Weed is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 2,862, down from 2,967 in 2010. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just outside, Weed proper, including Edgewood, Carrick, and Lake Shastina. These communities generally have mailing addresses that use Weed or its ZIP code. Weed is about 10 miles (16 km) west-northwest of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark, and the second-tallest volcano in the Cascade Range.
Weed's city motto is "Weed like to welcome you". Weed has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.
History
Statue of Abner Weed, founder and namesake of the city
The City of Weed derives its name from the founder of the local lumber mill and pioneer Abner Weed, who discovered that the area's strong winds were helpful in drying lumber. In 1897, Abner Weed bought the Siskiyou Lumber and Mercantile Mill and 280 acres (110 hectares) of land in what is now the City of Weed, for $400. By the 1940s Weed boasted the world's largest sawmill.
Boles Fire
On September 15, 2014, the Boles Fire spread through Weed, driven by 40-mph winds. The fire started behind the Boles Creek Apartments in the central part of Weed at approximately 1:30 p.m., and within four hours quickly spread to over 200 acres (80 hectares). Evacuations were immediately ordered, and a shelter was first set up at College of the Siskiyous, but as fire headed towards the college, the evacuation center was relocated first to the Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds in Yreka, then to Yreka and Mount Shasta High Schools, then to the armory in Mt. Shasta.
Over 200 structures were damaged or destroyed, including two churches, the elementary school, high school, and Roseburg mill. The schools and mill sustained only minimal damage to outbuildings. About 7,678 Pacific Power customers in both Weed and Mt. Shasta lost power as a result of the fire.
Beaughan Spring
The City of Weed gets its water from the Beaughan Spring, with the water being piped directly to homes.
In September 2016, The New York Times reported that French billionaire Pierre Papillaud demanded that Weed give up its Beaughan Spring spring water source so that Papillaud's bottle water company could have more water to sell. Disconnecting from Beaughan Spring would leave Weed without public water. In March 2021, it was reported that the parties involved had reached a compromise which will allow Weed to continue to have access to water from Beaughan Spring in perpetuity.
Mill Fire
In early September 2022, the Mill Fire started in or near Weed, burning down the Lincoln Heights neighborhood.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12 km), of which 0.10% is covered by water. The closest cities with a population greater than 50,000 are Redding, California (69 miles south) and Medford, Oregon (91 miles north).
Weed is at the intersection of Interstate 5 and U.S. Route 97. Interstate 5 is the primary north–south transportation corridor for the west coast of the United States running from the Mexico–US border to the Canada–US border. U.S. Route 97 is a major north-south U.S. highway continuing from Weed in a northeasterly direction toward Klamath Falls, Oregon, thence through Oregon and Washington to the Canada–US border. California State Route 265 also runs through the City of Weed, locally known as North Weed Boulevard. Only two blocks long, it is the second-shortest state highway in California.
Route 265
Weed is served by Siskiyou County's public transportation bus lines, Siskiyou Transit and General Express, commonly called "The STAGE".
The closest airports for commercial air travel are Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport and Redding Municipal Airport. The Weed Airport serves general aviation and as a base of operations for search and rescue operations on Mount Shasta. Corporate visitors or geological researchers typically use this facility.
Amtrak trains pass through Weed, but do not stop there. The Amtrak bus/shuttle has one stop in South Weed. The nearest depot for Amtrak train travel is in Dunsmuir, approximately 15 miles (24 km) to the south.
Greyhound Bus Lines has a bus station, with both north and southbound buses making stops.
Economy
From its founding in 1901, to as late as the 1980s, Weed was home to a thriving lumber industry. Roseburg Forest Products (plywood), International Paper Company, Morgan Products Ltd. (wooden door manufacturing), and J.H. Baxter (wood treatment) were all based in Weed. The historic industrial area at the northeast corner of Weed has been plagued with environmental concerns and clean-up efforts as a result of chemicals used for wood treatment, as well as chemical residue from glue used in the door factory.
