Randolph Collier, Father of the Freeways - Yreka, CA - Roadside Attractions on Waymarking.com

Located in front of the Siskiyou County Courthouse is a memorial tribute comprised of a sit-by-me statue bench of Randolph Collier along with a couple of accompanying plaques. One of the plaques reads:

RANDOLPH COLLIER 1902 - 1983 The citizens of Siskiyou County and California hereby honor Senator Randolph Collier, the "Father of the Freeway." Born in Etna, educated in Yreka's schools, Senator Collier began his long political career as a Police Judge in Yreka in 1925. IN 1936, "Randy" was elected to the California State Senate and remained in office until 1976 - the longest tenure in the history of the California Legislature. Regarded as the "Dean of the Legislature" during his time, Senator Collier became "one of its three or four most powerful men" to ever serve in the California State Senate. Called "a master buttonholer and backroom persuader," Randolph Collier used his skills to become the architect of the California Freeway System - s system that inspired the building of the Interstate Highway network across the United States. His authorship of the historic Collier-Burns Act of 1947 led to the California freeway movement. The residents of Siskiyou County, California and the nation honor this visionary dreamer called "the Silver Fox of the Siskiyous."

Another contains some biographical dates for Randolph Collier. The statue of Randolph Collier shows him sitting on a bench and smiling towards the direction of any visitor who sits next to him and give the impression that a conversation is about to begin between the visitor and Collier. It should be mentioned that this memorial is a fitting location since Randolph Collier began his career at the Siskiyou County Courthouse.

There is also a rest area off of Interstate-5 named after him for his years of service and dedication in improving California's roadways and being a major proponent in the creation of Interstate-5 in the early 1960s. I also located an interesting article from the Mail Tribune that discusses the politics behind Collier and the reason why I-5 passes through the town of Yreka. If you look on a map, it's interesting to note how the Interstate swerves east to Yreka, then back west and north again. The price of Collier's politics cost an extra $7 million to the state to re-route the Interstate. In today's tight budgets and spotlights on many politicians, I doubt Collier's ambitions would survive in today's times.

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