Siskiyou Historic Tours

Ager to Klamath Hot Springs Carpool Tour Update--There has been more interest shown for this tour than any we have ever had before! That is very good, but presents a potential problem--parking space along the tour route.

For this reason, we ask you all to show up before 1 pm, so that we can determine how many people will attend. We also must request that everyone bunch up in carpools, to minimize the number of cars. If there will be more cars than we can safely do together, we will break the tour up into two groups, one starting at 1 pm and the other at 1:30 p.m. If you know others that will be coming, please refer them to this update.

Everything will work out fine--we just need to be patient and flexible.

Hope to see you there--it will be a lot of fun!

P.S. If there is enough interest, we will give another tour of this area during the Autumn.

History Galore! That is what you will say after attending this upcoming tour:

The Ager-Beswick Car Tour; Saturday, June 6th, 1-4 p.m. We will meet and form a carpool at the parking area where the Montague-Hornbrook and Ager Roads meet.

What will we see??
--Stage stops and stations from the 1800s
--Locations of stage robberies
--Historical home and ranch locations
--Evidence of the Pokegama Plateau logging and the famous log chute which ends at the Klamath River
--Beswick/Klamath Hot Springs Historic Resort and famous people that visited it
--And much more!!

Restroom facilities will be available courtesy of the Copco Area Community Center.

This is the first time we have tried this tour and expect it to be very popular. Its liability insurance is paid by the Siskiyou County Historical Society and we ask for a $5 donation to help cover its cost.

Hope to see you there! Your guides Mike and Kathy are excited about this tour!

Thanks Kristin from the McCloud Dance Hall for partnering on this fun tour. It is amazing what Kristin had done to restore the huge building and make it available to the community. Please consider donating to her restoration fund (see McCloud Dance Hall FB and website).

It was special to see relatives at the tour and friends made from past tours. We appreciate your support!! Stay tuned for information about our next tour.

Come to McCloud this weekend for the Mushroom Festival and learn more about McCloud and its great Dance Hall.

Our historical tour of the Dance Hall will be Saturday, May 23rd at 10 a.m. Meet at the corner of Pine and Broadway, McCloud. We request a $5 donation to help pay the insurance cost. The tour is sponsored by the Siskiyou County Historical Society.

Hope to see you there!

New Tour--Saturday, May 23rd, 10 a.m. Explore the Historical McCloud Dancehall. Check out the advertisement!!

ANOTHER WEEKEND--ANOTHER TOUR! Saturday, May 23rd, 10 a.m. Historic tour of the McCLOUD DANCEHALL! Meet at the corner of Pine St. and Broadway, McCloud. (This coincides with the fabulous McCloud Mushroom Festival.)

Attendees will get an excellent view of the amazing building and great insight into its history and restoration plans. We will also see parts of the old Masonic Hall upstairs and talk about the history of the Masons. As usual, this tour's liability insurance is covered by the Siskiyou Co. Historical Society and a $5 donation is requested to help cover that cost.

Combine this tour with other great activities during McCloud's celebration! Hope to see you there!

P.S. Today's Yreka Third Street tour and glimpse into the Gillis House was a real success! Over 40 people attended. Thanks to the owner of this Yreka icon for access.

Remember, Saturday May 16th, 1 p.m.--Historic Tour of Third Street (Plus Gillis House Bonus Glimpse).

Meet at the corner of North and Third Streets, Yreka, where we will begin an hour tour to compare Gothic, Victorian and Craftsman homes. We will also talk about who lived here and important events that occurred.

We will end with a short INSIDE look of the fantastic GILLIS HOUSE, along North Oregon Street.

We are asking for a $5 donation to help cover the cost of liability insurance. Hope to see you there!

HOT OFF THE PRESS!! Our Saturday, May 16th tour of Third Street will include an inside view of the GILLIS HOUSE!!

We will still meet at the corner of North and Third Street at 1 p.m. for a shortened tour of Third Street.

A special thanks to the owner of the Gillis House for allowing us access!

Again, we are asking for a $5 donation to help pay for liability insurance.

Hope to see you there for this extra SPECIAL tour!

Yreka's Third Street Historic Homes! The next tour will be on Saturday, May 16th, 1 p.m. Meet at the corner of Third and North Streets, Yreka. The walk will be about 10 blocks in length, along sidewalks.

Here are some topics we will discuss:
--Famous and infamous people who used to live there
--Yreka's different style of houses and why they changed through the 19th and 20th centuries
--Porches~The fascinating history of this American invention!
--The business that dominated the north side of town, in the 1800s, and why it changed
--Gothic, Victorian, Craftsman houses--their unique characteristics

This tour's liability insurance is covered by the Siskiyou County Historical Society. We ask for a $5 donation to help reimburse that cost.

The weather should be nice, so hope to see you there!

History is everywhere--Here is an example. Have you ever seen this beautiful wildflower in our mountains? I'll call it an Ida May Brodiaea, or firecracker flower.

It was first seen by a plant specialist in the late 1860s, when noted eastern botanist, Alphonso Wood, saw and collected samples. Wood was an author of popular botanical books, had retired from his teaching and religious work in the mid-West, and decided to "go out West" to see our plants. On a stage trip between Old Shasta (just a few miles west of today's Redding) and Yreka, probably on Scott Mountain, he saw this spectacular flower. The stage stopped, allowing the botanist to look it over and take samples--which no one had ever done before.

Professor Wood decided to name it for the stage coach driver's daughter, Ida May Burk(e). Sadly, Ida May died at an early age and was buried in Old Shasta.

(Thanks, Bob, for bringing our attention to this story!)