Although historically reliant on logging, wood processing and forest-related products, Weed's economy has become more reliant on tourism as a source of economic activity. Weed's microbrewery, Mt. Shasta Brewing Company, relies on tourists for 92 percent of its business, according to co-owner Vaune Dillman.
Today, most of the wood-product-related industry has been scaled back or ceased altogether, and new retail and light industrial activity is concentrated in the southeast corner of Weed. Retail at the south end of Weed, in the form of restaurants and hotels, caters primarily to tourist travel on the Interstate 5 corridor. Light manufacturing of bottled water from Crystal Geyser Water Company has also added economic stability to the area.
Weed is part of the Shasta Valley Enterprise Zone which provides tax breaks, fee reductions, and permit fast-tracking for employers locating in the area.
Primary education in Weed is conducted at Weed Elementary School (K-8th grade). Butteville Elementary School (K-8th grade) is just outside the City of Weed, in the hamlet of Edgewood, and has an enrollment similar to Weed Elementary.
The College of the Siskiyous, located in Weed, provides a steady source of employment for faculty and staff, a source of visitors for the local economy, and offers a two-year junior college education with various associate degree and vocational certificate programs.
The town's name, being the same as a slang term for cannabis, has caused it to gain a small notoriety. Many shops have popped up around town selling shirts and other trinkets that say "I Love Weed, California".
The Lake Shastina Golf Resort offers an 18-hole golf course, and a 9-hole Scottish links course in a scenic setting.
Local parks managed by the Weed Parks and Recreation District include: Lincoln Park (renamed Charles Byrd Community Park in 2004) which is an 11-acre (4.5-hectare) park with restrooms, a playground, basketball courts, and is the home to the Weed Skatepark; as well as Bel Air Park, adjacent to College of the Siskiyous and home of the community swimming pool.
Nearby Mount Shasta Ski Park offers alpine and Nordic skiing in winter, as well as summertime mountain biking, rock climbing, and a concert series.
The same wind that prompted the founding of Weed, as it was used to dry wood products, makes nearby Lake Shastina a popular destination for short-board windsurfing.
The Deer Mountain Snowmobile Park, is 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Weed on US Highway 97 and offers 250 miles (400 km) of groomed trails.
Historic sites and museums
The Weed Historic Lumber Town Museum is a small, seasonal, local museum in the heart of Weed. It features sawmill machinery and artifacts from Weed's early days
The Veterans' Living Memorial Sculpture Garden is 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Weed on US Highway 97, and consists of steel sculptures and other memorials honoring the service of U.S. veterans.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Weed had a population of 2,967. The population density was 618.9 inhabitants per square mile (239.0/km). The racial makeup of Weed was 2,221 (74.9 percent) white, 206 (6.9 percent) African-American, 70 (2.4 percent) Native American, 121 (4.1 percent) Asian, 27 (0.9 percent) Pacific Islander, 132 (4.4 percent) from other races, and 190 (6.4 percent) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 475 persons (16.0 percent).
The census reported that 2,820 people (95.0 percent of the population) lived in households, 101 (3.4 percent) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 46 (1.6%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,131 households, out of which 385 (34 percent) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 447 (39.5 percent) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 188 (16.6 percent) had a female householder with no husband present, 81 (7.2 percent) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 103 (9.1 percent) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (0.2 percent) same-sex married couples or partnerships. Three hundred-eleven households (27.5 percent) were made up of individuals, and 125 (11.1 percent) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49. There were 716 families (63.3 percent of all households); the average family size was 3.02.
The population was spread out, with 735 people (24.8 percent) under the age of 18, 460 people (15.5 percent) aged 18 to 24, 660 people (22.2 percent) aged 25 to 44, 698 people (23.5 percent) aged 45 to 64, and 414 people (14 percent) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100 males.
