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Yreka is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California. The population was 7,290 at the 2000 census.
History
Yreka was born when gold was discovered on the flats near a ravine called Black Gulch in March 1851 by Abraham Thompson, a mule train packer traveling along the Siskiyou Trail from southern Oregon. This discovery sparked an extension of the California Gold Rush from California's Sierra Nevada into Northern California. 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 little city was called Yreka, apparently taken from a Shasta Indian word meaning "north mountain," a reference to near-by Mt. Shasta.
The well-known poet Joaquin Miller described Yreka during 1853-54 as a bustling place with ". . . a tide of people up and down and across other streets, as strong as if in New York." Incorporation proceedings were completed on April 21, 1857.
In November, 1941, Yreka was designated as the capital of the proposed State of Jefferson, a semi-humorous secession movement along the Oregon and California border that has gained cultural traction in the following decades. "Yreka Bakery" is a popular palindrome in the U.S.
Geography
Yreka is located at (41.726617, -122.637568).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.0 km² (10.0 mi²). 25.8 km² (10.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.70%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,290 people, 3,114 households, and 1,880 families residing in the city. The population density was 282.0/km² (730.8/mi²). There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of 127.8/km² (331.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.56% White, 0.48% African American, 6.04% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.70% from other races, and 3.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.38% of the population.
There were 3,114 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,398, and the median income for a family was $37,448. Males had a median income of $31,632 versus $23,986 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,664. About 17.5% of families and 21.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
General information
The city is the seat of Siskiyou County, and has many services that support the many small mountain communities in the area. The high school buses in students from towns that would not otherwise be able to fund a secondary education.
In Yreka, gold mining is remembered with a gold museum, as well as a remnant of a gold mining operation in Greenhorn Park. The high school sports mascot is a gold miner.
Yreka in the State of Jefferson
Yreka is unofficially the Capital of the State of Jefferson, and has been the headquarters since its secession.
See also
External links
"Yreka, California"