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BHistory
History · Yreka

Yreka’s post office opened in 1853, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #108 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Yreka was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.

1853first post office
3on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Yreka’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Yreka began

When was Yreka founded?

1853

The Yreka post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,327 in 18602020 census: 7,807173 years

How historic is Yreka?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Yreka post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Yreka’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yreka is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #108 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yreka’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.1% of homes (±3.1) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 9 historic buildings, 11.5 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 87%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Yreka’s 11.5 sits above most of its state (92% of California towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Yreka’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1908, drew every building in Yreka.A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1859–1942.On the map since 19225 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 2001. Watch Yreka change.
★ What stands out · Every building

Yreka, building by building, 1885–1908

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Yreka fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Yreka, decade by decade

7 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1900s5 items
Chavis Creek, camp 14th1859Chavis Creek, camp 14thFrank Schulenburg Photographic Collection – Tintype – Unidentified photographer from Yreka, California-50611878Frank Schulenburg Photographic Collection – Tintype –…Frank Schulenburg Photographic Collection –Tintype – Unidentified photographer from Yreka, California-50621878Frank Schulenburg Photographic Collection –Tintype – …Yreka & Mt. Shasta, Siskiyou County, Cal., looking south east1884Yreka & Mt. Shasta, Siskiyou County, Cal., looking so…Edward Oviatt Edgerton (Out West, 1909)1909Edward Oviatt Edgerton (Out West, 1909)
1910s–1940s8 items
1911. H.E. Burke (left) Entomological Assistant in charge of the Forest Insect Field Station, and Albert G. Angell, Age…19111911. H.E. Burke (left) Entomological Assistant in ch…US 99 northern California 19371937US 99 northern California 1937Yreka, California. Magazine stand1942Yreka, California. Magazine standYreka, California. Magazine stand1942Yreka, California. Magazine standYreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the county seat of a county rich in mineral deposits1942Yreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the c…Yreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the county seat of a county rich in mineral deposits1942Yreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the c…Yreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the county seat of a county rich in mineral deposits1942Yreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the c…Yreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the county seat of a county rich in mineral deposits1942Yreka, California. On the main street. Yreka is the c…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Scenic mountain view in2012Scenic mountain view inMotel sign2012Motel signGarden Sign2009Garden SignChildren and Nature, Greenhorn Park2009Children and Nature, Greenhorn ParkGarden and Greenhouse2006Garden and Greenhouse
On the map

Yreka on the map, 1922 to 2001

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Yreka. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Yreka on the 1922 USGS mapYreka on the 1954 USGS mapYreka on the 1974 USGS mapYreka on the 1984 USGS mapYreka on the 2001 USGS map1922Shasta Valley Sheet No 3 sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Yreka.

The story

How Yreka came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Yreka.

Read it all →

In March 1851, Abraham Thompson, a mule train packer, discovered gold near Rocky Gulch while traveling along the Siskiyou Trail from southern Oregon. 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 city was called Yreka. The name comes from wáik'a, a word meaning "north mountain" or "white mountain", the name of nearby Mount Shasta in the Shasta language.

ChaptersLynchingsYreka rebellion

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Yreka in 1881

Passages that mention Yreka, cut from the printed page as they were published.

S. Ely (eighty -seven) 87 H. T. Millett (twenty-three) 23 J. Jackson (thirty-seven) - 37 Yreka, May 22. We, the undersigned, Judges of an election for town corporation officers for the town of Yreka City, do hereby certify that the above is a true copy of an election held at Yreka, May 22, 1S54. J.…
History of Siskiyou County, California1881 · page 200Read the page →
Read the text

S. Ely (eighty -seven) 87 H. T. Millett (twenty-three) 23 J. Jackson (thirty-seven) - 37 Yreka, May 22. We, the undersigned, Judges of an election for town corporation officers for the town of Yreka City, do hereby certify that the above is a true copy of an election held at Yreka, May 22, 1S54. J. L. Knapp, Inspector.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
incorporation. This was strongly opposed by many, but was successful, the Act passing and being approved April 21, 1857. The provisions of the Act were that the town of Yreka City should have the boundaries previously surveyed; should have five trustees, marshal, treasurer, assessor, and recorder, …
History of Siskiyou County, California1881 · page 201Read the page →
Read the text

incorporation. This was strongly opposed by many, but was successful, the Act passing and being approved April 21, 1857. The provisions of the Act were that the town of Yreka City should have the boundaries previously surveyed; should have five trustees, marshal, treasurer, assessor, and recorder, elected annually; should have the powers and discharge the duties defined in the general Act

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Yreka, 1853 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Yreka post office opens
  3. 1856Born hereEdward Silsby Farrington is born here
  4. 1859In the archiveChavis Creek, camp 14th
  5. 1878In the archiveFrank Schulenburg Photographic Collection – Tintype – Unidentified photographer from Yrek…
  6. 1884In the archiveYreka & Mt. Shasta, Siskiyou County, Cal., looking south east
  7. 20th century
  8. 1909In the archiveEdward Oviatt Edgerton (Out West, 1909)
  9. 1911In the archive1911. H.E. Burke (left) Entomological Assistant in charge of the Forest Insect Field Stat…
  10. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1937In the archiveUS 99 northern California 1937
  12. 1939Born hereRod Diridon, Sr. is born here
  13. 1968Born hereErik Bennett is born here
  14. 1985Born hereMarco Grifantini is born here
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Chavis Creek, camp 14th
Retake this viewChavis Creek, camp 14th, 1859

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Yreka’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Yreka

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
West Miner Street-Third Street Historic District
West Miner Street-Third Street Historic DistrictLewis Falkenstein HouseYreka Carnegie Library
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate2
Victorian1
Rural Gothic1
Classical Revival1
West Miner Street-Third Street Historic DistrictItalianate
Lewis Falkenstein HouseItalianate
Yreka Carnegie LibraryClassical Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Yreka, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900195020007,807

Grew from 1,327 people in 1860 to 7,807 in 2020, 5 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Yreka’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Yreka

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
E
Erik BennettAmerican baseball player · b. 1968
E
Edward Silsby FarringtonUnited States federal judge · b. 1856
M
Marco GrifantiniBaseball Pitcher · b. 1985
Rod Diridon, Sr.American politician · b. 1939
T
Tim MeamberAmerican football player · b. 1962
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Yreka’s post office has been open since 1853.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Nickels Mobile ParkOak Ridge Mobile Estates
Gone or out of use
Osgood Minemine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Yreka
Butcher HillEvergreen

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Yreka’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewChavis Creek, camp 14th: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Yreka’s history

What year was Yreka founded?

The Yreka post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Yreka rank for history?

Yreka is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #108 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Yreka?

Three places: the West Miner Street-Third Street Historic District (listed 1972), the Lewis Falkenstein House (1979) and the Yreka Carnegie Library (1992).

How old are the homes in Yreka?

9% of Yreka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.