There were 1,273 housing units at an average density of 265.5 per square mile (102.5/km), of which 543 (48 percent) were owner-occupied, and 588 (52 percent) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.8 percent. Forty-three percent of the population (1,275 persons) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,545 people (52.1 percent) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,978 people, 1,184 households, and 747 families residing in the city. The population density was 613.4 people per square mile (237.1 km). There were 1,293 housing units at an average density of 266.3 per square mile (102.9 km). The racial makeup of the city was 73.27 percent white, 9.27 percent Black or African American, 1.95 percent Native American, 4.57 percent Asian, 0.47 percent Pacific Islander, 5.51 percent from other races, and 4.97 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race made up 12.76 percent of the population.
The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 25. The number of murders and homicides was one. The violent crime rate was 8.5 per 1,000 people.
One of Weed's main streets
In the city, age distribution was spread out, with 25.6 percent under the age of 18, 14.4 percent from 18 to 24, 22.6 percent from 25 to 44, 20.2 percent from 45 to 64, and 17.2 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,333, and the median income for a family was $32,197. Males had a median income of $29,052 versus $21,894 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,434. Below the poverty line: 23.9 percent of the population and 17.2 percent of families. Of the total population, 30.9 percent of those under the age of 18 and 4.9 percent of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Traffic: The average commute time for Weed workers is 12 minutes, compared with 26 minutes nationwide.
Housing: Median rent in Weed, at the time of the 2000 Census, was $348. Monthly mortgages were $676. Average monthly rent in all of California is $1341.
Education: seven percent of Weed residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.
Of the population 84.97 percent spoke English as their primary language, while 15.02 percent did not; of those 9.87 percent speak Spanish, 2.90 speak Italian, and 2.23 percent speak Laotian. One hundred percent of the population speaks English.
Ethnic migration
Weed's historic lumber industry and manufacturing facilities made it a magnet for ethnic minority migration, that may not have otherwise been the case in this region of the country. A large number of Italian immigrants migrated to Weed, and other towns in southern Siskiyou County at the turn of the 20th century. While immigrants were a source of labor for the region, they were not always well treated, in fact in 1909 complaints from workers in the lumber industry reached the Italian consul. However, in time the Italian population came to be a cornerstone of Weed civic life. Many streets in the early Italian neighborhood bear names of Italian cities, such as Rome, Genoa, Como, and Venice. Annually since 1954, Weed has held the Weed Italian Carnevale in June or July, although recently dropping "Italian" from its name while maintaining the Italian spelling of carnival and the traditional bocce ball tournaments.
A large number of black-Americans migrated to Weed as well, to work in Long-Bell Lumber Company's Weed facility after the company closed two mills in Louisiana in 1922. The company promised to advance travel expenses and provide housing for workers relocating to Weed. Immigrants locating in Weed since the 1980s have come primarily from Mexico and Laos. As a result of these migrations, Weed has a much more ethnically diverse population than Siskiyou County as a whole. Netting the Hispanic or Latino population out of Census figures for white race, Weed's white population is 60.6 percent compared to Siskiyou County at 79.5 percent using the same metric.
Politics
The city council of Weed is composed of five members who are elected at large and serve four-year terms. The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are elected each year from the five council members and serve a one-year term. Susan Tavalero is currently serving as Mayor of Weed until November 2020, with Stacey Green serving as Mayor Pro Tem.
In Siskiyou County Supervisoral District 3, in which Weed is the core community, voter registration was 39.6 percent Democrat, 39.1 percent Republican, 16.2 percent decline to state, with remainder split among other political parties such as Green and Libertarian as of 2006.
Notable people
Mario Pastega (1916–2012), businessman and philanthropist, born in Weed
John Steinbeck's novella-play Of Mice and Men begins with the protagonists, George and Lennie, fleeing a farm they worked at in Weed after Lennie got into trouble.
The song Velvety from the 2002 album Devil's Workshop by Frank Black & The Catholics mentions the town of Weed. "Out on the Eisenhower where I lost my speed just a little bit south of a town called Weed".
