The city of Weed is located where it is partly because of the strong winds in the area; they make it easy to dry lumber in a place where the timber industry still thrives. But the winds have also been a in factor in two major fires, including last summer's Mill fire.
The roughly 100 homes that burned were mostly in Lincoln Heights, originally home to many Black mill workers who came to Weed from the South. We take up the Lincoln Heights story in this month's edition of Underground History, our joint venture with the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology.
SOULA's Chelsea Rose brings Mark Oliver, who has done great research into Black workers in Northern California. He's joined by Al Bearden, who is from Lincoln Heights and came back to Siskiyou County to live as an adult.