Forks of Salmon is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
of
Siskiyou County in northern
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, USA. The town is situated at the confluence of the north and south forks of the
Salmon River, hence its name. The ZIP Code is 96031. The community is inside
area code 530
Area codes 530 and 837 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in northeastern and Northern California. 530 was created in 1997 in an area code split of 916 and 837 was added to the same numbering plan area as an ov ...
. The area is very sparsely populated and has no utility-provided electricity or cellular service. Over 98% of the surrounding land is national forest managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
History
Prior to colonization in 1850, Forks of Salmon was the site of several Konomihu villages. It then became a
California Gold Rush
The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
settlement in the now defunct
Klamath County, California
Klamath County was a county of California from 1851 to 1874. During its existence, the county seat moved twice and ultimately portions of the territory it once had were carved up and added to nearby counties. It was formed from the northwestern po ...
. It has had its own post office from September 30, 1858, until today, with a short break from October 16, 1871, to August 28, 1872.
On February 18th, 1995 Jerry Davidson was shot and killed by J.D. Greiner in Forks of Salmon. Greiner was arrested for first degree murder, but was exonerated and the death was determined as self-defense.
Politics
In the
state legislature
A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of ...
, Forks of Salmon is in , and .
Federally, Forks of Salmon is in .
Notable residents
*
Gabe Jennings, middle-distance runner and
Summer 2000 Olympian, lived in Forks of Salmon until age 13
*
Rush Sturges, American professional whitewater kayaker, film maker, and musician, was raised in Forks of Salmon.
See also
*
References
Settlements formerly in Klamath County, California
Unincorporated communities in California
Unincorporated communities in Siskiyou County, California
{{SiskiyouCountyCA-geo-stub