Cultural Resources Investigation

Transcription

A Cultural Resources Investigation of the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project
Located near Ferndale, Humboldt County, California
Prepared by:
James Roscoe, M.A., Erik Whiteman, M.A., R.P.A.
Jennifer Burns, M.A., R.P.A., and William Rich, B.A.
With contributions by Jerry Rohde, M.A. and Suzie Van Kirk, B.A.
Roscoe and Associates
Cultural Resources Consultants
3781 Brookwood Drive
Bayside, CA. 95524
Prepared for:
Hank Seemann
Humboldt County
Department of Public Works
Eureka, CA 95502
March 2008
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Archaeological and other heritage resources can be damaged or destroyed through
uncontrolled public disclosure of information regarding their location. This
document contains sensitive information regarding the nature and location of
archaeological sites that should not be disclosed to unauthorized persons.
Information regarding the location, character or ownership of a historic resource is
exempt from the Freedom of Information Act pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 470w-3
(National Historic Preservation Act) and 16 U.S.C. § 470hh (Archaeological
Resources Protection Act) and California State Government Code, Section 6254.10.
Humboldt County, California
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION
Page
1.0 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 PROJECT SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 PROJECT SETTING ................................................................................................................. 2 2.0 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................................... 8 2.1 CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT ............................................................ 8 2.2 SECTION 106 OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT ............................ 8 2.3 COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT ..................................................................................................... 9 3.0 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ......................................................................................... 10 3.1 PALEOINDIAN PERIOD (13,500 TO 8,500 B.P.) ................................................................ 10 3.2 LOWER ARCHAIC (8,500 TO,5,000 B.P.)............................................................................ 10 3.3 MIDDLE ARCHAIC PERIOD (5,000 TO 2,500 B.P.) ........................................................... 10 3.4 UPPER ARCHAIC PERIOD (2,500 TO 1,100 B.P.) .............................................................. 11 3.5 LATE OR EMERGENT PERIOD (1,100 TO 150 B.P.) ......................................................... 11 3.6 POST CONTACT (150 B.P. TO PRESENT DAY) ................................................................ 12 4.0 ETHNOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND ............................................................................................... 13 4.1 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS................................................................................................... 13 4.2 SUBSISTENCE PATTERNS .................................................................................................. 13 4.3 TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIAL CULTURE .................................................................... 14 4.4 ETHNOGEOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 14 5.0 HISTORIC BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 15 5.1 EARLY EURO-AMERICAN ACTIVITY ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LOWER EEL 15 5.2 FISHERIES ON THE LOWER EEL RIVER WATERSHED ................................................ 17 5.3 KENYONVILLE/KENYON’S LANDING/PORT KENYON ............................................... 22 5.4 WASHINGTON CORNERS/ARLYNDA CORNERS ........................................................... 43 6.0 METHODS AND RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 44 6.1 PREFIELD RESEARCH ......................................................................................................... 44 6.2 FIELD INVENTORY .............................................................................................................. 46 6.3 INVENTORY RESULTS ........................................................................................................ 49 6.4 DETERMINATION OF SIGNIFICANCE .............................................................................. 63 6.5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ................................................................................................... 67 6.6 NATIVE AMERICAN CONSULTATION............................................................................. 69 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................... 70 7.1 PROTOCOLS FOR INADVERTENT DISCOVERIES ......................................................... 71 Inadvertent Discovery of Cultural Resources ................................................................... 71 Inadvertent Discovery of Human Remains ....................................................................... 71 8.0 REFERENCES CITED ...................................................................................................................... 73 Cover Photo: View to the north of Salt River from Riverside Ranch
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Page
Figure 1. Salt River Restoration, Project Vicinity Map. ............................................................................... 6 Figure 2. Project Location and Area of Potential Effect, Aerial Photograph................................................ 7 Figure 3. Portion of Belcher's Atlas (1921). ............................................................................................... 16 Figure 4. Survey Coverage Map, 1:24,000. ............................................................................................... 48 Figure 5. Resource Location and Culturally Sensitive Area Map, 1:24,000. ............................................. 50 LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
Table 1. Previous Studies within ½ mile. ................................................................................................... 44 Table 2. Previous Cultural Resources recorded within ½ mile. .................................................................. 45 APPENDIX A Confidential Site Records
APPENDIX B Native American Consultation
APPENXIX C Historic Photos of Port Kenyon in “Culturally Sensitive Area”.
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
This cultural resources investigation was conducted at the request of Hank Seemann of the Humboldt
County Department of Public Works. The County of Humboldt, the Humboldt County Resource
Conservation District, and other partners are working cooperatively to plan and implement the Salt River
Ecosystem Restoration Project. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as part of the
environmental review process, requires that project proponents implement procedures to inventory
cultural resources and to assess potential impacts on these resources located within projects conducted,
funded, or permitted by State or Local Agencies. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR Part 800) requires that, prior to an undertaking;
federal agencies or projects permitted by federal agencies (the Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permit)
must take into account the effects of the undertaking on historic properties within the project’s Area of
Potential Effect [APE (i.e. National Register of Historic Places [NRHP] listed or eligible)] and afford the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and other interested parties a reasonable opportunity
to comment on how these effects have been considered. The aim of this report is to demonstrate that the
public agencies have complied with CEQA and Section 106 of the NHPA procedures prior to project
implementation.
This cultural resources investigation was designed to satisfy environmental requirements specified in
CEQA and its guidelines (Title 14 CCR 15064.5) and Section 106 of NHPA by: (1) identifying and
recording significant cultural resources within the project area and APE, (2) offering a preliminary
significance evaluation of the identified cultural resources in accordance with a Phase I investigation, (3)
assessing the potential impacts to cultural resources resulting from the implementation of proposed project
activities, and (4) offering recommendations designed to protect resource integrity, as warranted.
During the field investigation twelve historic era resources were identified. These include eight
farmsteads (RA-SR-01 through 08), a linear dike and ditch system (RA-SR-09), a barn and corral (RASR-10), Salt River channel improvement features (RA-SR-11), and a cement feature at the site of Port
Kenyon (RA-SR-12). In addition to the identified resources, one culturally sensitive area has been
delineated within the project area. Surface survey did not detect cultural materials within the sensitive
area; however, background archival research indicated historical and prehistoric activity. Due to an
extensive history of flooding and silt deposits in the area it is possible that buried archaeological materials
are present at this location. Specific project recommendations are presented for the sensitive area in
section 7.0.
1.1 PROJECT SUMMARY
The Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project is a watershed-wide project with several objectives and aims
that include habitat restoration and enhancement, water quality improvement, and flood alleviation. The
project is intended to provide immediate and substantial improvements to the watershed and to restore
natural processes to the extent that conditions within the project area are self-sustaining or can be feasibly
maintained. Project activities will include channel dredging and realignment, construction of sediment
basins, vegetation removal and re-planting, tide gate removal and modifications, grading of existing levees
and construction of new set-back levees, and spoils transport and placement.
The proposed Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project constitutes a Federal undertaking subject to
compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The U. S. Army Corps
of Engineers will serve as the Lead Federal Agency for NHPA Section 106 review. The project is also
subject to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Army Corp of Engineers will be the Lead Federal Agency for
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NEPA and the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District will serve as the Lead Agency for
CEQA compliance.
All key personnel meet the professional standards described in Archaeology and Historic Preservation:
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines. Specific persons on the study team included:
z
James Roscoe, Project Manager and Principal Investigator (Archaeology), who in 1984 was
awarded a Master of Arts (MA) Degree in Cultural Resources Management (CRM) from Sonoma
State University and has 30 years professional experience in prehistoric and historical
archaeology, primarily in northwestern California. James conducted field survey and oversaw all
technical aspects of this project.
z
Erik Whiteman, Archaeology and GIS specialist- received an MA degree in Archaeology in 2001
from the University of Northern Arizona and has 15 years professional experience in prehistoric
and historical archaeology all over the western Americas. Erik assisted with the field survey and
conducted all GIS mapping.
z
Jennifer Burns, Archaeology, Technical Editing –received an MA degree in Archaeology in 2000
from the University of Northern Arizona and has 14 years professional experience in prehistoric
and historic archaeology, and ethnography in North and South America. Jennifer conducted all
tribal consultation and assisted in report preparation.
z
William Rich, Archaeologist – will receive a Masters of Arts Degree in Archaeology and Ancient
History from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom in 2008. William currently has
over ten years archaeology experience working in northern California. William assisted in the
field survey and completed the site records
z
Jerry Rohde, Project Historian, who in 1979 was awarded a MA Degree in integrated disciplines
from California State College, San Bernardino, has completed graduate level coursework in
Geography at Humboldt State University, and has 17 years experience in researching Humboldt
County history. Jerry conducted most of the ethnogeographic background and general historical
review.
z
Susie Van Kirk, Architectural Historian, has worked professionally as a Historic Resources
Consultant for over thirty years, primarily in Humboldt County, but also in Del Norte,
Mendocino, Siskiyou, and Marin counties. She has prepared Historic Resources Reports in
compliance with both CEQA and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which
required survey, research, and evaluation and she has successfully nominated twenty-three
properties to the National Register of Historic Places and one to the California Register of
Historical Resources.
1.2 PROJECT SETTING
The 30,000-acre Salt River Basin is located in north coastal California, contributing its waters to Eel
River just above its outlet into the Pacific Ocean. The Eel’s Delta extends from the Van Duzen River to
the Pacific and is an area of meanders, sloughs, wetlands, and cultural features. In its history, Salt River
had important functions in the Delta’s hydrology; in the life-cycle of anadromous salmonids; and in the
economic, cultural and social development of the Delta’s communities. Land uses in the Salt’s watershed,
alteration of tributary streams, reclamation projects and development over time have created a
watercourse quite different than the one that existed at the time of settlement. The River no longer
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functions hydrologically, biologically, or culturally and has become, instead, a problem, impeding fish
migrations and flooding neighboring lands.
One of the earliest descriptions of the Eel River Delta was sent to San Francisco’s Alta California in
August of 1851 just about a year after Euro-American settlers appeared on Humboldt Bay.
While recently on a visit to Humboldt Bay, I took occasion to ride over, in company
with a friend, to the Eel River valley, a region of this State so fertile and so beautiful that
I am induced to offer this brief notice in the belief that public attention has not yet been
sufficiently attracted to it.
From the face of the plateau, above and near the forks of the river [Van Duzen], the view
was perhaps the most favorable we could have had. It embraced the mountains and the
sea. Below us meandered through rich bottoms, the clear Eel River, sinuous as its name,
all the alluvial margin fringed with a growth of alder, this beautiful tree of the birch tribe.
Step by step, magnificent natural terrace upon terrace, the prairies rose from the river,
most of them semicircularly enclosed by long arms of fir and redwood reaching down
from their homes of the higher hills; all carpeted with a number and variety of ferns,
grasses, and wild flowers, dazzling even to remember….
The Eel River is at present quite a slender stream, averaging about 40 yards in width,
and fordable in places. But, swollen in the rainy season, it attains a volume by no means
insignificant. Near its mouth it opens into a lagoon of considerable size, constituting
something of a harbor. The bar of the river is not yet surveyed, and the reports from
those who have come in from the sea vary considerably as to the depth and difficulty of
the channel. But if on account of impediments at its mouth, the Eel River itself should
never prove of any commercial facility, the produce of the country which it drains can
readily find a market through the neighboring harbor of Humboldt…(Alta California 25
Aug. 1851).
