Cummins-Forrest House - West Miner Street-Third Street Historic District - Yreka, CA
N 41° 43.959 W 122° 38.193
10T E 530225 N 4620157
This historic residence is located at the corner of 3rd and North Streets and a contributing building in the West Miner Street - Third Street Historic District in Yreka, CA.
Waymark Code: WMK2TG
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/04/2014
Views: 1
Located on the corner of 3rd and North Streets is the Cummins-Forrest House. There is a website maintained by the Yreka Historic Preservation body that highlights many of the historic homes of the community as part of a virtual tour (link
here) and it highlights this historic home and reads:
Pictured above is one of the first homes built on Third Street, according to information provided in the book Houses That Talk by Fred J. Meamber and R. Bernice Soule Meamber published in 1986. In this home lived one of Yreka's civic leaders who helped to organize our city's first government. Dr. J. Lytle Cummins lived here with his wife, Olive and their daughter Mary. They first moved to Yreka in 1852 hailing from Ohio. Dr. Cummins was one of the first physicians in town to serve the needs of Yrekans. According to the Meambers, in their book, Dr. Cummins was involved in quite a "scandal" in 1861 ~ apparently while his wife and daughter were in Ohio visiting sick relatives the doctor left town suddenly. . .with a young lady! There is a newspaper account in the Yreka Journal of the whereabouts of Dr. Cummins in 1889, some 28 years later, and apparently Dr. Cummins was discovered homeless and friendless in San Francisco.
In 1893 the home was sold to Joseph Forrest, a local shoemaker. It was Mr. Forrest who had the roof line of the house rebuilt to a steeper pitch than it was originally seen to accommodate a stronger snow load ~ this is the roof line we view in the photo above. Mr. Forrest owned and operated a shop where he made boots and shoes for families in Yreka for 45 years. His shop is reported to have been located at 108 West Miner Street.
The Cummins-Forrest House is now a business and law office of John W. Lawrence and surrounded on two sides by a parking lot. It should also be noted that every historic home along Third Street as well as other residential streets in Yreka have a small brown placard that hangs in front of the house containing the year of construction and the name of the original owner in white letters. Look for them!
Finally, the link to the PDF document nomination form to nps.gov that includes a map of the blocks of businesses and residences that fall within the historic district. This former residence within the district can be accessed here.