Siskiyou County, California

County in California, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Siskiyou County (/ˈsɪskjuː/ SISK-yoo) is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076.[3] Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta.[5] It falls within the Cascadia bioregion.[6]

CountryUnited States
IncorporatedMarch 22, 1852
Highestelevation14,162 ft (4,317 m)
Quick facts Country, State ...
Siskiyou County
Flag of Siskiyou County
Official seal of Siskiyou County
Motto: 
"Mountains of Opportunity"
Interactive map of Siskiyou County
Location in the state of California
Location in the state of California
Coordinates: 41°35′N 122°30′W
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionShasta Cascade
IncorporatedMarch 22, 1852
Named afterThe Siskiyou Trail
County seatYreka
Largest cityYreka
Government
  TypeCouncil–Administrator
  ChairRay A. Haupt
  Vice ChairJess W. Harris
  Board of Supervisors[1]
Supervisors
  • Jess W. Harris
  • Ed Valenzuela
  • Michael N. Kobseff
  • Nancy Ogren
  • Ray A. Haupt
  County AdministratorTerry Barber
Area
  Total
6,347 sq mi (16,440 km2)
  Land6,278 sq mi (16,260 km2)
  Water69 sq mi (180 km2)
Highest elevation14,162 ft (4,317 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
  Total
44,076
  Estimate 
(2025)
42,013 Decrease
  Density7.021/sq mi (2.711/km2)
GDP
  Total$2.008 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
  Summer (DST)UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code530
FIPS code06-093
GNIS feature ID277311
Congressional district1st
Websiteco.siskiyou.ca.us
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Siskiyou County is in the Shasta Cascade region along the Oregon border. Because of its outdoor recreation, Mt. Shasta, McCloud River, and Gold Rush-era history, it is an important tourist destination within the state.[citation needed]

History

Many Native American peoples, including the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Modoc, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla and Shasta, share geography with Siskiyou County and have lived in the area for millennia prior to colonization. Siskiyou County was created on March 22, 1852, from parts of Shasta and Klamath counties, and named after the Siskiyou mountain range. Parts of the county's territory were given to Modoc County in 1855.

The county is the site of the central section of the Siskiyou Trail, which ran between California's Central Valley and the Pacific Northwest. The Siskiyou Trail followed indigenous footpaths from Native People who share the geography with Siskikyou county, and was extended by Hudson's Bay Company trappers in the 1830s. Its length was increased by "Forty-Niners" during the California gold rush.

After the discovery of an important gold strike near today's Yreka, California, in 1851, colonizers flooded the area. This was described in detail by Joaquin Miller in his semi-autobiographical novel Life Amongst the Modocs.

In the mid-1880s, the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad along the Siskiyou Trail brought the first wave of tourism. Visitors were drawn by the county's many summer resorts, and to hunt or fish. The Southern Pacific railroad, the successor to the Central Pacific, called its rail line "The Road of A Thousand Wonders."

In the early 1940s, Siskiyou County was home to the semi-serious State of Jefferson movement, which sought to create a new state from several counties of northern California and the adjoining counties of southern Oregon.[7] The movement has seen a revival in recent years.

The origin of the word Siskiyou is not known. It may be a Chinook Jargon word for a "bob-tailed horse" (ultimately originating in Cree),[8] or as was argued before the State Senate in 1852, from the French Six Cailloux (six stones), a name given to a ford on the Umpqua River by Michel Laframboise and his Hudson's Bay Company trappers in 1832. Others claim the Six Cailloux name was appropriated by Stephen Meek, another Hudson's Bay Company trapper who discovered Scott Valley, for a crossing on the Klamath River near Hornbrook.

The county is home to the Black Bear Ranch, a commune started in 1968 with the slogan "Free Land for free people."[9]

On September 4, 2013, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 to secede from the state of California.[10]

Geography

Mossbrae Falls, near Dunsmuir, California

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,347 square miles (16,440 km2), of which 6,278 square miles (16,260 km2) is land and 69 square miles (180 km2), or 1.1%, is water.[11] Also according to the U.S. Census Bureau, It is the fifth-largest county by area in California.[12]

Siskiyou County is geographically diverse. From towering Mount Shasta (elev. 14,179 ft; 4,322 m) near the center of the county, to lakes and dense forests, as well as desert, chaparral, and memorable waterfalls, the county is home to world-famous trout-fishing rivers and streams, such as the Sacramento and McCloud rivers. The county is dotted as well with lakes and reservoirs,[13] such as Castle Lake and Lake Siskiyou. Mount Shasta itself has a winter sports center. Pastoral Scott Valley in the western part of the county has many wide, tree-lined meadows, supporting large cattle ranches. The basins of northeastern Siskiyou County, including Butte Valley, Lower Klamath and Tule Lake basins, have some of the deepest and richest soils in the state, producing alfalfa, potatoes, horseradish, and brewing barley. Butte Valley nurseries are the leading source of premium strawberry plants in North America. Much of the county is densely forested with pine, fir, incense-cedar, oak, and madrone; Siskiyou County is also home to the rare Baker's Cypress Tree, Cupressus bakeri, which grows in only eleven scattered locations in the world, five of which are in Siskiyou County. The county's natural resources are most often used these days for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, camping, and wilderness recreation, as historic logging practices have been largely discontinued due to Federal and State environmental regulations. The county's water is viewed as sufficiently pure and abundant that the county is a source of significant amounts of bottled water, distributed throughout the country. A large Crystal Geyser plant is at the base of Mt. Shasta, near Weed.