A second description is contained in the Journal of George Gibbs, who accompanied Indian Agent Redick
McKee through northwestern California in the fall of 1851. Escorted by a military detachment, the party
left Sonoma in August 1851, following a route which took them up the Russian River, down the Eel to its
mouth, then overland to the Klamath and eventually to the Shasta valley. Early September entries in the
Gibbs’ Journal describe the lower Eel country:
A short distance above its (Van Duzen River) junction with the main river, the open
country commences on both, and extends to the mouth. This point is distant about twelve
or fourteen miles above the entrance of the Eel River into the sea. The tide backs up to it,
and at low stages renders the water brackish to within four miles. Below the forks the
river is crooked, generally covering wide space with sand and gravel.
During our stay I devoted several days to an examination of the country, though a very
complete one was impracticable for want of guides and facilities of transportation. The
best portion is apparently that lying near the mouth of Van Duzen’s fork, on either side
of the margin stream. Lower down, the land on the right bank, with the exception of a
narrow strip along the river, consists of rolling hills, covered with low shrubs, extending
to the end of “Table Bluff,” a promontory between the mouth of Eel River and the bay,
and reaching back to the redwoods, behind the town of Humboldt….The bottom land on
the river is low and level, and in width averages perhaps five miles. Much of this is,
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however, covered with thickets of willows, etc., and is subject to floods in the rainy
season. Those tracts above the reach of the freshets are generally of fern prairies, rich,
but not easily subdued. In approaching the coast, the country is much cut up with
sloughs, communicating with the river, and near the mouth consists of salt marsh and
tide-land. The extent of the whole is not far from twenty miles square. For farming
purposes, as carried on in the northern States, such as the production of green crops, the
available portion of this is admirably calculated….Game is excessively abundant,
including deer, elk, bears, and all the fall and winter, ducks, geese, brandt, cranes, and
other water-fowls.
We descended as far as the tide-lands, a couple of miles from the mouth….The banks of
the river, to this point, were generally covered with thickets, occasionally interspersed
with small prairies, bearing an enormous growth of fern….The river empties into the
ocean through a sort of lagoon, made by the union of a number of large sloughs, or tide
creeks, which intersect the low lands (Gibbs In Schoolcraft 1853).
Some twenty-five years after these first descriptions and well after settlement and the initiation of
agriculture in Eel River valley, one correspondent observed:
The nature of the land varies from rich black loam of great depth, upon gravelly bottoms,
to the same soil covered with rich sedimentary deposit from old-time floods and
occasional modern overflows, and the reclaimed woodlands, formerly covered with
cottonwood, willow, brush, or pine and seen measuring thirty feet in girth, ten or twelve
feet from the ground. A large area of the forest and brush land still remains to be cleared,
but all is taken up (Ferndale Enterprise 4 May 1878).
Seth Louis Shaw’s accounts of his land-clearing efforts in 1852 substantiate Gibbs’ observations about
the fern prairies. Shaw wrote of the “slow and heavy work” of cutting the ferns which stood “very thick
about 6 feet high on the open land.” These early descriptions indicate that the Delta was not covered with
redwoods, but were prairies of ferns, probably bracken ferns, which grow in open areas and can reach
heights of six feet or more (Eidsness and Van Kirk, 1988).
Cottonwood was sufficiently abundant on the lower Eel’s edges to spark an excelsior industry. On the
Lynch ranch near Ferndale, 120 acres of cottonwood timber was milled to produce a stuffing material for
upholstered furniture. In the spring of 1888, the mill was set up for that purpose (also for sawing alder to
be used in the manufacture of furniture). It was anticipated that there was enough raw material to keep the
industry going locally for two years and in March 1889, the first shipment was made from Fortuna—34
bales (Ferndale Enterprise 16 March 1888, 20 April 1888, 29 March 1889).
In a reminiscence of her childhood in Eel River valley, Winifred Miller Goble said that the island was
“partly covered with a forest of spruce trees. There was underbrush which was made up of willows,
elderberry, salmon berry and a large variety of other shrubs.” She also said that the “timber was dense,”
perhaps indicating the mature riparian forests along the banks of Eel River (Fountain 41:420). The first
milling operations on lower Eel River at a point known as Milltown (washed out in a 1878 flood) sawed
spruce lumber with which to construct the dwelling houses at that location and, in fact, the mill itself
(Humboldt Times 12 April 1936). When the Port Kenyon saw mill began operations in 1887 with a daily
cutting capacity of 25,000 to 30,000 feet, one of the species it utilized was spruce (Ferndale Enterprise 29
April 1887). In 1892, more than 300,000 feet of spruce logs were cut locally for transport to the mill on
Salt River (Ferndale Enterprise 9 Sept. 1892).
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The project area is shown on the USGS 7.5-minute Ferndale, California Quadrangle (1958, Photorevised
1972) in portions of Sections 21 and 22 of Township 5 North, Range 1 West, Humboldt Baseline
Meridian (Figures 1 and 2).
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Project
Vicinity
SOURCE: TOPO! National Geographic Holdings, California CD-ROM.
MILES
0
10
20
30
mN
60
CALIF
KILOMETERS
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
0
25
50
Figure 1. Salt River Restoration, Project Vicinity Map.
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TN
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18.5
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Ta p
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Morgan Rd
Sa
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Riverside Ranch
Fulmor Rd
Nissen Rd
Camp Weott Rd
Dillon Rd
Smith Creek
Goble Ln
Salt-Francis confluence parcels
Aggler Ln
R
s
er
iv
e
id
R
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Port Kenyon Rd
School Block
Figure 2. Project Location and Area of Potential Effect, Aerial Photograph.
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y
21
1
Market St
ci s
C
St
at
e
H
w
Fr a
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Van Ness Ave
Ambrosini Ln
St
Damon Ln
Potential stream
realignment areas
Ambro
APPROXIMATE
LOCATION
California St
Russ Ln
Cultural and Historical
Resource Evaluation
CALIFORNIA
Area 1
Rasmussen Ln
o
18.5
Bush St
Meridian Rd
±
mN
Reas Creek
TN
Rd
Ken yon
re e
k
Salt River Ecosystem
Restoration Project
2.0 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
2.1 CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that, for projects financed or approved by
public agencies, the effects of the project on historical resources must be assessed. Historical resources
are defined as buildings, sites, structures, or objects that have historical, architectural, archaeological,
cultural, or scientific importance.
Under the State CEQA Guidelines, an impact is considered significant if a project will have an effect that
may change the significance of the resource (Pub. Res. Code Section 21084.1). Actions that would
change the significance of a historical resource include demolition, replacement, substantial alteration,
and relocation of historic properties. Before the level of significance of impacts can be determined and
mitigation measures developed the significance of cultural resources must be determined. The 2000
CEQA Guidelines (Sec. 15064.5) define five cases in which a property can qualify as a significant
historic resource for the purposes of CEQA review:
1. The resource is listed in or determined eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical
Resources (CRHR). A resource may be eligible for inclusion in the CRHR if it:
A. is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of
California’s history and cultural heritage;
B. is associated with the lives of persons important in our past;
C. embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of
construction, represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high
artistic values; or
D. has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
2. Properties that are listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places are
considered eligible for listing in the CRHR, and thus are significant historical resources for the
purpose of CEQA (Public Resources Code section 5024.1(d)(1)).
3. The resource is included in a local register of historic resources, as defined in Sec. 5020.1(k) of
the Public Resources Code, or is identified as significant in a historical resources survey that
meets the requirements of Section 5024.1(g) of the Public Resources Code (unless the
preponderance of evidence demonstrates that the resource is not historically or culturally
significant).
4. The lead agency determines the resource to be significant as supported by substantial evidence in
light of the whole record.
5. The lead agency determines that the resource may be a historical resource as defined in Public
Resources Code sec. 5020.1(j) or 5024.1.
2.2 SECTION 106 OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT
The proposed project will require a permit from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. As such, the project is
considered a federal undertaking triggering the necessity to comply with Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
requires that, before beginning an undertaking, a federal agency, or those they fund or permit, must take
into account the effects of the undertaking on historic properties and afford the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation (ACHP) and other interested parties an opportunity to comment on these actions.
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Section 106 of the NHPA prescribes specific criteria for determining whether a project would adversely
affect a historic property, as defined in 36 CFR 800.5. An impact is considered significant when
prehistoric or historic archaeological sites, structures, or objects listed in or eligible for listing in the
NRHP are subjected to the following effects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
physical destruction of or damage to all or part of the property;
alteration of a property;
removal of the property from its historic location;
change of the character of the property’s use or of physical features within the property’s setting
that contribute to its historic significance;
introduction of visual, atmospheric, or audible elements that diminish the integrity of the
property’s significant historic features;
neglect of a property that causes its deterioration; and
transfer, lease, or sale of the property.
Cultural resources significance is evaluated in terms of eligibility for listing in the NRHP. NRHP
significance criteria applied to evaluate the cultural resources in this study are defined in 36.CFR 60.4 as
follows: The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and
culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location,
design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association, and
A. that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of
our history; or
B. that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or
C. that embody the distinctive characteristics of type, period, or method of construction, or that
represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant
and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
D. that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
Specific regulations regarding compliance with Section 106 state that, although the tasks necessary to
comply with Section 106 may be delegated to others, the federal agency is ultimately responsible for
ensuring that the Section 106 process is completed according to statue.
2.3 COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT
The County of Humboldt has no formal historic preservation statutes, but relies on CEQA for the
assessment and protection of historical resources. In the spring of 2005, the Planning Division of
Community Development Services drafted a four-page paper entitled “Historical Resources Report
Information,” which contains three sections: Historic Resources and the California Environmental Quality
Act, Historic Assessment Study Contents, and Professional Qualifications Standards. This paper,
however, has not been incorporated into the County’s environmental review process, so application of
CEQA Section 15064.5 currently satisfies that review.
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3.0 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
Early Northwest California archaeological research was focused on identifying Native American
assemblages and delineating a prehistoric chronology (Loud 1918; Elsasser and Heizer 1966; Fredrickson
1984). More recent studies have broadened their view to address such issues as paleo-environmental
reconstruction (West, cf. Hildebrandt and Hayes 1983), technology and adaptive responses to
environment (Hildebrandt 1983, 1984; Levulett and Hildebrandt 1984; Hildebrandt and Hayes 1983;
Hildebrandt and Roscoe 2003; Hildebrandt and Swensen 1985), and trade (Huges 1978; Levulett and
Hildebrandt 1987). One of the few excavations in the project vicinity was conducted in the Humboldt
Bay area by Llewellyn Loud in the early 1900’s (Loud 1918). Current research is being conducted at
Jedidiah Smith Campground and Tolowa Dunes in the Crescent City area (Tushingham 2005) and by
doctoral students from UC Davis in the Kings Range National Conservation Area, south of the Eel River
Delta. The seminal work defining early period assemblages in the North Coast Ranges of California was
the Pilot Ridge-South Fork Mountain (PR-SFM) project sponsored by Six Rivers National Forest for
logging and road building undertakings in compliance with NHPA Section 106 (Hildebrandt and Hayes
1983, 1984). These studies have provided insight into some of the major environmental and
archaeological trends within the region over the past 8,000 years. Summarized below is the prehistoric
cultural sequence for the region.
3.1 PALEOINDIAN PERIOD (13,500 TO 8,500 B.P.)
A limited number of sites dating from this time occur in coastal and interior wetlands. Characteristic
artifacts of this period include large, lanceolate, concave-base, fluted projectile points and chipped stone
crescents. No evidence exists for the presence of a developed plant food milling technology. Subsistence
adaptation was highly mobile hunting and plant gathering within lacustrine or coastal habitats. The basic
social unit was most likely the extended family. Exchange between groups presumably took place on an
individual, one-to-one basis, with social groups not being heavily dependent upon exchange.
