Fort Jones, California
Fort Jones, California | ||
---|---|---|
FIPS code 06-25128 | | |
GNIS feature ID | 277519, 2410527 | |
Website | fortjonesca | |
Reference no. | 317[4] |
Fort Jones is a city in the Scott Valley area of Siskiyou County, California, United States. Like many of the communities that surround Mount Shasta, it lies in the southern tip of the Cascadia bioregion.[5] Its population is 695 as of the 2020 census, down from 839 from the 2010 census.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Sacred_Heart_Catholic_Church_in_Fort_Jones_California.jpg/220px-Sacred_Heart_Catholic_Church_in_Fort_Jones_California.jpg)
Naming
Fort Jones is registered as a
The earliest permanent building at the town site was built in 1851 by two Messrs. Brown and Kelly. It was purchased soon after construction by O. C. Wheelock, Captain John B. Pierce, and two other unknown partners. Wheelock and his partners established a trading post, a bar, and a brothel at this site, which primarily served the troopers stationed at the fort. Near the end of the 1850s, the nearby mining camps of Hooperville and Deadwood began to disband as a result of the dwindling stores of placer gold, epidemic illness and devastating fires.
The mines around Scott Valley attracted many immigrants from many parts of the United States and the world, attracted to the area by news of the
On December 14, 1894, Billy Dean, a Native American, was lynched by unknown persons in the town of Happy Camp, California while in the custody of Constable Fred Dixon. Dean was accused of shooting co-worker William Baremore near Grinder Creek outside of Happy Camp on December 5, 1894. Constable Dixon and Dean were staying at a hotel in Happy Camp while on their way the Yreka, California jail, where Dean would be safe from local vigilantes. Baremore's friends were tailing the pair and waited for their moment. At two in the morning on December 14, 1894, a dozen masked men stormed the room and disarmed Constable Dixon. They tied Dean's hands and carried him to the Wheeler Building which was under construction where they strung him up by the neck from a derrick. His body was left hanging until 11:00 a.m. That day's headline in the Scott Valley News boasted, "He Is Now A Good Indian. Billy Dean Kills a White Man Without Cause and Is Summarily Hoisted to the Happy Hunting Ground."[8]
Fort Jones
Located at 41°35′46″N 122°50′31″W / 41.59611°N 122.84194°W, the post of Fort Jones was established on October 18, 1852, by its first commandant, Captain (brevet Major) Edward H. Fitzgerald, E Company, 1st U.S. Dragoons. Fort Jones was named in honor of Colonel Roger Jones, who had been the Adjutant General of the Army from March 1825 to July 1852.[9]
Such military posts were to be established in the vicinity of major stage routes, which would have meant locating the post in the vicinity of
Among the officers stationed at Fort Jones who would attain national prominence in ensuing years were
Geography
Fort Jones is located at 41°36′26″N 122°50′31″W / 41.60722°N 122.84194°W (41.607303, -122.841817).[10]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), all of it land.
Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C). According to the
Climate data for Fort Jones, California ([Fort Jones RS]]) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 65 (18) |
74 (23) |
82 (28) |
91 (33) |
99 (37) |
106 (41) |
111 (44) |
110 (43) |
107 (42) |
99 (37) |
79 (26) |
66 (19) |
111 (44) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 58 (14) |
65 (18) |
72 (22) |
82 (28) |
89 (32) |
97 (36) |
103 (39) |
103 (39) |
97 (36) |
85 (29) |
69 (21) |
57 (14) |
105 (41) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 43.8 (6.6) |
51.9 (11.1) |
58.2 (14.6) |
65.0 (18.3) |
73.4 (23.0) |
82.4 (28.0) |
91.3 (32.9) |
91.1 (32.8) |
83.5 (28.6) |
71.4 (21.9) |
52.8 (11.6) |
44.8 (7.1) |
67.5 (19.7) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 35.6 (2.0) |
38.8 (3.8) |
43.1 (6.2) |
48.7 (9.3) |
52.9 (11.6) |
59.9 (15.5) |
69.6 (20.9) |
68.5 (20.3) |
60.8 (16.0) |
51.3 (10.7) |
39.5 (4.2) |
34.3 (1.3) |
50.3 (10.2) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 23.3 (−4.8) |
25.6 (−3.6) |
28.0 (−2.2) |
32.3 (0.2) |
37.3 (2.9) |
42.9 (6.1) |
47.8 (8.8) |
45.9 (7.7) |
38.1 (3.4) |
31.2 (−0.4) |
26.1 (−3.3) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
33.5 (0.8) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 11 (−12) |
14 (−10) |
18 (−8) |
22 (−6) |
27 (−3) |
34 (1) |
40 (4) |
39 (4) |
29 (−2) |
21 (−6) |
16 (−9) |
12 (−11) |
7 (−14) |
Record low °F (°C) | −23 (−31) |
−22 (−30) |
3 (−16) |
12 (−11) |
20 (−7) |
24 (−4) |
32 (0) |
29 (−2) |
16 (−9) |
6 (−14) |
2 (−17) |
−18 (−28) |
−23 (−31) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 4.31 (109) |
3.45 (88) |
2.73 (69) |
1.54 (39) |
0.99 (25) |
0.66 (17) |
0.47 (12) |
0.57 (14) |
0.73 (19) |
1.31 (33) |
3.81 (97) |
4.07 (103) |
24.64 (625) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 6.7 (17) |
4.9 (12) |
4.2 (11) |
0.6 (1.5) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.2 (3.0) |
