- Scott Valley
Scott Valley is a large, scenic rural area of western
Siskiyou County, California , known for its vistas of theMarble Mountains , cattle and dairy ranches, and its historic background as a gold mining area, dating back to the days of theCalifornia Gold Rush . The towns ofFort Jones ,Etna ,Greenview , andCallahan are found within Scott Valley.Drained by the federally-designated Wild & Scenic
Scott River , Scott Valley is steeped in history. At the time of the first contact with Europeans in the 1830s, the valley was occupied by the Scott Valley branch of theShasta tribe of Native Americans. The first recorded non-Native American presence in Scott Valley was that of trappers seeking the abundant local beaver in the mid-1830s, led by mountain manStephen Meek .An early road, an alternative to the
Siskiyou Trail , wound its way up fromShasta, California through Scott Valley toYreka, California and then into Oregon. This route remained in steady use until the development of more established stagecoach roads in the 1860s (and later the railroad in the 1880s) along theSacramento River to the east.The discovery of gold during the California Gold Rush by pioneer John W. Scott at Scott Bar, downriver from Scott Valley, brought many prospectors into the area; Scott's discovery led to the naming of the valley and the river in his honor.
The town of
Fort Jones started in the 1850s first as trading post for the "Forty-Niners" who came in search of gold, and later took the name of "Fort Jones" after a U.S. Army post which was established nearby.Scott Valley's weekly newspaper the Pioneer Press, located at 12021 Main Street in
Fort Jones was established on November 16, 1972 by Gary Mortenson. The Pioneer Press is the official newspaper for the State of Jefferson.The town of
Etna was the site of early mills supplying flour and was originally named Aetna Mills.Gold recovery operations continued well into the Twentieth century, including substantial
dredging for gold along the Scott River.Until the mid 1990's Scott Valley's economy relied heavily on the logging industry, when environmental laws and actions from the Federal Government forced the society of these hard working people into economic decline
External links
* [http://scottvalley.tripod.com/history.htm Scott Valley history]
* [http://www.shastahome.org/scottvalley.htm Scott Valley information]
* [http://users.sisqtel.net/svcoc/ Scott Valley information]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_n3_v183/ai_7890541 Scott Valley information]
* [http://museumsiskiyoutrail.org Museum of the Siskiyou Trail]
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