Siskiyou County is in theShasta Cascade region along theOregon border. Because of its outdoor recreation, Mt. Shasta, McCloud River, andGold Rush-era history, it is an important tourist destination within the state.[citation needed]
After the discovery of an important gold strike near today'sYreka, California, in 1851, colonizers flooded the area. This was described in detail byJoaquin Miller in his semi-autobiographical novelLife Amongst the Modocs.
In the mid-1880s, the construction of theCentral Pacific Railroad along the Siskiyou Trail brought the first wave of tourism. Visitors were drawn by the county's manysummer resorts, and to hunt or fish. TheSouthern 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-seriousState 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 wordSiskiyou is not known. It may be aChinook Jargon word for a "bob-tailed horse" (ultimately originating inCree),[8] or as was argued before the State Senate in 1852, from the FrenchSix Cailloux (six stones), a name given to a ford on theUmpqua River byMichel Laframboise and his Hudson's Bay Company trappers in 1832. Others claim theSix Cailloux name was appropriated byStephen Meek, another Hudson's Bay Company trapper who discovered Scott Valley, for a crossing on theKlamath River nearHornbrook.
The county is home to theBlack 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]
According to theU.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 theU.S. Census Bureau, It is the fifth-largest county by area in California.[12]
Siskiyou County is geographically diverse. From toweringMount 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 theSacramento andMcCloud rivers. The county is dotted as well with lakes and reservoirs,[13] such asCastle Lake andLake Siskiyou. Mount Shasta itself has awinter sports center. PastoralScott 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 withpine,fir,incense-cedar,oak, andmadrone; 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.
Substantial amounts of the county are forested within the Siskiyou and Cascade Ranges, including significantoak woodland and mixedconifer forests. Siskiyou County is the northern extent of the range forCalifornia buckeye,[14] a widespread California endemic. TheKlamath National Forest occupies 1,700,000 acres (6,900 km2) of land which includes elements in Siskiyou County as well asJackson County, Oregon.[15]
Siskiyou Transit And General Express (STAGE)[16] operates buses connecting the more populated areas of the county.Amtrak trains stop inDunsmuir.Amtrak Thruway formerly operated between Sacramento and Medford, OR, with stops in Yreka, Weed, Mount Shasta, and Dunsmuir, for passengers connecting to and fromAmtrak 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.
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 ofsecession from California to form a proposed state namedJefferson.[24][25] A similar move was made in 1941, but was shelved due to the attack onPearl Harbor.[26]
As of the2020 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.[34]
29.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 70.9% lived in rural areas.[36]
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.[34]
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%.[34]
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.
As of thecensus[47] of 2000, there were 44,301 people, 18,556 households, and 12,228 families residing in the county. Thepopulation 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 orAfrican American, 3.9%Native American, 1.2%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 2.8% fromother races, and 3.7% from two or more races. 7.6% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 13.5% were ofGerman, 12.0%English, 9.8%Irish, 9.5% American and 7.1%Italian ancestry according toCensus 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.[48]
There were 18,556 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% weremarried 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. Theper capita income for the county was $17,570. About 14.0% of families and 18.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^"Boundaries". Cascadia Institute. RetrievedAugust 27, 2021.
^"Our Local Area". College of Siskiyous.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 several counties of southern Oregon.
^Golla, Victor (February 2022).California Indian Languages. University of California Press. p. 236.ISBN9780520389670.
^"Regional Aviation Plan Public Stakeholder Briefing". Siskiyou County General Services. 2019.Archived from the original on December 3, 2025.It is important to note that Butte Valley, Happy Camp, Scott Valley, Siskiyou County, and Weed airports are owned and operated by the County and governed by the County Board of Supervisors, Montague-Yreka Rohrer Field Airport is owned and operated by the City of Montague and governed by the City of Montague City Council, and Dunsmuir Municipal-Mott Airport is owned and operated by the City of Dunsmuir and governed by the City of Dunsmuir City Council.
^abcU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
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