Historic Sites and Points of Interest in Siskiyou County
In 1897, for the sum of four hundred dollars, Abner Weed bought the Siskiyou Lumber and Mercantile Mill and 280 acres of land in what is now the town of Weed. In 1905, he sold the stock of the Weed Lumber Company to a Kansas syndicate.
By 1905, Weed was a busy growing community. Although it was a company town, it was not destined to always be so. The payroll was big enough to entice other investors to the area.
In its early days, Weed was like other towns of the wild west. Weed acquired a bad reputation. The Redding Free Press described Weed as the "Sodom and Gomorrah of Siskiyou County." That description was not without some justification. Whiskey, cards, a pocket full of money, or an empty pocket, and a beautiful woman occasioned many of the joys and also the tragic events of the town. Gun shot wounds and murder were occasional happenings.
Over the years, many things have changed. Long Bell bought the mill and plant from Abner Weed. In the late 1950's it sold out to International Paper Company who, in turn, sold all the company-owned homes to the residents. Since then, much of the lumber industry has fallen by the wayside.
For another lumberjack carved from a tree trunk, see Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in Westwood, Califonia.
Some Company Towns