Flora and fauna

Substantial amounts of the county are forested within the Siskiyou and Cascade Ranges, including significant oak woodland and mixed conifer forests. Siskiyou County is the northern extent of the range for California buckeye,[14] a widespread California endemic. The Klamath National Forest occupies 1,700,000 acres (6,900 km2) of land which includes elements in Siskiyou County as well as Jackson County, Oregon.[15]

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Cristobalite on obsidian, found near Lava Beds National Monument

Transportation

Southern Pacific 4449 at Bray, en route to Railfair 1981

Major highways

Public transportation

Siskiyou Transit And General Express (STAGE)[16] operates buses connecting the more populated areas of the county. Amtrak trains stop in Dunsmuir. Amtrak Thruway formerly operated between Sacramento and Medford, OR, with stops in Yreka, Weed, Mount Shasta, and Dunsmuir, for passengers connecting to and from Amtrak trains in Sacramento or Stockton; this service was discontinued in 2009. Greyhound buses pass through the county on Interstate 5 with a stop in Weed.

Airports

Siskiyou County owns and operates Butte Valley Airport, Happy Camp Airport, Scott Valley Airport, Siskiyou County Airport and Weed Airport (all general aviation). Dunsmuir Municipal-Mott Airport and Montague-Yreka Rohrer Field are also within the county.[17]

The closest airports for commercial domestic plane departures are Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport north of the county in Medford, Oregon, Crater Lake–Klamath Regional Airport, northeast of the county in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Redding Municipal Airport south of the county in Redding, California.

Politics

Voter registration statistics

More information Population and registered voters, Total population ...
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Cities by population and voter registration

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Overview

Siskiyou is a strongly Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964; however, Bill Clinton won a plurality of votes in 1992.

More information Year, Republican ...
United States presidential election results for Siskiyou County, California[20][21][22][23][note 2]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.%No.%No.%
1892 1,493 46.27% 1,605 49.74% 129 4.00%
1896 1,473 44.98% 1,724 52.64% 78 2.38%
1900 1,898 52.36% 1,668 46.01% 59 1.63%
1904 2,104 59.67% 1,219 34.57% 203 5.76%
1908 1,813 47.40% 1,657 43.32% 355 9.28%
1912 29 0.58% 2,465 49.57% 2,479 49.85%
1916 2,059 34.13% 3,447 57.15% 526 8.72%
1920 2,909 60.05% 1,502 31.01% 433 8.94%
1924 2,437 40.58% 584 9.73% 2,984 49.69%
1928 3,758 55.49% 2,916 43.06% 98 1.45%
1932 2,458 26.76% 6,367 69.33% 359 3.91%
1936 2,919 29.46% 6,865 69.28% 125 1.26%
1940 4,387 35.92% 7,714 63.17% 111 0.91%
1944 4,351 42.15% 5,914 57.29% 58 0.56%
1948 5,315 42.53% 6,749 54.00% 434 3.47%
1952 8,735 55.69% 6,800 43.35% 151 0.96%
1956 6,841 49.79% 6,837 49.76% 63 0.46%
1960 6,279 42.95% 8,245 56.40% 96 0.66%
1964 5,186 36.18% 9,126 63.66% 23 0.16%
1968 6,334 46.13% 6,260 45.59% 1,138 8.29%
1972 7,563 51.46% 6,434 43.78% 699 4.76%
1976 7,070 48.37% 7,060 48.31% 485 3.32%
1980 9,331 55.75% 5,664 33.84% 1,743 10.41%
1984 10,544 58.25% 7,130 39.39% 427 2.36%
1988 9,056 50.88% 8,365 47.00% 376 2.11%
1992 6,660 32.21% 8,254 39.91% 5,765 27.88%
1996 8,653 47.30% 7,022 38.39% 2,618 14.31%
2000 12,198 61.55% 6,323 31.90% 1,298 6.55%
2004 12,673 60.64% 7,880 37.71% 346 1.66%
2008 11,520 53.66% 9,292 43.28% 658 3.06%
2012 11,077 55.64% 8,046 40.41% 787 3.95%
2016 11,341 55.34% 7,234 35.30% 1,917 9.35%
2020 13,290 56.62% 9,593 40.87% 589 2.51%
2024 12,461 57.96% 8,329 38.74% 708 3.29%
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Siskiyou County is in California's 1st congressional district, seat currently vacant.[24]