4.5 (11) |
22.2 (55.75) |
Source: WRCc[12] |
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1890 | 266 | — | |
1900 | 356 | 33.8% | |
1910 | 316 | −11.2% | |
1920 | 331 | 4.7% | |
1930 | 302 | −8.8% | |
1940 | 360 | 19.2% | |
1950 | 525 | 45.8% | |
1960 | 483 | −8.0% | |
1970 | 515 | 6.6% | |
1980 | 544 | 5.6% | |
1990 | 639 | 17.5% | |
2000 | 660 | 3.3% | |
2010 | 839 | 27.1% | |
2020 | 695 | −17.2% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[13] |
2010
At the
The census reported that 710 people (84.6% of the population) lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and 129 (15.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 304 households, 88 (28.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 130 (42.8%) were
The age distribution was 168 people (20.0%) under the age of 18, 65 people (7.7%) aged 18 to 24, 266 people (31.7%) aged 25 to 44, 230 people (27.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 110 people (13.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 39.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 136.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 146.7 males.
There were 344 housing units at an average density of 571.2 per square mile, of the occupied units 182 (59.9%) were owner-occupied and 122 (40.1%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.4%. 426 people (50.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 284 people (33.8%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
At the
Of the 298 households 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 33.6% of households were one person and 17.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.81.
The age distribution was 23.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The median household income was $21,563 and the median family income was $25,625. Males had a median income of $31,058 versus $16,875 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,301. About 23.3% of families and 26.0% of the population were below the
Politics
In the
Federally, Fort Jones is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.[18]
Notable people
- Norman F. Cardoza (born September 3, 1930), a journalist at the Reno Evening Gazette and Nevada State Journal, earned the Pulitzer Prize "for editorials challenging the power of a local brothel keeper". He was born in Yreka, California, son of John C. and Emily S. Cardoza, and attended Moffett Creek School and Fort Jones High School.[19]
- Lauran Paine, born Lawrence Kerfman Duby Jr. (February 25, 1916 – December 1, 2001), author of more than 1,000 books,[20] among which were hundreds of Western stories under various pseudonyms,[21] including Mark Carrel, Clay Allen, A. A. Andrews, Dennis Archer, John Armour, Carter Ashby, Harry Beck, Will Benton, Frank Bosworth, Concho Bradley, Claude Cassady, Clint Custer, James Glenn, Will Houston, Troy Howard, Cliff Ketchum, Clint O'Conner, Jim Slaughter and Buck Standish, among others.[22] He was a longtime resident of Fort Jones.[23] At least one of his stories was made into a motion picture.[23]
- United States Treasury for Alaska in 1893. He died in Sitka, Alaska, at age 62, and was interred in Fort Jones Cemetery.[24]
See also
References
- ^ "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ "Fort Jones". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
- ^ a b "Fort Jones". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ "Boundaries". Cascadia Institute. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ Frickstad, Walter N., A Century of California Post Offices 1848-1954, Philatelic Research Society, Oakland, CA. 1955, pp.184-193.
- ^ Ed Marlahan, 1965
- ISBN 1-884995-54-3
- ^ a b c d The California State Military Museum, Historic California Posts: Fort Jones (Siskiyou County)
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ Climate Summary for Fort Jones, California
- ^ "Fort Jones, California 1981-2010 Monthly Normals". Western Research Climate Center. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Fort Jones city". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
- ^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "California's 1st Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ISBN 978-3-598-30174-2.
- ^ Ouse, David (September 16, 2013). "Lauran Paine". Zenith City Online, Duluth Minnesota. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7486-2.
- ^ Whitehead, David, Lauran Paine, Keith Chapman's Black Horse Extra
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7385-3096-3.
- ^
- United States Congress. "Fort Jones, California (id: L000522)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Further reading
- Lauran Paine, ed., Preface and The Fort and Its Dependencies, The Siskiyou Pioneer, Vol. III, No. 3. Yreka, CA: Siskiyou County Historical Society, 1960.
- Michael Hendryx; Orsola Silva; Richard Silva; Siskiyou County Historical Society (2003). Historic Look at Scott Valley. Siskiyou County Historical Society.
- Gary D. Stumpf (1979). Gold mining in Siskiyou County, 1850-1900. Siskiyou County Historical Society.