Tucked into the autobiography of legendary writer Mark Twain is a fanciful tale about how the little California Gold Rush town of Yreka, near the Oregon border, got its name.
Yreka — pronounced why-ree-kuh and not to be confused with the Humboldt County port city of Eureka — was named by accident, Twain declared.
“There was a bakeshop with a canvas sign which had not yet been put up but had been painted and stretched to dry in such a way that the word BAKERY, all but the B, showed through and was reversed,” Twain wrote. “A stranger read it wrong end first, YREKA, and supposed that that was the name of the [mining] camp. The campers were satisfied with it and adopted it.”
Twain’s story has essentially been debunked. He was a satirist, after all. More on that later. But the lore is so widely shared that, when Essential California asked readers a few weeks ago to submit their favorite unique place names in the Golden State, reader Ethan Hay shared that tale as one that brought a lot of joy.
As a state reporter who has been to all but 11 of California’s 58 counties (I need to come see you, Alpine County!), here are a few of our readers’ responses.
Weird desert names, good memories, a fake doctor
Ocotillo, Imperial County — Scott Eadie wrote that most people associate the name of the desert hamlet with the thorny, red-flowered ocotillo shrubs native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. “For my son and me though, the rather modest town brings back fond memories of an amateur rocketry launch site at the base of a mountain just south of the town off Interstate 8. Good friends, camping, and rockets were a magical mix!”
A desert bighorn ewe, left, and a bighorn lamb on North Soda Mountain along Zzyzx Road on Aug. 19, 2021, in Baker, Calif.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Zzyzx, San Bernardino County — “Granted, it’s unincorporated, but how could you overlook Zzyzx?” wrote Ken Bolingbroke. According to the National Park Service, the desolate spot in the Mojave Desert is named for Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Resort, a 1940s-era spa opened on a mining claim held by an eccentric fellow named Curtis Springer, who built a castle, lecture room, pool house, goat farm and rabbit rooms in the area.
Springer quit school after 9th grade but called himself a doctor who made a small fortune shipping out supplements and supposed cure-alls. “Over the 30 years that he managed the resort, he shipped over 4 million packages all over the country, including Antediluvian Herb Tea, Nerve Cell Food, and Hollywood Pep Cocktail. The nearby town of Baker had to build a post office just to accommodate his mail,” according to the Park Service. Eventually, the feds accused him of tax evasion and false advertising, his mining claim was disputed and he spent time in jail before running off to live in Las Vegas.
A secession town … until booze got involved
Rough and Ready, Nevada County — Several readers mentioned the name of this tiny town in the Sierra Foothills. I visited a few years ago — and even got some stickers for my then-toddler son from the Rough and Ready Fire Department! — but sadly have not yet written a story with the excellent dateline.
A sign in the unincorporated town of Rough and Ready, pictured in June 2022.
(Hailey Branson-Potts / Los Angel)
According to my prized copy of “California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names” by Erwin G. Gudde (yes, I am that big a nerd), the town was founded in 1849 by the Rough and Ready Co., a mining outfit led by a military veteran who served under President Zachary Taylor, who was nicknamed Old Rough and Ready. The phrase was so popular that, at one point, California had three towns so named, per Gudde.
The town in 1850 declared it was seceding from the Union to form the Great Republic of Rough and Ready to avoid paying mining taxes. The great republic lasted just three months, ending after some locals went to buy liquor in a nearby town only to be turned around by store owners who refused to sell to “foreigners.”
What about Yreka?
The town, for decades, had Yreka Bakery — a palindrome that read the same forward and backward.
But, sorry, Mark Twain, the name of the Siskiyou County seat actually is derived from the Shasta Indian word “waik’a’,” for Mt. Shasta, Gudde wrote.
Yreka, like Rough and Ready, has a secessionist history. In November 1941, it was declared the capital of the proposed breakaway state of Jefferson. Armed residents — hoping to draw attention to deteriorating roads they deemed “not passable, hardly jackassable” — set up roadblocks along Highway 99 and handed out proclamations saying they would secede every Thursday until further notice. They stopped when Pearl Harbor was bombed.
Today’s top stories
Workers organize and examine ballots at a Los Angeles County ballot processing center in City of Industry in June.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Speeding up California’s vote count
- A voter watchdog group recommended the state and counties carry out a number of voting reforms that could speed up tabulations.
- The group said the state should shorten the curing timeline from 22 to 14 days, expand voter access to and awareness of electronic ballot signature curing and have the state collect and publish comprehensive signature curing data.
L.A.’s muggy misery
- This summer has been unusually sticky in Los Angeles, with humidity levels making conditions feel more like the Deep South than Southern California.
- Heat and humidity, with warm nights offering little relief, have prompted officials to warn of elevated risks of heat illness.
Historic change coming to a South L.A. city council district
- Both candidates vying to succeed City Councilmember Curren Price arrived in the U.S. from Latin America as undocumented children.
- No matter which one of them wins on Nov. 3, it will be a historic change for Council District 9, which has been represented by a Black councilmember since 1963, even as its demographics shifted to become majority Latino.
What else is going on
Commentary and opinions
This morning’s must-read
Another must-read
- “Odyssey” translator Emily Wilson rips the apart film, says she’d be “ashamed to have written” the script.
For your downtime
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift puts riders in mini cars, each one with unique engine and breaking noises. Ten years in the making, it’s arguably Universal’s most intense coaster ever.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
A question for you: What are your favorite summer destinations in California?
Email us at [email protected], and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day
Earlier this month, a team with the San Dimas Raptor Rescue found Jackie on the shores of Big Bear Lake, weak and unable to fly. She was soon transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center, where she’s being tested and treated.
(Los Angeles County Parks)
In today’s great photo, we’re highlighting internet-famous bald eagle Jackie, whose health has improved after a scare over the weekend.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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