3.2 LOWER ARCHAIC (8,500 TO,5,000 B.P.)
The Lower Archaic period in the project area is defined by the Borax Lake Pattern, characterized as
generalized hunting and gathering by small, highly mobile family groups. Provisional dates of 3000 to
6000 years B.P. were assigned to the Borax Lake Pattern sites at PR-SFM based on obsidian hydration
data, although radiocarbon dates were not obtained. Subsequent data based on corrected dates
documented by Fitzgerald and Hildebrandt (2001) from carbon found in a soil sample at site CA-HUM573 on Pilot Ridge, dating the assemblage to 7120 +/- 50 radiocarbon years. To date, this is one of the
earliest archaeological deposits that has been dated in the North Coast region. The assemblage consists of
relatively large Borax Lake Widestem projectile points (typically made of locally available chert),
handstones and milling-slabs, and ovoid and dome scrapers. Borax Lake Patterns sites typically contain a
similar array of artifact types, implying each served as a base camp where similar activities took place,
and lack of specialization. Obsidian is poorly represented; suggesting exchange networks with obsidian
rich areas (southern North Coast Ranges, northeast California) were not yet established. This adaptive
pattern corresponded to a significant Xerothermic-warming trend that followed the Ice Age, when higher
elevations could have been occupied for a longer portion of the year. Palynological studies demonstrated
that the upland environments within the PR-SFM project area had been affected by mid-Holocene warm
period with the result of an upward migration of the oak woodland environment (West, cf. Hildebrandt
and Hayes 1983:108).
3.3 MIDDLE ARCHAIC PERIOD (5,000 TO 2,500 B.P.)
The Middle Period within the project area is represented by the Willits Pattern as proposed by
Hildebrandt and Hayes (1983, 1984) based on their research at PR-SFM. This adaptive pattern was
oriented towards use of low elevation villages, located along salmon bearing streams near acorn crops and
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occupied by larger concentrations of people during the winter months. Compared to the earlier Borax
Lake Pattern, this adoption is hypothetically linked to the advent of storage facilities, particularly for fish
and acorns, to feed the population during the lean winter months. It represents an adaptive shift wherein
resources were moved to the people, resulting in a variety of functionally different site types that reflect
more specialized activities (Binford 1980). This shift coincided with a significant cooling trend, the Neoglacial, beginning ca. 3,300 years ago, which particularly affected the resource base of interior northwest
California. The variety and productivity of upland resources declined, whereas annual salmon runs were
more productive and reliable in local rivers. Archaeologically, Willits Pattern sites are marked by a
greater variety of generally smaller projectile point forms (Willits Series and Oregon Series), distinct
unifacial flake tools (McKee Uniface), and greater reliance on mortars and pestles (associated with acorn
processing) over milling-slabs and handstones. Middle Period components excavated on the high
elevation PR-SFM implied specialized activities, including the establishment of native burning practices
to maintain open prairies as implied by Palynological dates (Wiegel cf. Hildebrandt and Hayes 1983).
Hildebrandt and Hayes (1983:116) noted that Willits Pattern components at lower elevations in interior
northwest California contained a diversity of artifacts including bowl mortars, pestles, non-utilitarian
items, and well-developed middens. Initial use of coastal resources is evident by Willits Pattern
components investigated at sites located at the mouth of the Mattole River (Levulett and Hildebrandt
1987:27-28). Willits Pattern time markers and obsidian hydration data support the finding of a Middle
Period component on the northern margin of Humboldt Bay at the Arcata Sports Complex Site (Eidsness
1993).
3.4 UPPER ARCHAIC PERIOD (2,500 TO 1,100 B.P.)
The artifacts and assemblages of this period generally represent a continuation of the patterns from the
Middle Archaic Period. Sites dating to this time are found throughout the central North Coast Ranges in
moderate density. Large side- and corner-notched projectile points continue to occur. Medium-to-large,
shouldered, lanceolate points appear. Leaf shaped points are also present. Mano-metate grinding
technology is replaced by bowl mortars and pestles, indicating initial development and elaboration of the
“acorn complex” (see Basgall 1987). Bone tools such as fishing equipment are present. In general,
cultural components are rich in cultural materials; artifact numbers become greater, artifact categories
become broader, and tool kit variability higher. Obsidian develops into the preferred toolstone in many
parts of the central North Coast Ranges, often manifested by an elaborate obsidian biface reworking
industry. This is seen as reflecting greater complexity of exchange systems, characterized by occurrence
of regular, sustained exchange between social groups. During the Early Late Holocene, non-utilitarian
features and artifacts (e.g., beads, pendants, and rock art) begin to appear in numbers. In particular, shell
beads become an important gravegood artifact, and may be indicators of sustained exchange and social
status differentiation. During this period, the growth of sociopolitical complexity is evidenced by
apparent development of status distinctions based upon wealth, and emergence of group-oriented
religions (Hildebrandt and Hayes 1984).
3.5 LATE OR EMERGENT PERIOD (1,100 TO 150 B.P.)
The Late Period in north-coastal California exemplifies some of the most socially complex hunter-gather
populations who relied heavily on marine and/or riverine resources (Fredrickson 1984; Kroeber 1925;
Loud 1918). The Tuluwat Pattern (previously called the Gunther Pattern) characterizes the Late Period
adaptation in north-coastal California. The Tuluwat Pattern dates from ca. 1,100 years B.P. to historic
contact, and characterizes the material culture of the ethnographically described Wiyot, Yurok, Tolowa
and other north-coast tribes. This Late Period assemblage was first described by Loud (1918) based on
archaeological data from Gunther (Indian) Island in Humboldt Bay (Wiyot territory). It comprises several
specialized tool kits intended for a variety of subsistence activities, including sea and terrestrial mammal
hunting, fishing, and vegetal resource procurement and storage. Significant traits include a welldeveloped wood-working technology, riverine fishing specialization, wealth consciousness, and
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distinctive artifact types including zoomorphs, large obsidian ceremonial blades, antler spoons, steatite
bowls and pipes, and small, distinctive barbed, Tuluwat Series projectile points. Populations were
concentrated in permanent villages situated around Humboldt Bay and coastal lagoons, along the coast
and adjacent to the major rivers. This adaptation is similar to, but a more refined and specialized form, of
the preceding Willits Pattern adaptation. Exchange networks had become regularized in the Late Period.
Trade is documented both archaeologically (Hughes 1978; Levulett and Hildebrandt 1987) and
ethnographically (Powers 1877; Loud 1918; Kroeber 1925; Nomland 1935, 1938), with exchange
relationships reaching north to Vancouver Island for Dentalium Shells, east to the Warner Mountains and
Medicine Lake Highlands for obsidian, and south to the San Francisco Bay region for clam shell disc
beads.
3.6 POST CONTACT (150 B.P. TO PRESENT DAY)
Generally, Traditional Native Californian material, economic, social, and ideological culture was
disrupted by contact with Russian Traders, Spanish sea vessels, Euro-American settlement, and U.S.
government policy. This produced significant depopulation and relocation of Native Californians from
most of the lands they occupied as Euro-American material culture became dominant (Rhode 2005). As a
result Native American populations reacted and their material culture changed through a system of
assimilation and acculturation into Euro-American society. These pressures resulted in a change in
settlement patterns and procurement strategies; as well as a synthesis of adaptive material culture
expressed by projectile points and tools made from flaked window glass, tin cans converted to uses other
than food storage (candle holders, strainers), and the presence of glass beads. The Native American
populations did not disappear, rather they adapted to these new pressures.
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4.0 ETHNOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND
The study area lies within the traditional territory of the Wiyot division of the Wiyot Indian tribe. This
group occupied lands along the lower Eel River (Nomland and Kroeber 1936:42; Curtis 1970:226;
Merriam 1998:reel 32), while other divisions of the tribe inhabited areas to the north. The Wiyot language
has been categorized as Algonquian-based. In it, the Wiyots called themselves the Soo-lah-te-luk
(Merriam 1998:reel 32). The name “Wiyot” itself is derived from the Yurok term “weyet or “weyot”
(Loud 1918:297); the Yuroks, who lived to the north, also spoke a language classified as Algonkian
(Teeter 1964:1). Although the Wiyot and Yurok languages are distinctly different, linguists have linked
the two in “a provisional group called Ritwan” that is alternatively classified as Algic (Elsasser
1978:155). Linguistic research implies that the two groups are distantly related, and this “unlikely YurokWiyot proximity” has been hypothetically explained (with daunting syntax) as “parallel migrational
responses by two similar but separate groups at different times to similar geographic and ecological
pressures and/or opportunities” (Moratto 1984:483, 564-564).
According to Humboldt State University linguist Victor Golla, the Wiyots arrived in the Humboldt Bay
area approximately 2,000 years ago, inhabiting a lagoon environment that afforded the use of coastal
resources. The Yuroks then came “at a much later date,” sometime subsequent to the arrival of the first
Athabascan speakers, who came after 600 CE (Common Era) (Golla 2003). The earliest carbon-14 date in
the Wiyot’s region is approximately 900 CE (Elsasser 1978:155).
At the time of Euro-American contact, the Wiyot were divided into three principal groups, speaking a
mutually intelligible language, which differed markedly from the Athapascan languages to the east and
south, and the Yurok language to the north. The three subdivisions of the Wiyot were (1) the Patawat,
who lived in the villages on the lower Mad River, (2) The Wiki on Humboldt Bay, and (3) the Wiyot
along the lower Eel River (Elsasser 1978). It is the name of the Eel River division, which is now used
exclusively in accounts pertaining to the entire group.
4.1 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
With a population numbering somewhere between a low estimate of 1,000 by Kroeber (1925) and a high
estimate of 3,300 by Cook (1956), the Wiyot lived almost exclusively in villages along the protected
shores of Humboldt Bay and near the mouths of the Eel and Mad Rivers. Villages consisted of permanent
dwellings, which were rectangular in plan, made from split redwood planks with a smoke hole at the top.
Two or more families frequently occupied such dwellings. Associated with most Wiyot villages was a
sweathouse used by Wiyot men for sleeping, gambling, and ceremony. Sweathouses usually included a
stone-lined fire pit and a wooden drum. The basic social and economic group for the Wiyot was the
family or household unit. The nuclear and/or extended family formed a corporate unit (Elsasser 1978).
4.2 SUBSISTENCE PATTERNS
Due to the great natural wealth of the region the Wiyot people were predominantly gatherers and hunters
despite their sedentary lifestyle. With villages as their base, the Wiyot were able to seasonally hunt and
gather a wide variety of plant and animal resources within their territory. These areas included primarily
the Humboldt Bay and to an extent the inland ridge system for terrestrial game and plant resources during
the summer seasonal rounds. Along the coast, mollusks, sea lions and stranded whales were among the
marine resources utilized by the Wiyot, while deer, elk, acorns, and berries constituted more important
inland resources (Loud 1918). Perhaps the most important protein source for the Wiyot were the yearly
anadromous fish runs on the Eel and Mad Rivers, during which the Wiyot were able to smoke and store
enough salmon to last through the winters when other food resources were not as abundant (Elsasser
1978).
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4.3 TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIAL CULTURE
Stone technology of the Wiyot included flaked stone knives, projectile points, and other tools made from
obsidian, basalt and silicates. Groundstone tools included club heads, pipes, and charms, and mortars
with a shallow grinding basin and long cylindrical pestles used for grinding acorns. Steatite was much
used for making ornaments, toys and bowls. Beads manufactured from bone, shell, and steatite were used
for ornamentation. Wood and bone were used for a variety of tools and weapons, bows, arrow shafts and
points, hide preparation tools, fishhooks, pipes, musical instruments, food serving utensils, gaming pieces,
hairpins, awls and punches. Dugout canoes and paddles were routinely made with redwood.
