Humboldt County

Coastal Conservancy Humboldt County Projects Map
Sources

• Humboldt: First a part of Trinity County, Humboldt was formed in 1853 and given the name of its prominent bay which honored Alexander von Humboldt, naturalist and explorer.

• Gold Bluffs: 1850's prospectors found small amounts of gold in sand below bluffs.

• Orick: Site of Yurok village of Oreq.

• Redwood Park Information Center: historical and natural resource interpretation.

• Humboldt Lagoons State Park: Yurok village site; small rancheria at south end Big Lagoon; old mill site at SE end.

• Patrick's Point State Park: named for 1851 homesteader Patrick Beegan. Sites include Yurok ceremonial rock and reconstructed Yurok village.

• Trinidad Bay: European discovery on Trinity Sunday 1775 by Heceta and Bodega; port for inland mining 1850's.

• Trinidad: Site of Yurok village Tsurai until 1916, southern edge of Yurok settlement.

• Trinidad Head Lighthouse: Continuously operated since 1871; now automated. Replica in town of Trinidad as memorial to lost fishermen.

• Trinidad Harbor: Whaling station 1920's.

• Luffenholtz Beach County Park: named for mill owner of 1851.

• Little River: Early used by miners for lumbering; diked floodplain for extensive farming.

• (Nearby) McKinleyville: Named Minorsville for early settler whose store still stands. Name changed to honor assassinated president 1901.

• Mad River: Northern boundary of Humboldt County before 1875, formerly flowed into Humboldt Bay. Name reflects disputes between members of 1849 Gregg exploration party.

• Hammond Trail Bridge: Former RR trestle.

• Arcata: Said to be Indian word for Union, name first given by settlers. Short lived port due to shallow bay but extensive marsh, oyster production, diked for farming; now site of a California State University.

• North Spit, Manila: Site of Bendixen Shipyard, prominent shipbuilder of 1872-1920.

• Samoa, Fairhaven: Site of Louisiana Pacific Lumber Company, former cookhouse example of mill type boarding, historic photos and exhibits.

• Humboldt Bay: California's second largest enclosed bay, discovered 1849 by Gregg party; unique concrete "delosse" structures protect jetties from wave action.

• Indian (Gunther) Island: Wiyot Indian village, site of 1860 massacre; later lumber mill, dry dock.

• Woodley Island: Low island heightened when dredgings dumped there. Tower from old Table Bluff Lighthouse placed there in 1984.

• Eureka: Greek for "I have found it," is also California motto dating to gold mining days. Largest coastal city north of San Francisco. Historic architecture, museums.

• (Nearby) Fort Humboldt State Historic Park: 1853 Army post. Original steam locomotive used to haul lumber at Bear Harbor on view.

• Fields Landing: 1880's port, terminus of Humboldt & Salt River RR, was last active whaling station in US, still active as port.

• Table Bluff: Site of early agricultural community, lighthouse 1892-1972. Indian rancheria.

• Eel River: With its tributary Van Duzen, a federally designated wild and scenic river, third largest in California. Its delta [was] early Wiyot Indian grounds.

• Ferndale: Town dates from 1852, noted for historic homes and downtown, surrounding dairylands; museum.

• Fernbridge: Crossing of Eel linked Ferndale to main highway in 1911.

• (Nearby) Port Kenyon: Ferndale's port for shipping dairy products to San Francisco, now too shallow for use due to siltation.

• Centerville: Remnant of 1860's oil drilling era, supply depot for areas to south to Petrolia.

• (Nearby) False Cape: Mistaken from sea as Cape Mendocino.

• Cape Mendocino: Westernmost point of "lower 48" states. Named in 1580's for a viceroy of New Spain.

• Cape Mendocino Lighthouse: Constructed in 1868, now automated.

• Porta Gorda Lighthouse: Constructed in 1911, closed in 1951, severely deteriorated.

• King Range National Conservation Area: Early settled by Mattole and Sinkyone Indians, later ranchers and loggers; isolated from main roads and now part of "Lost Coast."

• Shelter Cove: Small harbor protected by Point Delgado, provided coastal summer site for Indians, later wharf for export of products from interior including tanbark.

• Lost Coast continues into Mendocino County, including numerous named rocks, sites of shipwrecks, described in Mendocino County, Needle Rock Visitors Center.