It was 54 degrees inside the trailer and 40 outside when we got up. Brrr! But we have a heater and coffeepot, so all is well. We were back on I-5 by 7:30 a.m. and kept seeing signs about the State of Jefferson. More about that later.
We pulled into the Phoenix RV Park in Salem, Oregon, 300 miles north, about 2 p.m. This is a beautiful RV park with lots of grass, trees and flowers. All the sites are concrete. Since it was so early, we decided to go ahead and visit the capitol this afternoon rather than wait until tomorrow.
We were here more than 20 years ago, but this will be another capitol I can get a photo in digital format. The sky is gray and spits rain occasionally, but no one seems to be concerned or even carry an umbrella. We took a tour along with a couple from Michigan who also also trying to visit all 50 capitols. They’ve done about 35 so far. A second tour allowed us to hike up 121 stairs from the 4th floor to the roof and be just below the Gold Pioneer, a gold-plated, 23 foot tall, symbol of the pioneers who came to Oregon in covered wagons. Great view between the raindrops. (And I got a certificate stating that I survived the 121 step climb.)
For the first time I found out why so many state capitol buildings alike. The Federal Government sold plans of the U.S. Capitol Building to the states. This particular capitol building is the third one on this site. The second one burned down in 1933 and this one was built during the depression for $2-1/2 million.
I was able to get an hand-painted ornament of the state capitol to add to my collection. That makes 26, so I’m more than half-way there.
Now, about the State of Jefferson: “The State of Jefferson (after Thomas Jefferson) was a 51st state proposed in 1941 that would span the contiguous and mostly rural areas of Southern Oregon and Northern California. The abundant supply of minerals and timber was largely inaccessible due to the lack of sufficient roads and bridges into the rugged mountain border country. The local people were weary of unfulfilled promises from Salem and Sacramento to help fund sufficient highway projects in the region while continuing to build projects in the cities where there were more votes.
Yreka, California was designated the temporary state capital where the ‘State of Jefferson Citizen’s Committee’ was formed. They proceeded to stop traffic on Highway 99 outside of town and handed their “Proclamation of Independence” out to travelers.
Jefferson made the papers nearly every day, competing with headlines of the war in Europe. The San Francisco Chronicle sent a young reporter, Stanton Delaplane, to cover the events. He traveled the rain-soaked roads to speak with locals to get a feel for the secession movement from their point of view and wrote a series of colorful articles on the rebellion which earned him the Pulitzer Prize.
On December 4, Judge John L. Childs of Crescent City in Del Norte County was elected governor. A torchlight parade complete with horses, marching bands and sign-carrying young people riding in trucks was held in Yreka followed by a ceremonious inauguration held on the courthouse lawn. Hollywood newsreel companies were present to record the events, including the highway barricades. The State of Jefferson was off to a banner start.
The newsreels were to air nationally the week of December 8, but on December 7th Pearl Harbor was bombed and the State of Jefferson rebellion of 1941 came to an end. The people of the region went to work for the war effort and good roads were eventually built into the backcountry. The State of Jefferson 'state of mind' remains, along with signs along I-5.
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