Baskets played a very important role in the lives of the Wiyot. They were used for a variety of tasks
beginning with baby-carrying-baskets and continuing with the acorn-hopper-basket as well as other types
of baskets used for storage, cooking, serving and processing foods, carrying burdens, traps, and personal
adornment including hats (Eidsness 1993). Basket manufacturing techniques included openwork twining,
(coarse work), and weaving (fancy work).
4.4 ETHNOGEOGRAPHY
The literature mentions only one Wiyot site in or near the project area. This was either a village or a camp
site called Wotwetwok, located on the north bank of Salt River opposite the mouth of Francis Creek (Loud
1918:Plate 1, 288.) The Wiyots called Salt River Oka’t and Francis Creek Topochochwil (Loud
1918:289). Loud provides no additional information about Wotwetwok and the other ethnographical
sources make no mention of it. The only detailed account comes from Marnie Atkins, former Cultural
Director of the Table Bluff Reservation of the Wiyot Tribe:
The village of Wotwetwok was located along Oka’t (Salt River) and had numerous families
living in it. The families would fish, hunt, and gather along Oka’t and use it to navigate to
Wiyot [Eel River] and then out to the Pacific Ocean. With the European development of
Ferndale and the Eel River delta, these families were displaced from Wotwetwok and the Oka’t
area to make way for cattle that settlers brought to the area (Downie and Lucey 2005:43).
The first account of Euro-American exploration in the immediate vicinity makes no mention of the
village. When Seth and Stephen Shaw and Willard Allen came up Salt River in June or July 1852, they
beached their canoe at the mouth of Topochochwil and then followed an elk trail up the creek to what
would later become the town of Ferndale. The parking place for their canoe would have been opposite
Wotwetwok, but the record is silent on whether or not they observed the village. (McBride 1992;
(Humboldt Historian 1979:9).
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5.0 HISTORIC BACKGROUND
The project area is located along Salt River in the vicinity of the communities of Port Kenyon and
Arlynda Corners. Before the arrival of Euro-American settlers in the area, members of the Wiyot division
of the Wiyot tribe claimed the land. Later, Salt River formed the southern boundary for a somewhat vague
community called Eel River Island (“The Island”), which had its northern boundary at the Eel River. Two
towns developed just south of Salt River, Port Kenyon and the smaller but more sustained Arlynda
Corners. Euro-American settlers saw an area of unparalleled natural resources that with enterprise could
reap rewards. Flat land free of the dense redwood forests of the uplands was ideal not only for family
farming, but also for cash crops. A large river like the Eel, right on the ocean, looked like an opportunity
for shipping. The Eel, in the right season, was brim full of the biggest fish they had ever seen. Farming
(eventually dairying) and associated reclamation, navigation/shipping, and a lucrative fishery set the
historic stage for the Delta and Salt River and provide the contexts for understanding the changes on that
landscape and the built environment. For a time Port Kenyon served as a shipping point for ocean-going
commerce, but the treacheries of the route to the open sea proved overwhelming. Milk, not water, was the
liquid that ultimately nurtured the area, as dairy farming became (and remains) the dominant activity
along the banks of the Salt River.
5.1 EARLY EURO-AMERICAN ACTIVITY ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LOWER EEL
Euro-American settlers began to inhabit the lower Eel River area in the early 1850s. On August 25, 1852,
during a second trip up Topochochwil (Francis Creek), Seth Shaw recorded in his journal that “Willard
Allen, my brother and myself located claims at the foot of the mountain south of Salt River, about one
mile from the head of navigation on said stream.” The men proceeded to “cut a wagon road from the river
to our contemplated farms” over the next four days (Humboldt Historian 1979:9). The route this road
followed is unclear; however, the Doolittle map from 1865 shows a road following the east bank of
Francis Creek from Ferndale north to the creek’s confluence with Salt River, whereupon the road jogs to
the east to cross the river on its way north to the Eel (Doolittle 1865). The Shaws returned in September
1852 and commenced “cutting the ferns which stand very thick about six feet high on the open land.”
After clearing the land, the brothers built a small cabin from a large redwood on Seth Shaw’s claim
(Humboldt Historian 1979:9). Although no mention is found of it in the literature, the Salt River area had
at least one structure of its own by 1854. In that year the government survey located a “log cabin” on the
north side of the river in the NW ¼ of the SW ¼ of Section 34, T3N, R2W (United States Surveyor
General 1854). This location would place the cabin site at the southwestern corner of the “Boynton
Estate,” as shown on the 1921 Belcher map (Figure 3), and thus directly across Salt River from the
western end of Port Kenyon (Belcher Abstract & Title Co. 1921:6).
The Shaw brothers manifested a farm from the fern-filled flat. While Seth Shaw seemed happy enough
farming, his brother Stephen was an artist, and despite the opportunities offered by Seth’s garden for still
life painting, Stephen chose in 1856 to give up his claim and relocate in San Francisco. There he achieved
great success, eventually painting a portrait of former president Zachary Taylor that hangs in the White
House. Stephen’s property, which lay just south of his brother’s, was purchased by the repetitively named
Francis Francis (Humboldt Historian 1979:9-10). Soon Topochochwil had become Francis Creek.
Besides his garden and orchard, Seth Shaw busied himself with other projects. In 1854 he started his
gingerbread home, finished 12 years later, which is still a town landmark. Then, in 1857 he journeyed to
San Francisco to acquire a wife, Isabella. In 1860, Seth established a post office as the first postmaster
(Humboldt Historian 1979:10).
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Figure 3. Portion of Belcher's Atlas (1921).
When Mary Alice Davis passed through the area in 1861, she noted, “at that time there was no such place
as Ferndale, but two families were living there, Mr. and Mrs. Francis and family and Mr. and Mrs. Shaw,
if I remember right.” She was headed for the true town in the area—Centerville, which had a store and
hotel. Davis was only nine or ten at the time, and she recalled, with a child’s awe, passing through a
desolate wilderness:
One can hardly realize at the present time [1937] what a tedious ride that was. We were
dreadfully afraid of Indians and wild animals, thinking one or the other might molest us at any
moment.
Brush overhung the road which was very narrow, making it almost impassable. Long before
reaching Centerville we were obliged to leave the wagon and walk. Mr. Collins, the drive of the
ox team, thought it unsafe for us to ride over the narrow road and it already was getting dark….
As I write this the horror of it all comes back to me again.
Walking alone the lonely road in the dark we could hear the surf pounding on the beach, the
owls hooting in the trees, strange noises in the brush, afraid even of our own voices, we traveled
on in silence (Chase 1966:5).
Only when Davis saw a light from the metropolis of Centerville were her fears, fomented by the
meagerness of Ferndale, finally assuaged.
Yet change was afoot. The 1865 county map shows a cluster of residents near “Ferndale P. O.,” which lay
along the east-west road that ran from Centerville on the coast to the ferry near Grizzly Bluff. No
residents are shown in the area just south of Salt River, but several are listed between Salt River and the
Eel (Doolittle 1865).
The area along the lower Eel had gained Euro-American inhabitants only a few months later than
Ferndale, when Jessie Dungan filed a land claim in January, 1853 (Humboldt County Recorder’s Office
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N.d.). Fish was the lure that drew him and others to this section of the river. Dungan had what was
termed “the principal fishery on Eel River,” which in 1857 was described as being “on the island near the
mouth” (Humboldt Times 1857). Two years later there were six other companies competing with Dungan
and Denman (Humboldt Times 1859). That same year, R. M. Dungan put in a ferry across the Eel
(Arcata Union 1910), which became part of the route connecting Ferndale with the Table Bluff area and
Eureka. Jesse Dungan joined with J. B. Requa in 1868 to build and then operate a cannery on the river
(Fountain 1967:vol. 38:292), which was reputedly the first such in the state (Dungan 1936:1). The
following year, Dungan bought out Requa (Fountain 1967: vol. 38:292).
A third Dungan was also active on what became known as the Island. Thomas Dungan became the first
postmaster of Cleveland, a tiny, potato-shipping port on the Eel near Dungan’s Ferry, in 1866 (Genzoli
1949:23; Humboldt Times 1866:3). The post office lasted only two years and two months, closing in
1868 (Frickstad 1955:42) as Cleveland failed to propel enough potatoes ocean ward to maintain itself
(Genzoli 1949:23). It was claimed that the town’s namesake vessel, the Mary Cleveland, had not only to
deal with the Eel River bar but also “had the merchants of Eureka and Rohnerville to fight” (Ferndale
Enterprise 1880f:3).
Besides Cleveland (and perhaps other points) on the lower Eel, shipping also came to an unspecified
location on Salt River. In late September, 1867, Peter Norrie and Owen McNulty announced “Freighting
between Eel River, Salt River, and Eureka” (Humboldt Times 1867:2). Four ships were involved: the
sloop Sam Slick and the schooner Glide were set to sail between Eureka and points at the southern end of
the bay, while the sloop Lucy W. and the schooner Reliance were to “ply between all points Eel River and
Salt River, carrying freight through with dispatch, including storage and hauling on the [Table] Bluff”
(Humboldt Times 1867:2). What was meant by “all points” on the Eel and the Salt was not specified.
McNulty, one of the freighters, owned land near the head of McNulty Slough, and McNulty’s Landing
became a transfer point for goods (Fountain 1957).
5.2 FISHERIES ON THE LOWER EEL RIVER WATERSHED
In 1853, the first Euro-American fishery on Eel River was started by Jesse Dungan at his ferry location
(Perry 1963). The Humboldt Times newspaper began publication in 1854 and the first reference to the
salmon fishery on Eel River appears in September of that year. It was reported that several companies
were forming to catch and put up salmon on Weott [Eel] River for shipment to San Francisco. The
“putting up” meant salting and packing the salmon in barrels, a truly terrible thing to do to a fresh salmon,
but it would be another fourteen years before limited canning was done and not until 1877 before
commercial-scale canning became available. That same reference noted that the county was not yet
developed, but perhaps the day would come when Humboldt Bay could furnish the markets of the South
Pacific with fish (Humboldt Times 23 Sept. 1854).
The numbers of salmon taken each fall before the river rose sufficiently to render the nets ineffectual can
only be imagined some 150 years later, but some statistics were furnished of that early fishery in the
newspaper. In one period of 18 days between October 18 to Nov. 5, 1857, one net, meaning one fishery
operation, took 16,000 salmon filling 880 barrels (Humboldt Times 19 Dec. 1857). That season saw 1,200
barrels packed on the Eel, the same number packed on the Sacramento and considerably more than on the
Columbia. Salmon put up on Eel River found markets in Australia, China, the Sandwich Island, and New
York (Humboldt Times 3 April 1858).
On a trip to visit the lower Eel fisheries in the fall of 1859, a representative of the Humboldt Times
reported the following operations: Dungan & Denman, Thomas Worth, Gilman & Skinner, John Moseley,
Wm. Ellery & Bros., Parcels & Nickerson, Dickerman & Miller, and Martin & Plummer. The reporter did
make mention that as they moved down the river and came in full view of the ocean and the entrance,
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“our eyes were greeted by the appearance of thousands of huge salmon leaping out of the water, as if
suspecting the silent element through which they were so rapidly passing to captivity and death”
(Humboldt Times 20 Oct. 1859). The lower Eel fisheries enjoyed good years and endured poor ones. The
1874 season was a good one, in fact, so good that all the fishermen filled their barrels in record time. J.H.
Dungan did a “land office business,” securing 475 barrels, filled with approximately 18 to 20 fish each,
all caught in just six days (Weekly Humboldt Times 7 Nov. 1874; 14 Nov. 1874).
William Ellery’s fishery was located on the Eel near the mouth of Salt River and his was one of the longtime, important enterprises on the river. A description of Ellery’s operations appeared in the Enterprise in
1883:
The catching of salmon is exciting business. A large seine is run out some distance from
shore. When out the whole length, it forms a semicircle. A long line extends from each
end of the seine to the shore and four or five men or a span of horses at each line, haul in
until the fish are drawn on shore. If the haul is a good one, there will be from one to five
tons….