In the state legislature Siskiyou is in the 1st senatorial district, represented by Republican Megan Dahle,[25] and the 1st Assembly district, represented by Republican Heather Hadwick.[26]

On November 4, 2008, Siskiyou County voted 60.1% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Dunsmuir and Mount Shasta voted against Prop 8. [citation needed]

On September 3, 2013, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4–1 in favor of secession from California to form a proposed state named Jefferson.[27][28] A similar move was made in 1941, but was shelved due to the attack on Pearl Harbor.[29]

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

More information Population and crime rates, Population ...
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Cities by population and crime rates

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Demographics

More information Census, Pop. ...
Historical population
CensusPop.Note
18607,629
18706,848−10.2%
18808,61025.7%
189012,16341.3%
190016,96239.5%
191018,80110.8%
192018,545−1.4%
193025,48037.4%
194028,59812.2%
195030,7337.5%
196032,8857.0%
197033,2251.0%
198039,73219.6%
199043,5319.6%
200044,3011.8%
201044,9001.4%
202044,076−1.8%
2025 (est.)42,013[32] Decrease−4.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[33]
1790–1960[34] 1900–1990[35]
1990–2000[36] 2010–2015[3]
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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 44,076. The median age was 48.5 years; 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 26.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.5 males age 18 and over.[37]

The racial makeup of the county was 76.2% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 4.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.5% from some other race, and 11.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 12.5% of the population.[38]

29.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 70.9% lived in rural areas.[39]

There were 19,219 households in the county, of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[37]

There were 22,929 housing units, of which 16.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 66.4% were owner-occupied and 33.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.0%.[37]

Racial and ethnic composition

More information Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic), Pop 1980 ...
Siskiyou County, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1980[40] Pop 1990[41] Pop 2000[42] Pop 2010[43] Pop 2020[44] % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 35,542 38,246 36,910 35,683 32,057 89.45% 87.86% 83.32% 79.47% 72.73%
Black or African American alone (NH) 596 682 556 552 471 1.50% 1.57% 1.26% 1.23% 1.07%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 1,485 1,685 1,605 1,549 1,757 3.74% 3.87% 3.62% 3.45% 3.99%
Asian alone (NH) 155 351 523 528 866 0.39% 0.81% 1.18% 1.18% 1.96%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x [45] x [46] 49 69 38 x x 0.11% 0.15% 0.09%
Other race alone (NH) 63 18 42 64 265 0.16% 0.04% 0.09% 0.14% 0.60%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x [47] x [48] 1,262 1,840 3,095 x x 2.85% 4.10% 7.02%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1,891 2,549 3,354 4,615 5,527 4.76% 5.86% 7.57% 10.28% 12.54%
Total 39,732 43,531 44,301 44,900 44,076 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
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2010

The 2010 United States census reported Siskiyou County had a population of 44,900. The racial makeup of Siskiyou County was 38,030 (84.7%) White, 571 (1.3%) African American, 1,814 (4.0%) Native American, 540 (1.2%) Asian, 80 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,491 (3.3%) from other races, and 2,374 (5.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,615 persons (10.3%).[49]

More information Population reported at 2010 United States census ...
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2000

As of the census[50] of 2000, there were 44,301 people, 18,556 households, and 12,228 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 per square mile (2.7/km2). There were 21,947 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 87.1% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 3.9% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. 7.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.5% were of German, 12.0% English, 9.8% Irish, 9.5% American and 7.1% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.7% spoke English and 5.7% Spanish as their first language. As of March 2012, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Siskiyou County are 15% German, 13% English, 12% Irish and 6% Italian.[51]

There were 18,556 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,530, and the median income for a family was $36,890. Males had a median income of $31,936 versus $22,650 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,570. About 14.0% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Siskiyou County.

county seat

More information Rank, City/Town/etc. ...
Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2020 Census)
1 Yreka City 7,807
2 Mount Shasta City 3,223
3 Weed City 2,862
4 Lake Shastina CDP 2,401
5 Dunsmuir City 1,707
6 Montague City 1,226
7 McCloud CDP 945
8 Happy Camp CDP 905
9 Tulelake City 902
10 Dorris City 860
11 Fort Jones City 695
12 Etna City 678
13 Karuk Reservation[52] AIAN 578
14 Grenada CDP 314
15 Hornbrook CDP 266
16 Greenview CDP 208
17 Quartz Valley Reservation[53] AIAN 202
18 Carrick CDP 143
19 Mount Hebron CDP 103
20 Gazelle CDP 95
21 Macdoel CDP 86
22 Edgewood CDP 72
23 Tennant CDP 63
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See also

Notes

  1. Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.
  2. This total comprised 1,740 votes for Progressive Theodore Roosevelt (who was official Republican nominee in California), 633 votes for Socialist Eugene V. Debs and 104 votes for Prohibition Party nominee Eugene W. Chafin.
  3. Only larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes.

References

Further reading

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