It borders Oregon in the Shasta Cascade region.
Yreka is not only the county seat but also its largest city. The county’s other cities are Dorris, Dunsmuir, Etna, Fort Jones, Montague, Mount Shasta, Tulelake, and Weed.
Siskiyou County’s official slogan, “Mountains of Opportunity,” is a nod to the majestic 14,179-foot Mt. Shasta, California’s second-tallest volcano.
From volcanic landscapes to conifer forests, waterfalls to rivers and lakes, and farmlands to protected treasures, Siskiyou County attracts both recreational tourists and people seeking a simple life surrounded by awe-inspiring wilderness.
Established in 1852, the county was carved out of Klamath and Shasta Counties and inherited its name from the Siskiyou mountain range and accompanying trail.
The Karuk, Modoc, and Shasta peoples have inhabited the land for millennia and remain in the area today. Hunter-gatherers and fishers, the Shasta people numbered approximately 6,000 prior to European contact and were the primary occupants of the northern and central portions of the county.
Fur trading brought early settlers to the area beginning in 1826, when Peter Skene Ogden embarked on expeditions from Fort Vancouver in what is now Washington.
The first American surveying of the region occurred in 1841, when United States Exploring Expedition Lieutenant Charles Wilkes sent an overland party down the Siskiyou Trail.
In 1851, the discovery of gold near what is now Yreka brought an influx of new settlers and led to the founding of numerous towns.
Like Modoc County, Siskiyou County witnessed the losses of both indigenous peoples and US Army forces during the Modoc War in the early 1870s.
When the Central Pacific Railroad was constructed in the 1880s, tourists began flocking to the scenic region, where they enjoyed fishing, hunting, and sightseeing the natural wonders such as McCloud Falls and what would later become Castle Crags State Park and the 46,000-acre Lava Beds National Monument featuring petroglyphs, lava tubes, and cinder cones.
Today, tourists still enjoy those offerings as well as cultural relics such as in Dunsmuir’s Historic Railroad Park Resort, where people can enjoy a unique stay in converted vintage train cars.
Sixty percent of the county’s more than four million acres comprises federal land, with the US Forest Service managing much of this territory and pristine portions enjoying protection through the Wilderness Act of 1964.
The rural county’s employment opportunities include agriculture, ranching, timber, and health care.
Siskiyou County was part of the State of Jefferson secessionist movement that officially began in 1941 with a symbolic rebellion staged by residents spanning Northern California and Southern Oregon over frustrations about being neglected by remote state officials. In the 2010s, the movement revived in response to perceived overreach by Sacramento regarding water rights, timber, and high-speed railway funding that snubbed northern counties. This led to Siskiyou County’s Board of Supervisors voting 4-1 in 2013 to initiate secession proceedings to form the State of Jefferson. Other northeastern counties, including Modoc, followed suit. Today, the idea of the mythical fifty-first state is more of a romantic than a political notion and has been adopted fondly by Jefferson Public Radio.
Phoenix Appraisal Network offers well-regarded valuation services for agricultural, commercial, and residential properties in Siskiyou County. Get in touch if you’d like to learn more.