It is fun to see the boys jump into the water knee deep and catch them and throw them
into boats and scows…When the fish are all loaded, they are taken to the fish house,
dressed, put into the tanks, receiving salt enough to prepare them for packing…(Ferndale
Enterprise 17 Nov. 1883).
Over the first decades of the Eel’s net fishery, the enterprise was essentially a home-grown operation.
Seasonal, local labor assisted family-owned fisheries with the nets, salting, and packing of the catches.
Even the barrels were constructed by local coopers and the fishermen themselves. Sometimes fresh
salmon was shipped to San Francisco, and it was always available in local markets. About 1868, limited
canning operations were started on lower Eel River:
(From a Rockland County, New York newspaper) A friend presented us the other day
with a can of preserved fresh salmon, being one of a few cases sent him from California.
We were very much surprised upon opening it to find its contents as fresh and sweet as if
just caught from its native element. The salmon from the rivers of California are
considered the best in the world, and we found this the most delicious of any we had
ever eaten. These fine fish are prepared and canned by Messrs. J.B. Requa & Co. of Eel
River, California….We understand that Mr. Requa has disposed of his interest in the
business referred to in the above extract to Mr. J.H. Dungan, one of the firm of J.B.
Requa & Co., by whom the same will be carried on in future (Humboldt Times 10 April
1869).
Although shipping and ultimate marketing involved others from outside the valley, overall the fishing
business on lower Eel River was a local affair.
This began to change significantly in 1877, when San Francisco fishing companies took notice of the Eel.
That fall, F. Pardini purchased land near Dungan’s Ferry, initiating a totally new enterprise with
economic, cultural, and biological implications (Weekly Humboldt Times 22 Sept. 1877). The Eel’s first
commercial salmon cannery, erected in October of 1877, supported shipping on Salt River, encouraged an
even more intense fishery, and brought with it a cultural dimension—Chinese workers—that over the
years ignited fierce local opposition. The Cutting and Packing Company’s new cannery was described by
the Times reporter:
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The principal buildings are the steaming room, 30x60 feet, one story, containing the
furnaces with six large boilers. At the east end is a two-story storage house, 40x60 feet,
and at the west end a one-story building, extending from the steaming room on the south
to the river on the north. This is 20x60 feet. Here the salmon are landed from the fishing
boats and are carried on a car to the cutting room, where they are washed and cut up
preparatory to steaming….The present facilities of the company are such as to require
about one thousand fish per day (Weekly Humboldt Times 27 Oct. 1877).
Some local fishermen, who had fished for themselves, now began fishing for the company. Paid 1½ cents
per pound for the delivered fish, the fishermen recognized this new relationship as a better deal. The pay
would be in cash, furnishing the ready means with which to defray expenses and saving them an
enormous cost in salt, barrels and labor (Weekly Humboldt Times 27 Oct. 1877). Almost before the last
nail was pounded, the cannery was in business, putting up from ten to twelve thousand, one-pound cans
daily (Weekly Humboldt Times 3 Nov 1877). With the development of shipping on Salt River and with
Pardini’s contacts in the Bay area, fresh salmon were also sent to market from Eel River, six to seven tons
on one steamer in the fall of 1878 (Daily Humboldt Times 3 Nov 1878). Record catches were again
reported that year, 32 tons in just one day for all the fisheries and 4,600 fish for a single fishery the
following day (Weekly Humboldt Times 16 Nov. 1878). Pardini’s cannery was employing a hundred men
who were canning 500-600 cases each day (Weekly Humboldt Times 16 Nov. 1878). The San Francisco
Bulletin reported that the Company’s shipments for 1878 would exceed that of the previous year when
3,000 cases of 4-dozen, 2-pound cans were sent to market (Daily Humboldt Times 26 Jan. 1879).
The deadly efficiency of the nets did not portend well for the early runs. Those first nets averaged from 60
to 80 fathoms in length and from 20 to 25 feet in width (Humboldt Times 29 Oct. 1859). Collectively, the
eight nets on the river in 1859 totaled 480 to 640 fathoms (2,880 to 3,840 feet) by 160 to 200 fathoms
(960 feet to 1,200). Extending across the lower river at various points and with no requirements to allow
for any fish to pass, these fisheries began to have significant impacts on the Eel’s salmon runs. In fact, the
impacts were so significant that the State soon realized some regulation was necessary and begin to
institute limited closures (Weekly Humboldt Times 29 Nov. 1879). In later years, location of nets and size
of mesh regulations were tried.
Fishing, however, continued essentially unabated with cyclical good and bad seasons. But as the years
passed, it became evident that the salmon, particularly the early runs, were being decimated by the
canneries. Reports of the 1881 season noted that the cannery had processed 5000 fewer cans than the
previous year (Ferndale Enterprise 16 Dec. 1881). In November 1883, the cannery was busy only half the
normal time due to lack of fish (Ferndale Enterprise 10 Nov. 1883). Two years later the cannery shut
down before the end of November, putting up less than half the number of cases anticipated at the
beginning of the season (Ferndale Enterprise 28 Nov. 1885). A report on the 1887 season, stated that the
catch amounted to 375 tons, only one-third of what it was the previous year (Ferndale Enterprise 16 Dec.
1887). In 1892 the cannery did not operate at all (Ferndale Enterprise 7 Oct. 1892).
Several years ago salmon fishing was a source of much revenue to Eel River valley, but
of late years, scarcely a dollar has been made by those engaged in this industry, owing to
the scarcity of fish in Eel River. So far this season the catch has amounted to almost
nothing and from all indications the fishermen at the close of the year will have little
show for their labor. (Ferndale Enterprise 25 Nov. 1892)
An insightful letter-to-the-editor from “Steelhead” and the newspaper’s response put the matter into
perspective and clearly acknowledged the “tragedy of the commons.” Steelhead wrote:
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The gradual disappearance of the salmon is something that should cause concern on this
coast. The catch in the last year is only a fraction of that of years gone by, and even the
artificial measures (of which we here have none) have about come to an end. The
amount of spawn secured at the McCloud hatchery has been insignificant and the salmon
will soon be extinct in California waters unless some adequate measures are taken to
protect and restock the streams. There is no mystery in the cause of the decline of the
salmon. The fish have been mercilessly hunted, and the Cutting & Packing Co.’s
superintendent, Mr. Wetherbee, says there is no stream on the Pacific Coast that is fished
as closely as Eel River. He thinks that the salmon run for Eel River is a thing of the past.
Salmon canning factories multiplied as long as there was a good profit in the business,
but when the scarcity was first felt, instead of leading the fishermen to take measures to
protect the fish, these factories only encouraged more strenuous efforts to take all that
could be caught, and now there are none to catch.….The self interest of the fisherman
will not lead him to either observe or enforce the law. He argues that if he fails to catch
the fish somebody else will. He, therefore, captures without regard to close seasons or
chances of future catches (Ferndale Enterprise 3 Feb. 1893).
The editor of the Enterprise also made his opinion known:
In the opinion of the Enterprise there is at present no question of greater concern to the
people of this county demanding immediate attention worse than that of the preservation
of salmon in the waters of Eel River….In conversation with a gentleman who has been
fishing in the waters of Eel River for more than fifteen years past without having missed
a single season, we learned that fifteen years ago the seines in use on Eel River were
about 100 fathoms in length - running from 65 to 100 fathoms - the longest being exactly
110 fathoms. The owners of this latter monster seine…experienced no trouble most of
the time in catching sufficient salmon at a single haul to keep his crew of men busily at
work throughout the following day….With each recurring season the salmon supply
grew less and the seines grew longer, and the latter have continued to grow until they
now range in length from 200 to 315 fathoms, and have several feet of line attached to
each end.
….We feel perfectly safe in saying that the entire catch of the three largest seines ever on
Eel River…will amount to much less this season than could have been caught with one
seine 100 fathoms in length a few years ago. The Cutting Packing Co.’s cannery at the
mouth of the river, valued at $30,000, has not operated since the fall of 1888…
The Enterprise favors immediate and vigorous legislation prohibiting the catching of
salmon with seines above tide water….[and] voices the opinion of nine out of ten of the
residents of this valley when it states that unless legislation of some kind is had
immediately, our most important food fish will ere long become a thing of the past in the
waters of Eel River (Ferndale Enterprise 3 Feb. 1893).
Various protective measures were applied to the Eel, but the immediate solution was thought to be the
establishment of a state hatchery on Price Creek. “Fully appreciating the value of the salmon interests of
Humboldt County,” the California Fish Commission responded to the political and economic powers of
State Senator Gillett and Eel River commercial fishermen in establishing the hatchery, confidently
expecting to maintain and increase the catch of salmon in Eel River” (CFC Biennial Report, 1897-1898).
March, 2008
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An Enterprise representative visited the new Price Creek fish hatchery last Friday….The
new hatchery is 40x60 feet in size and is most substantially constructed. Troughs and
baskets are in position to receive the 4,000,000 salmon eggs which are to arrive from the
Battle Creek, Siskiyou, hatchery about Dec. 1st, and Price Creek, which is to furnish the
necessary water for the hatchery, is spanned by a substantial dam, with a 1,240-foot
flume to carry the water into the hatchery…the Price Creek institution…is the second
largest hatchery in the state. (Ferndale Enterprise 5 Oct. 1897).
In the summer of 1905, the Tallant-Grant Co. of Astoria, Oregon established a cold storage plant at Port
Kenyon on the Salt River and with the commencement of the salmon season in October, purchased the
fishermen’s catches for two cents a pound. During two months of fishing and at various times, daily
receipts of nine, ten, and twelve tons were recorded (Ferndale Enterprise, 1 Aug. 1905; 17 Oct. 1905; 27
Oct. 1905; 5 Dec. 1905). Because Eel River salmon were no longer of the size or grade most desirable
for cold storage purposes and in order to handle this surplus, the Company explored the feasibility of
developing a cannery at Port Kenyon (Ferndale Enterprise 2 Oct. 1906). An inquiry was made to the
Ferndale Chamber of Commerce about the employment of Chinese labor, without which, the Company
claimed such a plant could not be successful. The Chamber responded that there would be no objection as
long as certain conditions were met, including 1) the Chinese would work only at the cannery, 2) stay no
longer than the period of operations, and 3) they would not be permitted at any time to leave the vicinity
of the cannery (Ferndale Enterprise 22 June 1906). The Tallant-Grant Company built a 110x50 addition
to the Port Kenyon Cold Storage Company building for the cannery, which began operations during the
1906 season. The investors felt that such a facility would be economically viable by utilizing the smaller
salmon caught by the local fishermen and easily exported via the Salt River (Ferndale Enterprise 4 Sept.
1906; 9 Oct. 1906).
A month later twenty Chinese laborers, a number of Japanese and several Russian girls arrived from
Astoria to work in the cannery (Ferndale Enterprise 2 Oct. 1906). Opposition to the arrival of the Chinese
workers was swift and vehement. Their immediate expulsion from the county was demanded. Before they
could settle in and begin their work at the cannery, the Chinese laborers were given law-enforcement
protection and quartered on Indian Island until their departure for Astoria. The Company agreed to pay
them their contract price and a spokesman for the Company said they were very thankful that the matter
adjusted itself without blood shed (Ferndale Enterprise 5 Oct. 1906). The cannery operated periodically
until the end of the 1912-1913 season (Ferndale Enterprise 29 Aug. 1913). Salmon were no longer
available in sufficient quantities, and the Eel and Salt Rivers were no longer navigable to ocean-going
vessels.
