Gourt Home::Gourt :: State of Jefferson
Jefferson is a mostly rural area of Southern Oregon and Northern California in the United States. Several times during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries there have been attempts to establish the area as a separate state. This region on the Pacific Coast is the most famous of several that have sought to adopt the name of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States; the name was proposed in the 19th century for Jefferson Territory, as well as in 1915 in a bill in the Texas legislature for a proposed state that would be created from the Texas Panhandle region.
19th century
Bisected by a trade and travel route which came to be known as the Siskiyou Trail, the region of the proposed State of Jefferson was one of the last areas of North America to be explored by Europeans and Americans. Non-Native American explorers did not enter the area until the 1820s, and it was not until the discovery of gold at present-day Yreka, California in 1851 that the first significant Euro-American settlement in the area occurred. The area was also the site of the last battle fought in North America where the Native Americans used only bows and arrows (at Castle Crags), and was the site of one of the last significant rebellions by Native Americans (the Modoc War).
In 1852, at the first California state legislature, a bill was introduced to create a "state of Shasta" encompassing much of the area known as Jefferson, including the Shasta Cascade.
Two years later, a separate movement began in southern Oregon. A proposal to create such a state was presented to Congress and remained open until Oregon was granted statehood in 1859.
20th century
In October of 1941, the mayor of Port Orford, Oregon, Gilbert Gable, announced that the Oregon counties of Curry, Josephine, Jackson, and Klamath should join with the California counties of Del Norte, Siskiyou and Modoc to form a new state, which was later named Jefferson.
Gable proposed creating this new state to draw attention to the condition of the state roads along the Oregon-California border, which at the time were oiled dirt roads that became impassable in rain or snow, and handicapped economic development. As local historian Jim Rock explains, "It was more publicity stunt than serious secession movement at that point. After all, under the U.S. Constitution, they had to get the approval of Congress as well as the legislatures of both states."
Gable's act found sympathy throughout the region, who perceived their state legislatures as indifferent to their needs. Siskiyou county especially embraced the cause: the county seat Yreka became the provisional capital, where in November, 1941 county representatives met and selected the name Jefferson for their state, in commemoration of Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president.
While inhabitants in Lassen and Shasta counties in northern California flirted with joining the secession movement, only the counties of Curry, Siskiyou, Trinity, and Del Norte actually endorsed the idea.
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. Highway 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 came to an abrupt end, though not before John C. Childs of Yreka was inaugurated as the governor of the State of Jefferson *. The first blow was the death of Mayor Gable on December 2, followed 5 days later by the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7.
Today
As described in a April, 2003 American Journalism Review article:
- The "state" is diverse politically, with a mixture of conservatives and liberals. Many share the Westerner's common disdain of government and politics. "Politicians and diapers need to be changed often for the same reason," reads one bumper sticker. And many also share a desire to hang on to the landscape that draws both residents and tourists to an area that stretches from the stunning Oregon coast to ethereal Crater Lake and down to California's towering Mt. Shasta.
Today there are more talks of creating the new state, mostly only half serious. Many citizens of "Jefferson" feel threatened by National Marine Fisheries Service's plans to create fish hatcheries along the Klamath River, as well as creating a buffering zone along the river. This buffering zone would oust many people from their homes and even demolish an entire town. Meanwhile, others in "Jefferson" have embraced the idea of the entire Pacific Northwest breaking away from the United States and Canada to become its own country, Cascadia.
Jefferson is commemorated by the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway between Yreka and O'Brien, Oregon, which runs 108 miles along California State Highway 96 and U.S. Forest Service Primary Route 48.
As of July 2004, if Jefferson were made a state, its population would be 423,004, which would make it the smallest in population of the country's states.
Further reading
- James T. Rock. The State of Jefferson: the Dream Lives on! Siskiyou County Museum, 1999.
See also
State of Franklin
External links
- Jefferson, the 51st State with map and flag
- Jefferson Public Radio on the State of Jefferson
- Museum of the Siskiyou Trail
Historical regions and territories of the United States | History of California | History of Oregon | Politics of the United States
"State of Jefferson"