Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.fortjonesmuseum.com
; 11913 Main St; donation requested;
Mon-Sat Memorial Day-Labor
Day)
houses Native American artifacts.
THE STATE OF JEFFERSON
Welcome to the
State of Jefferson
(
www.jeffersonstate.com
)
, named for Thomas Jeffer-
son who originally envisioned a seperate republic on the west coast. When you first notice
the billboards and bumper stickers ('Jefferson: A State of Mind') endorsing the proposed
51st state it might seem like a joke, but as you travel the two-lane blacktop in Northern
California and Southern Oregon, the cultural differences of the states' border region start
to make more sense. For one, these folks are mostly conservatives surrounded by a sea of
democrats.
The State of Jefferson was originally proposed in 1941 by a band of well-armed locals,
who were exceptionally irate about the terrible condition of local roads. Jefferson's origin-
al draft included a good chunk of Northern California - including Del Norte, Siskiyou,
Modoc, Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta and Lassen Counties - and several more in Southern
Oregon. But just as the movement was gaining momentum, the Japanese bombing of
Pearl Harbor brought a swell of US nationalism, and plans for the 51st state were scuttled.
Today Jefferson feels alive and well in the libertarian spirit of the locals, and you can tune
into news of the area by listening to
Jefferson Public Radio
(
www.ijpr.org
), transmitting
on KNCA 89.7 FM from Redding and KNSQ 88.1 FM from Mt Shasta.
Yreka
Inland California's northernmost town, Yreka (wy-
ree
-kah; population 7400) was once a
booming Gold Rush settlement and has the gorgeous turn-of-the-century architecture to
prove it. Most travelers only pass through en route to Oregon, but the new-age-tinged yet
authentically Wild West-feeling historic downtown makes a good spot to stretch, eat and
refuel before heading out into the hinterlands of the Scott Valley or the northeastern Cali-
fornia wilderness.
Sights & Activities