Meanwhile at the Price Creek hatchery, difficult operating conditions, ever-increasing fishing pressures
and problems with obtaining sufficient eggs plagued the facility. The hatchery manager, W.O. Fassett,
tried to secure eggs from Eel River salmon, employing commercial fishermen at times, but ultimately, the
majority of the eggs hatched at Price Creek and released into Eel River were from Sacramento stock.
Despite problems with eggs and the hatchery facility, in 1903 Price Creek released two million salmon fry
from Sacramento eggs and the following year, over five million fry (CFC Biennial Report, 1903-1904).
Mortality must have been significant with the release of such tiny fish and the net fishermen were doing
their part to catch whatever increase might have resulted from artificial production. Continued failure to
secure eggs on Eel River and problems with sediment and washouts at the hatchery moved the Fish
Commission to consider closing the hatchery at Price Creek. When Sacramento eggs were no longer
going to be available to Price Creek, the hatchery was closed and a new hatchery built at Fort Seward in
1916 (Ferndale Enterprise 25 Feb. 1916).
March, 2008
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Along with the failures at Price Creek, a new card was being played against Eel River’s commercial
fishing industry, not just locally but throughout the state and in Sacramento. Sports fishermen, notably
from the Bay area, discovered the Eel which soon became “famous among anglers” (Ferndale Enterprise
9 Oct. 1908). Even before the arrival of the railroad in 1914, but most certainly after it reached Humboldt
Bay, fishermen made the annual journey to fish the fall salmon run in the Eel’s famous pools named
Snag, Singley, Weymouth, Fulmore, Fernbridge, Lytle, Pollard, and Dungan. San Francisco’s Breeder
and Sportman published a promotional piece by Humboldt Chamber of Commerce “…let it be said that
conditions here cannot be excelled anywhere in civilized climes…Many San Francisco sportsmen are
aware of the fine sport to be had on Eel River, and make annual pilgrimages to the resorts along the river.
. .” (Ferndale Enterprise 14 Jan. 1910). Locally the Eel River Valley Fish Club was organized to
“secure…needed reforms in the manner and time of catching salmon on Eel River,” specifically the
commercial catch (Ferndale Enterprise 27 Oct. 1908). Initial pressures were for regulation of seasons, net
sizes, location of nets, etc, but as time passed and the sportsmen became better organized and grew in
numbers, the call was for complete closure of Eel River to the commercial fishery.
Advices from Sacramento state that it is probable that the bill to close Eel River to all net
fishing will pass, the closing to become effective January 1st 1922. The net fishermen
have asked for this extension of time to allow them to dispose of their equipment without
unnecessary loss….If the bill is made effective January 1st next, the fishermen will be
allowed one more netting season, and will also be in a position to dispose of their
equipment to the best possible advantage (Ferndale Enterprise 1 April 1921).
With the termination of the net fishery on Eel River, the industry moved to the ocean to continue the
catch, while habitat loss resulting from logging, land clearing, agricultural and urban land uses,
manipulation of drainages, and reclamation projects began to take their toll, becoming the proverbial
straws upon the backs of Eel River’s salmon.
5.3 KENYONVILLE/KENYON’S LANDING/PORT KENYON
Salt River navigation was tenuous and short-lived, but during its heyday, moving goods into the Ferndale
and lower Eel region and exporting the production of the valley and the Eel, it played an important role in
the local economy. Those optimistic about the Eel’s prospects as a navigable stream fought the elements
but ultimately lost. The Eel River entrance was a moving target and steamers entering and leaving often
found themselves on the beach and had to await the next high tide to right themselves. Shoaling at the
mouth of Salt River caused periodic problems. With the construction of Fernbridge in 1911 and the
coming of the railroad in 1914, trying to keep navigation going on the Salt River was a lost cause.
Throughout its brief history as a navigable stream, Eel River, notably her entrance, was fraught with
obstacles—shifting channels and low water.
Again, the following history reflects that of Euro-American settlers, but fully recognizes the indigenous
people who navigated the Salt River, Eel River, and, in fact, the entire Delta in their sturdy dependable
canoes as they fished, hunted, gathered materials, and traveled. Moving about these waterways came as
second nature to lower Eel folks, whose culture, society, and economy rested firmly on this generous
environment.
The first recorded Euro-American vessel to enter Eel River was the Jacob M. Ryerson, which crossed the
bar on April 3, 1850 under the command of Captain William Tichenor. The following day the Ryerson
moved up a slough coming in from the south (Salt River) where a draft of eleven feet provided good
water for the small ship (Fountain 1964-1966). The idea of using Eel River as a shipping point must have
lingered in the minds of some, but it wasn’t until 1860 that people began to explore the possibility:
March, 2008
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Several parties we learn have sounded out the channel on the bar at the mouth of Eel
River this summer in small boats and canoes. At extreme low water during spring tide,
they got ten feet water on the bar, which is very short and falls off rapidly into three,
four and five fathoms. The channel at present is straight and bears to the south of west.
With our prevailing winds, it is the opinion of nautical men that an ordinary coasting
vessel could easily sail in and out by taking a favorable stage of tide. An effort will be
made to induce some craft to go in there when the fishing season commences. It would
be a great saving to the fishing companies near the mouth of the river, if they could ship
their salmon direct from there instead of being obliged to haul them to the bay for that
purpose (Humboldt Times 11 Aug. 1860).
Several months later the newspaper announced that the schooner Frederick P. Green would carry the
trade to and from San Francisco and Eel River, beginning about Christmas, but there was no subsequent
mention, perhaps indicating nothing came of this effort (Humboldt Times 17 Nov. 1860). In the fall of
1864, it was announced that the refurbished gun boat McClellan was headed from Eureka to the “head of
navigation on Salt River,” but no further mention was made regarding this vessel or the Salt River trade
(Humboldt Times 3 Nov. 1864).
A note in November 1874 regarding the season’s fisheries indicated that shipments were leaving from
Southport on Humboldt Bay out of Heney’s warehouse, not from the river into the ocean (Weekly
Humboldt Times 28 Nov. 1874). Perry (1963) stated that the catch was transported by scows on the floor
of the valley to the McNulty Slough landing and teamed over Table Bluff to Myers Landing, later known
as Heney’s Landing. From there the fish were taken to deep water vessels at Fields Land, Bucksport and
Eureka for transport to San Francisco markets. When the Continental, out of San Francisco, arrived at the
Ferndale Landing in the spring of 1876, it loaded two hundred tons of cargo from the Boynton warehouse
(Daily Humboldt Times 17 March 1876). This reference indicates that prior to the institution of ocean
shipping and the maiden run of the Continental, local folks were using Salt River and its warehouses for
shipping to outside markets, but via Humboldt Bay and local wharves, not directly over Eel River bar to
the ocean.
A later reference noted that a sand bar across the slough leading to Heney’s landing at Table Bluff was
interfering with the navigation of the slough. Once the bar was open, Heney would be able to receive
cargo from the valley, via the slough for transport over his railroad to Southport (Daily Humboldt Times
26 March 1876). The Eel and Salt Rivers were providing local shipping, probably as early as the 1850s,
but shipping in and out of the Eel system directly to out-of-the-area ports did not begin until 1876.
The final realization of ocean shipping prompted J.G. Kenyon to build a wharf, warehouse, and a general
merchandising store at his landing on Salt River at the head of navigation which had a “good depth of
water at low tide” (Daily Humboldt Times 2 April 1876). An advertisement for Port Kenyon appeared in
the Times that summer:
Port Kenyon--The new town site, named as above, is situated at the head of navigation
for ocean steamers on Salt River. It has been selected as headquarters and established as
the point of arrival for the company’s steamers now plying between San Francisco and
Eel River. A wharf two hundred feet long, a large warehouse, and a store are contracted
to be built in a short time. Other important improvements are also to be made during the
present year. The location of the new town of Port Kenyon is on the south bank of Salt
River on the main land and so high that danger from overflow need not be apprehended.
It is centrally located in the rich and fertile Eel River valley and will necessarily become
March, 2008
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the nucleus for trade and natural outlet for an extensive and productive section. In point
of climate and healthiness, the location is unsurpassed in the state. Parties wishing to
establish themselves in business are respectfully requested to examine this location and
its surroundings and be their own judge. For prices, terms, etc., apply on the premises to
J.G. Kenyon, Post Office address, Ferndale (Daily Humboldt Times 9 July 1876).
John Gardner Kenyon (Edeline 1983:3) was a man of many parts, one of which brought him to the Eel
River Valley. In 1856 J. G. Kenyon (as he was commonly referred to) initiated his early affiliation with
the locale:
Mr. Kenyon went to San Francisco and entered into an agreement with Messrs. Whitelaw and
Hawley by which they were to run their steamers regularly between San Francisco and Eel River
for a term of two years, which was the first establishment of Eel River navigation. In this he met
with many discouragements, and in order to induce the parties to undertake the venture it became
necessary for him to advance considerable money for the construction of a warehouse and wharf
at “Port Kenyon,” which derives its name from Mr. Kenyon. He also sold lots to about thirty
families on which they have built homes.
In March, 1879, he started the first cash store in Humboldt County, south of Eureka, and has
continued in the general merchandise business ever since (Elliott 1881:196).
Elsewhere in Elliott’s account we find the claim that in 1857 Kenyon “purchased 800 acres of land in Eel
River Valley, Humboldt County, and settled there.” But not for long: the following year found Kenyon
headed toward the Frazer River mines in Canada; he stopped in Victoria, turned around and landed along
Puget Sound, and bought lots in what became Seattle (Elliott 1881:196). Elliott loses the thread of the
story for time, but the venerable violinist, Seth Kinman, finds it:
I [Kinman] left Humboldt Co. in Aug. of ’61 and then made arrangements to exhibit [his
collection of “curiosities”] in all the large cities around the Bay, in Sacramento and San Joaquin
Valleys. Preparing for this trip of exhibitions, I had taken into partnership a man by the name of
J. G. Kenyon a ventriloquist, an exhibition of a very docile canary and also a performer of
legerdemain, or sleight of hand tricks. To-gether, we made quite a team, or at least, we ought to
have made one….(Kinman 1876:139-140).
But they didn’t, and the Kinman-Kenyon partnership dissolved the following year (Kinman 1876:147).
Perhaps Kenyon didn’t like playing second fiddle to Kinman, or perhaps he didn’t like his act being
followed by that of “a very docile canary.” In any case, Kenyon disappears from the record for most the
decade, surfacing again in 1869, when he invented (according to the details he provided Elliot) the fluid
pencil, which became known as the “McKinnon Fountain Pen” (Elliott 1881:196). No other mention can
be found of Kenyon’s association with the invention, and it appears that Duncan MacKinnon invented the
pen that bears his name (MacKinnon Pens 2008; Fountain-Pens 2008). MacKinnon’s name may have
appeared on the newfangled fountain pen, but by April 1873, Kenyon’s was being linked with a
community. T. W. Higgins announced that he had “assumed charge of the Commercial Hotel at Port
Kenyon [emphasis added]” (Fountain 1967:vol. 96:46). Three months later, it was Kenyon himself in the
news, when he advertised:
J. GARDNER
Kenyon!
PREMIER
March, 2008
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VENTILOQUIST
Will give one of his Illustrative Lectures upon
Power of the Human Voice,
Its compass and improvement, on which occasion the
Most amusing and extraordinary
Ventriloquil and Polyphonic
Illustrations will be given….
(Humboldt Times 1873a:2)
Two performances, one in Arcata and one in Ferndale, were scheduled. Kenyon kept the Times’s
advertising department busy that July, for in the paper’s next issue came an announcement regarding
“Kenyon’s Landing, On Salt River”:
THE UNDERSIGNED WOULD RESPECTFULLY inform the public that it is his intention to build other
warehouses this Fall in addition to those he now has, affording ample accommodation for those
wishing to ship produce or merchandize, at the customary rates. Only 12 ½ cents per ton
bankage, will be charged for potatoes.
