WHAT’S JEFFERSON STATE?

In the land of big trees, big fish and Bigfoot sits a mythical place where denizens of the Pacific Northwest secede to a state of mind, free to guide their own destiny. This is the State of Jefferson.

Part Northern California and part Southern Oregon, Jefferson is an isolated region fed up with being disregarded by the ringleaders in Sacramento and Salem. Jefferson’s attempts to secede date back to 1852.

Statehood nearly became reality in 1941. Citizens committed acts of good-humored rebellion – they blocked roads with signs such as, “Our Roads Are Impassable, They’re Hardly Jack-Assable,” levied taxes on motorists, and passed out handbills of the State of Jefferson Proclamation of Independence.

The name of “Jefferson” State (as in Thomas Jefferson) was the winning entry in the Siskiyou News’ naming contest. Jeffersonians appointed a governor and declared Yreka the capital.

“In many ways,” said Gov. John Childs in his inauguration speech on December 4, 1941, “this is a world unto itself: self-sufficient with enough water, fish, wildlife, farm, orchard land, mineral resources, and gumption to exist on its own.” Three days later Pearl Harbor was bombed and World War II blew the issue out of the water.

Lots of folks believe it will happen eventually. Until then, Jefferson is a State of Mind rooted in independence, freedom, and living close to nature. Jefferson remains a frontier for the hardy souls that live there.