John C. Childs, a judge in Crescent City, Del Norte County, California, took action to draw attention to the poor condition of roads along the redwood coast in 1935. He declared himself governor of a facetious secession movement...named Jefferson. The movement went nowhere, but Childs got the State of California's attention and the roads were improved somewhat.
The same year that Judge Childs drew California's attention to the neglect of Del Norte County by the state, Gilberts E. Gable moved into Southern Oregon just north of the California line on the coast. He settled in the little town of Port Orford. Through the force of his dynamic personality, Gable led the town to become the first incorporated community in the area and they in turn elected him mayor. He, it seems, had his hand into everything. He was the organizing force and head of the Oregon Engineering Company, the Port Orford Dock and Terminal Company, the Last Frontier Realty Corporation, the Trans-Pacific Lumber Company ;and the Gold Coast Railroad Company. But the projects were not enough for him. He felt that the area which he had moved into was neglected by the state and decided to do something about it. It did not take long form him to learn that the citizens of the "State of Jefferson" were in agreement with his views for the most part.
Gable led a delegation of Curry County citizens into the county court on October 2, 1941 and presented arguments for the separation of the four Southern Oregon counties and the formation of an alliance with three Northern California counties. The judge, who apparently knew that this event was going to take place, approved the proposal and appointed a commission consisting of Gilbert Gable of Port Orford, Elmer Bankus of Brookings and Collier Buffington of Gold Beach, to study the procedure for the formation of a new State of Curry; Josephine, Jackson and Klamath counties of Oregon; and Del Norte, Siskiyou and Modoc counties of California. Shortly after this, Gable, recognizing that an alliance with California might be of benefit for Curry County, Oregon, wrote Governor Culbert L. Olson of California and asked for an appointment to discuss the possibility of a transfer.
Not to be upstaged by little Port Orford, "The Oregon Cavemen," a Grants Pass, Oregon Booster Club, proposed that instead of Curry County joining California they join with Josephine and form an independent State of "Cavemania". The Oregon Cavemen had been around since 1922 when they "incorporated in the depth of the Oregon Caves" for the purpose of tourism, traveling and expressing good will for the area, specifically Grants Pass. They were led at this time by E. K. Miller, called "Chief Big Horn." Other officers of the "Tribe" were "Rising Buck," "Wing Feather" and "Keeper of the Wampum." Their board of directors called itself "Council of Eagle Eyes." They contacted Governor Olson of California and set up a meeting with him on the same day Gable was to be there.
The Attorney General of Oregon was not impressed by the idea of Curry County becoming a part of California.
He said, "...in effect, that Curry County was free to annex itself to a dry lake." All they would need was the consent of the United States Congress, the Oregon and California legislatures, and the approval of a majority of the Oregon electorate" (Reinhardt, 1972:37). The Attorney General may have been flip about annexing to a dry lake, but, in effect, he was correct, since
Article IV, Sec. 3 of the United States Constitution states that no new state can be admitted to the Union without first securing the consent of the legislatures concerned, as well as the consent of Congress.
(snip)
The interest of newspapers and peoples well beyond the Northern California and Southern Oregon area had been sparked. The San Francisco
Chronicle had dispatched a young reporter named Stanton Delaplane to cover the secession movement. He reported from Yreka on November 27 that when he arrived the day before it was 18 degrees above zero and that his informant, a garage man, had told him that if the area's roads and bridges weren't improved there was no telling what might happen. His report was titled,
"It's No Joke - We Need Some Good Roads." The locals had been seeking assistance from Sacramento for 30 years and had gotten none. The secession movement appeared to Delaplane to be more than half serious. His information was obtained on the 26th and printed on the 27th.
The activities in the "State of Jefferson" were moving rapidly along. The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors supplied $100 to O. G. Steele for the study of the new state possibilities. Lassen County, California showed interest in joining the secession and this fact was reported in both the Medford, Oregon
Tribune and the
Siskiyou Daily News.
Gilbert Gable, acting as governor of the new state, sent a telegram to Governor Olson of California informing him that the "patriotic" rebellion on the "State of Jefferson" was going to begin collecting a penny sales tax for its own needs. Homer Barton, local undertaker and self-appointed "comptroller," urged local merchants to place good road buckets beside their cash registers for collection of the penny sales tax. The declaration was made, "No more copper from Jefferson until Governor Olson drives over these roads and digs it out. We have plenty!" (Reinhardt 1972:40).
https://www.stateofjefferson.com/history/jtr1.html