J. G. Kenyon (Humboldt Times 1873b)
Kenyon may thus have been accumulating warehouses, but it apparently took some time for Kenyon’s
Landing (or Port Kenyon) to accumulate business. Only in May, 1876, do we receive word that:
Mr. J. G. Kenyon, and Mr. Whitelaw of the steamer Continental, have commenced the
construction of the wharf or landing at or near Mr. Kenyon’s on East [Salt] River. A town site
has been laid off there. It is three hundred block’s [sic] of three hundred and twenty-five feet
each in width back from the river, and continues up and along the bank of the river until the
tract shall contain sixty acres. The blocks are laid off into lots 40x110 with streets eighty feet
and alleys 20 feet wide. A warehouse is to be built at the landing; the lot reserved for the
warehouse and landing is four hundred feet square (Humboldt Daily Times 1876a).
If Kenyon’s 1873 announcement was accurate, “to build other warehouses this Fall in addition to those he
now has,” the new warehouse that was to be built in 1876 would have been at his least his fifth. Further
mention of the warehouses came in May 1876, “Twenty Years in Humboldt” wrote to the West Coast
Signal that “[t]he steamer Continental has made her third trip to KENYON’S and MARKLEY’S Landings on
Salt River....” The author visited
Markley’s farm, to satisfy myself as to which of the two landings would be the best and most
convenient place for business. From the east to the west of his farm I found the river banks high
and dry. If my eyes do not deceive me, the banks on MARKLEY’S side are from one to two feet
higher than on KENYON’S side. On my way back I noticed that the fences on the farm of the
latter showed the effects of the winter’s flood by their zig-zag condition. If the Continental
continues to visit us, the building of a bridge will be no great item to the business men of this
portion of the county, for material is cheap and abundant. There are now 3,000 acres of land
under cultivation, and it is safe to predict that within three years there will be three times that
amount. The county road runs between MARKLEY’S and BOYNTON’S farms to the river, where
there will be a bridge at no distant day, and with this completed we congratulate ourselves on a
future of prosperity (West Coast Signal 1876:3).
Markley’s property occupied 107 acres of the western edge of Section 34 north of Salt River (Humboldt
County Assessor’s Office 1868); the land later became the westernmost part of the Boynton property
March, 2008
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(Figure 3, Belcher Abstract & Title Co. 1921). The 1865 county map shows a side road running west
from the Ferndale-Dungan’s Ferry road into the Boynton ranch and ending there (Doolittle 1865). The
1886 county map shows what is apparently this same road extended southwest to end at the north bank of
Salt River in the NW ¼ of the SW ¼ of Section 34 (Forbes 1886). It is uncertain when this extension was
completed, but it appears that it was meant to connect, across Salt River, with Port Kenyon. There is no
evidence of a bridge having been built in this vicinity, despite the hopes of “Twenty Years in Humboldt,”
but at some point a ferry crossing was established at or near the end of aforementioned road. The crossing
is mapped in one source as being at the west end of the “Port Kenyon Warehouse” (Carlson 1976:27).
Edeline indicates that a ferry was put in on the Salt in 1895 by Mads Madsen, who had leased part of the
Riverside Ranch “and converted an old warehouse on his section into a small creamery.” The ferry was
used “to accommodate his creamery customers” (Edeline 1983:77). The Riverside Ranch lay directly west
of the Boynton property on the north side of Salt River (Edeline 1983:77, 152). Yet more warehouses
were indeed coming. In August 1876, we learn that
[t]he Continental steamship Company have sent to Port Kenyon one hundred kegs of nails and
spiks [sic], and four thousand feet of Oregon pine [Douglas-fir] timber to be used in making the
necessary improvements at that place. They have contracted with the Connor & Co. mill, on Salt
River to saw them eighty thousand feet of lumber for the wharves and warehouses to be built at
this end of the route. Work is to be commenced immediately, and the warehouses finished so that
the crops can all be stored before the rains set in. All seems to be life and activity at this new
town (Humboldt Daily Times 1876b:3).
Soon there was evidence of the nails and “spiks” and lumber being put to use. The following month
“White Alder” wrote the Times to announce that:
[t]he navigation of Eel River being now an assured fact, we can breathe free as to our future, for
that will develop itself. The improvements now going on at Port Kenyon must convince the most
skeptical that Messrs. Whitehall and Kenyon mean business. I hope they will be amply rewarded
for the immense expense which they are now compelled to make, and that in advance for any
income from the large wharves and warehouses that they are now building (Humboldt Daily
Times 1876c).
The same structures were in the news in January 1877, when the Evening Star wrote of “Kenyonville,” a
place:
[w]here you will see one of the finest wharfs and warehouses you ever saw in California. This
place will soon receive some substantial and valuable improvements. A San Francisco man
proposes to erect a large saw mill near the mouth of the river and our whilom townsman, C. C.
Dennis, intends to build a box factory at or near the same place….The owners of the stave mill at
Dungan’s Ferry also intend to build another mill at Kenyonville so it really looks as if a town of
one thousand inhabitants will be the gift of the New Year to Kenyonville (Evening Star 1877:1).
The paper not only failed as a prognosticator of Port Kenyon’s future, it also failed as a paper; the
Evening Star fell from the firmament the following year.
The talk of warehouses continued the following March in the Times:
The steamer Continental sailed for Port Kenyon yesterday morning with about 100,000 feet of
lumber and pickets as a cargo. We at first supposed that the lumber was to be use in building a
warehouse [!] for the steamship company, but upon making inquiries we learned that it was for
March, 2008
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the lumber yard that is to be started at that point, The steamer will run in here about once a
month and keep the supply up. The establishing of a lumber yard at this point will be of great
benefit to the farmers who contemplate making improvements during the coming summer.
Heretofore, they were compelled to haul their lumber from Salmon Creek and Springville, but
now it will be very handy (Humboldt Daily Times 1877a).
By June the Times furnished an update on the town’s development, which, however, was short on most
specifics. “Traveler” reported that he had “just paid a visit to Port Kenyon and noted the items
thereabouts. J. G. Kenyon tells me that there are fifteen buildings in the little town, which laid out with an
eye to beauty and comfort” (Humboldt Daily Times 1877b:3).
“Traveler” rallied his personal powers of observation enough to describe in detail the hotel: “[t]he rooms
are well ventilated, and the floors nicely carpeted. The beds are all furnished with spring mattresses, the
linen as white as snow, and the spreads the pink of neatness.” The hotel’s dining and sitting rooms were
“well regulated, which proves beyond a doubt that the proprietor understands how to select good a
housekeeper [even] if he is a bachelor.” Next “Traveler” traveled to the wharf of the Continental and
boarded Captain J. S. Cousins’s ship. There he found that “[t]he staterooms are well ventilated
[ventilation apparently being, for “Traveler,” an important concern] and are kept as neat as a pin. There
are ample accommodations for fifty passengers.” Then it was back to shore, where it was observed that
“[t]he warehouses are well filled with freight, and appearances indicate that business is brisk” (Humboldt
Daily Times 1877b:3). No mention was made of the state of the warehouses’ (plural) ventilation.
Hard on the heels of the “Traveler” came “Pioneer” to the pages of the Times, writing of his midsummer
trip through the area. Coming from Centerville, “Pioneer” noted that
[t]he crops everywhere are turning yellow and beginning to ripen. Saw a splendid field of
wheat next to Hon. Jos. Russ’ [sic] residence, also fine fields of barley and oats all along the
road till we came to the road that turns off to the left leading to Port Kenyon. Traveling over
half a mile of fine turnpike road we arrived at Port Kenyon and stopped at the Commercial
Hotel….Turning to the right and up Eel [Salt] river all the way to the crossing are snug little
cottages built on lots sold by Mr. Kenyon. Small gardens are under cultivation. I saw potato
tops as high as a common fence, corn six feet high, squash vines running all over the ground,
and in fact all kind of garden “sass” growing (Humboldt Daily Times 1877c:2).
Note the left turn that “Pioneer” made to reach Port Kenyon. Going straight ahead would have taken him
to Ferndale, but there he would find neither port nor the shortest route to Table Bluff, both of which were
provided by Port Kenyon instead. Note also that “Pioneer” chose to take the land route north from
Centerville, rather than crossing by boat along Centerville and McNulty sloughs to reach Table Bluff. As
early as the summer, Hurlbutt and Potter had announced a “Daily STAGE Line BETWEEN EUREKA
AND PETROLIA!” The route, which went “via Table Bluff, Ferndale and Centerville,” apparently used
the crossing at Dungan’s Ferry (West Coast Signal 1871:3). Yet two years later, not one but two
companies offered freight hauling that utilized the travel corridor along Centerville and McNulty sloughs.
The Southport and Centerville Steam Freight Line conveyed goods daily on the steamer Robert Fulton,
(West Coast Signal 1873a:2) while the Eureka, Southport and Centerville Fast Freight Line used the
schooner Sam Slick as its carrier (West Coast Signal 1873b:4). Yet for all the shipping activity,
Centerville’s days as a port (and a town) were numbered. By the early 1880s Port Kenyon, which could
accommodate ocean-going vessels (Ferndale Enterprise 1933:1), had become the area’s transportation
hub, and in 1884 the remains of the now centerless Centerville were sold to the Moranda family as a
ranch (Carlson 24-25).
March, 2008
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“Pioneer’s” portentous left turn not only foreshadowed Centerville’s future fall but also prompted
predictions of progress for not only Port Kenyon but its handmaiden community, Ferndale. In October
1877 the Times attempted to put the matter “IN PROSPECTIVE”[SIC]:
A new project is on foot towards developing the Salt River country. The Signal of yesterday
says: The movements of certain citizens of the valley, the ‘additional steamer’ talk, with the
other sign of the times makes it certain that some new enterprise has been projected. The subject
of dredging Salt River is also being canvassed, and we have heard that this can be so
successfully done that steamers can be run to Taylor’s landing. Rumor says that outside
assistance has been proffered in this connection. Ferndale would then virtually be a ‘steamship
town,” [sic] but whether sufficient means could be raised to carry out the undertaking is
questionable. There has been not a little talk in regard to a narrow guage [sic] railroad from Port
Kenyon to the redwood forests on upper Eel River, but this seems to have given away to the
proposition for building an immense flume, through which logs and lumber may be run, and
passengers carried, if desirable….With either the road or flume, Port Kenyon, or that
neighborhood, might become a prominent shipping point (Humboldt Daily Times 1877d).
Perhaps inflamed by the prospect of “either the [rail]road or flume,” boosters seemed to be backing Port
Kenyon. The following month came a report that:
[r]eal estate transactions are frequent at the new steamboat town on Salt River. The warehouse
[singular] is full of produce, and the road from TAYLOR’S crossing is being ballasted with river
gravel. Several new buildings have gone up within the town limits within the past two months,
and other purchasers are waiting for lumber to build with (West Coast Signal 1877:3).
Then came December, not the “cruelest month” according to some sources, but cruel enough for Port
Kenyon. For it was then that Whitelaw’s steamer, the Continental, steamed too much—one of her pipes
exploded—“leaving her to the mercy of the waves, which beached the wreck two miles from the entrance
of Eel River” (Edeline 1983:34). On December 18 her water-soaked cargo was auctioned off—“oats,
wheat, potatoes and pease [sic].” The ship herself was irredeemably stuck on the shore and was to be
auctioned on the 20th (Daily Humboldt Times 1877e:3).
