About Fort Jones

Fort Jones is a city in the Scott Valley area of Siskiyou County, California, United States. The population was 839 at the 2010 census, up from 600 as of the 2000 census. This made it the largest town by population In the Scott Valley.

Fort Jones is registered as a California Historical Landmark. It takes its name from the frontier outpost once located less than a mile to the south of the city's corporate limits. The town was originally named Scottsburg (ca. 1850), but was changed to Scottsville shortly afterward. In 1852, the site was again renamed, this time in honor of Mr. O. C. Wheelock who, with his partners, established the area's first commercial enterprise. In 1854, a post office was established and the town was renamed again, becoming known as Ottitiewa, the Indian name for the Scott River branch of the Shasta tribe. The name remained unchanged until 1860 when local citizens successfully petitioned the postal department to change the name to Fort Jones, a name that is retained to the present day.

The post at Fort Jones was established by its first commandant, Captain (brevet Major) Edward H. Fitzgerald, E Company, 1st U.S. Dragoons. Such military posts were to be established in the vicinity of major stage routes, which would have meant locating the post in the vicinity of Yreka, sixteen miles to the Northeast. Yet the areas around Yreka did not contain sufficient resources, such as forage for their animals, and Capt. Fitzgerald located his troop some sixteen miles to the southwest, in what was then known as Beaver Valley. Fort Jones was established on October 18, 1852, named in honor of Colonel Roger Jones, who had been the Adjutant General of the Army from March 1825 to July 1852, and would continue to serve Siskiyou County's military needs until the order was received to evacuate some six years later. Fort Jones ceased to exist as a military garrison on June 23, 1858.

The history of Fort Jones would not be complete without the short list of officers stationed there who would attain national prominence in ensuing years. Among them were Phil Sheridan (Union Army); William Wing Loring (Confederate); John B. Hood (Confederate); Ulysses S. Grant (Union) was named to Fort Jones, but was Absent Without Leave for whatever his tenure would have been; George Crook (Union), who would arguable become one of the greatest leaders for the Grand Army of the Republic less than a decade later; and George Pickett (Confederate).