Optimism that ocean-going vessels could easily ply between San Francisco and the Salt River wharf was
soon tempered by reality. The Continental was wrecked in December 1877 as she tried to cross the bar on
her way to the City, stuck fast on the beach (Daily Humboldt Times 14 Dec. 1877). She was replaced with
the Alex Duncan in January 1878 (Weekly Humboldt Times 19 Jan. 1878), which, with the George
Harley, began appearing in the shipping news:
The steamers George Harley and Alex Duncan arrived at Port Kenyon on the 7th, the former
in 24 hours and the latter in 30 hours from San Francisco. The Harley brought 172 packages
for the Ferndale Grange Store, 614 for Russ, Searles & Putnam, 16 of cheese-making
machinery for D. A. Spear, 4 packages for H. E. Van Winkle, 12 for M. Sanders & Co., 5 for
Rudolph & Co., 4 for Alford Brothers, 1 for S. Sweet, 7 for G. A. Frost, 2 for J. R. Langford,
11 for J. E. Brown, 1 for E. Weaver, 2 for R. Bugbee, 4 for Sweet & Adams, 17 for S.
Fulmor, 2 for J, Comas, 2 for J, Flowers, 30 for A. Berding.
The Harley loaded 581 sacks of oat, 322 boxes of apples and 609 sacks of potatoes. The
Duncan carried 548 sacks barley, 682 sacks potatoes, 253 sacks peas, 339 sacks oats, 75
sacks wheat, 5 boxes butter, 7 barrels pork, 4 boxes eggs, 100 boxes apples (West Coast
Signal 1878:3).
March, 2008
28
Vessels approached Port Kenyon not only from the sea but also down the Eel:
a boat from MCDONALD’S Landing, on Eel River, landed at the wharf at Port Kenyon loaded
with grain and potatoes. She was built by a man named SERRATT, a West Virginian, and an
old boat-builder and lumberman. She is called THE ENTERPRISE, is 15 tons burthen, furnished
with a comfortable little cabin, and can be ran by two men only….MR. SERRATT, accustomed
to rafting on the Ohio, Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, says he can and is going to run
rafts on Eel River (West Coast Signal 1878b:3).
Thus able to receive shipping from two directions, Port Kenyon soon received a review from the Times
that tempered commendation with concern:
Port Kenyon is steadily improving. It now has one hotel, one general merchandise store, one
saloon, one shoemaker shop, one blacksmith shop, one livery stable and one boarding house.
Four or five boarding houses have been put up lately. The value of real estate is increasing, a
lot 40x40 feet having sold a few days ago for $200. On this lot Louis Walters will soon build
a saloon. J. G. Kenyon has the lumber on the ground for a building to be rented probably as a
tin shop. The store is owned by Russ, Searles & Putnam, and Mr. John Early, late of Petrolia,
has charge of it. The warehouse and wharf of Whitelaw & Hawley are located at the lower
extremity of town, directly opposite which are the Markley warehouses and wharf….The
Continental wharf is also used as a point of shipment for C. C. Dennis’[s] mill, situated about
a mile and a half down the river. It [the lumber?] is brought to the wharf on lighters. The
agent estimates that in the three ware houses there are now three steamer loads of produce
awaiting shipment. No more than half of last year’s harvest has yet been shipped, owing to
the bad weather and the consequent poor condition of the roads for loaded teams. At Port
Kenyon the flood was at its highest on Sunday, the 27th ult. At that time it was within two
feet of the top of the Continental wharf, and would have had to go still higher in order to
injure anything in the ware house as the floor of that building is about three feet above the
wharf.
The water came over the bank at a low sag between the wharf and the rest of the town and
washed away the fence that crossed the sag. The bathing house which was built last summer
was also carried away, but lodging in some timber a short distance from the town….
It is said by old settlers that in 1862 the water at Port Kenyon was two feet higher than during the
last flood….The residents of this place are now confident that it has passed through its severest
trials, and have no fears for its future (Humboldt Daily Times 1878a:1)
By May, the lower Eel had its own paper, the Ferndale Enterprise. It chose to comment on the
neighborhood in its maiden edition, noting that Port Kenyon:
[i]s a small but increasing village on the banks of Salt River, about five miles from its mouth,
and owing its rapid rise to the fact of the river being navigable for small ocean steamers up to
this point. The river is narrow, but deep, having 11 feet of water at the landing at low tide. There
is a bar at the entrance, as at Eureka, which sometimes causes delays, but by many the port is
considered as safe as any in the county. The Continental (recently lost) and George Harley have
for some months past been making regular trips to San Francisco, carrying with them the
products of the Eel River Valley, the Bear ridge dairying district, and the Mattole county, section
of Humboldt County…(Ferndale Enterprise 1878a:2).
March, 2008
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The following month found the Enterprise reporting that the Duncan beached on the south spit as she
attempted to go to sea, but “experienced no difficulty in getting off” (Ferndale Enterprise 21 June 1878).
Despite the difficulties with the Continental and the Duncan, Port Kenyon continued to increase—on its
periphery, at least. In October the Enterprise announced:
A NEW TOWN—Jacob Gyer has been laying off building lots at the junction of Port Kenyon road
with the Ocean avenue, which he offers on very reasonable terms. The location is a good one,
and an other [sic] town will spring up in our valley. No doubt it will unite Ferndale and Port
Kenyon, and make a city two and a half miles long. It is proposed to call the new town,
Meridian, because of its location (Ferndale Enterprise 1878b:3).
Despite its name and the Enterprise’s claim, the town-to-be was more than eight miles west of the
Humboldt Meridian, which contrarily ran almost exactly through the middle of two other communities,
Falk and Newburg. And it was certainly not the Prime Meridian that the town was named for, as the new
community languished by the road junction, never forming the connecting link of the Enterprise’s
prediction. In December Gyer gamely announced that “I HAVE A FEW MORE LOTS, WHICH I will sell on the
most reasonable terms, IN THE NEW TOWN OF MERIDIAN,” (Ferndale Enterprise 1878c:3) but purchasers
proved hard to come by. It took more than a decade for the wannabe community to get a store, when M.
M. Brazil opened one in July 1889 (Edeline 1983:95). His ads for the “THE MERIDIAN Cash Store!”
appeared weekly in the Enterprise (Enterprise 1889a:4). But the cash store(!), and the town, fell into
obscurity, and today the gap between Ferndale and Port Kenyon still has not been filled.
In the fall of 1878, a new steamer, the Thos. A. Whitelaw, was constructed for the Eel River trade. She
measured 136 feet and could carry 400 tons on ten feet of water and 300 tons on nine feet. The twodecker ship had accommodation for 26 first-class passengers and 20 steerage. On her first trip to Port
Kenyon, she crossed the Eel River bar in 14 feet of water at half tide (Daily Humboldt Times 15 Sept.
1878). Kenyon’s warehouse was filled with the valley’s production and the new steamer was making
weekly trips to carry it away to the City’s markets, returning with freight for local residents (Ferndale
Enterprise 4 Oct. 1878).
In later October, 1878, the Whitelaw, after crossing the Eel River bar with a broken propeller, ran aground
on a point that jutted into the river. The steamer rested there for a couple of days before removing herself
first to J. H. Dungan’s warehouse on the Eel and then to Port Kenyon (Ferndale Enterprise 1878d:2). The
Enterprise, like a parent protecting an errant child, leapt to the Whitelaw’s defense, disclosing that while
the wooden Whitelaw at least crossed its bar (albeit with an unpleasant aftermath), the iron-hulled
Mohongo could not manage the same feat at the Humboldt Bay bar (Ferndale Enterprise 1878e:2). The
gauntlet had been cast down: which bar was the easier gauntlet to run?
Perhaps giddy with the Whitelaw’s triumph over the Mohongo, P. H. Whitelaw contemplated extending
his shipping empire up the Eel. This, in turn, prompted an ecstatic economic effusion by the Enterprise:
The steamer Wilson made a prospecting tour up Eel River last Friday. She went above Singley’s
ferry and could have gone higher, there being plenty of water. It is the intention of Mr. Whitelaw
to dredge the river at the [Grizzly?] Bluffs, and by so doing he will open Eel River to navigation,
for a considerably [sic] distance. He also contemplates building a flat-bottom, stern-wheeler
steam boat, of sufficient power and tonnage to transport passengers and produce up and down
Eel River at any stage of water….
March, 2008
30
It is no vain declaration that the future of Eel River and the valley is budding forth in
magnificent splendor. And the day will dawn when we will hail Port Kenyon as the shipping
port, Ferndale as the gem, and the farms on Eel, and Salt Rivers as the garden spots of
Humboldt Co. With our safe bar, our growing prospering port, our healthy, beautiful, attractive
Ferndale, the thousands of acres of rich productive land surrounding us, and the navigation of
Eel River, we are bound to surmount all obstacles and bud out in a grand, rich section of
Humboldt County” [emphasis added] (Ferndale Enterprise 1878f:2).
Less than a month later the Enterprise dropped from the clouds of optimism to report that “the Whitelaw
was fast on the south spit of Eel River entrance.” The steamer had stuck on December 5, but by the 13th
was safely moored at Port Kenyon, undamaged, and ready to sail for the Siuslaw River. Her regained
mobility, however, came at a price. To pull her off the spit, the steamer Wilson, of the trip to Singley’s
Ferry, was called. In attempting to assist the Whitelaw, the Wilson herself became beached, with dire
consequences:
[a]ll effort was put forth by all to save her, but as the tide was running out very fast she had to be
tied to a log, and at 10 A. M. the next day the top of her cabin alone could be seen as she was
floating in the channel, and in half an hour the hull came up, and rolling along the edge of the
channel, broke the house off even with the deck, dropped the boiler out and breaking loose from
the log, made rapid headway for the bar. She was soon lost to sight in the breakers, and thus one
more disaster was added to the Eel River entrance…[emphasis added] (Ferndale Enterprise
1878g:2).
What a week before had been “our safe bar” has in the space of seven short days become the malign
entity that added “one more disaster…to the Eel River entrance.”
The rival port to the north, Humboldt Bay, was apparently silent on the misadventure that befell its Eel
River competitor, but suddenly an upstart to the south made its grating voice heard. “Tyro,” writing from
Petrolia in early December, noted that another river might be available for commerce: “if the people of
Ferndale are not up and doing they may find the Whitelaw sailing up Mattole, instead of Eel River”
(Ferndale Enterprise 1878g:3).
In December 1878, the Whitelaw found herself “fast” on the Eel’s south spit, but managed to get afloat
and head for Port Kenyon (Ferndale Enterprise 13 Dec. 1878). She was beached again in February 1879,
this time on the north spit (Daily Humboldt Times 2 Feb. 1879). The trials of navigation were denied and
optimism took the day.
Eel River—This point deserves far more extended mention than such cursory notice as I
can give it in this letter. The entrance, it is true, is at the mouth of Eel River, but the
shipping point is on Salt River, which empties into Eel about one mile from its mouth.
Eel River entrance has had a chequered history. Those who have contended that the bar
was a safe one and navigation practicable have been met for many years by strenuous
denials. J.G. Kenyon, the original owner of the land upon which the shipping point
known as Port Kenyon is situated, has struggled long and bravely to establish the fact of
navigability of the bar. He finally interested T.P.H. Whitelaw of San Francisco in the
matter and the result is seen in a staunch and well-constructed steamer of excellent
seagoing qualities, the Thos. A. Whitelaw…. The Whitelaw has been making weekly trips
for some months past and is building up a fine carrying and passenger trade (Ferndale
Enterprise 14 Feb. 1879, from the San Francisco Bulletin).
March, 2008
31
At this time, the navigation problems were not in Salt River, they were on the bar at the entrance to Eel
River. Flood events, of which there were many, regularly changed the number, locations and depths of the
entrance channels. Following a February flood in 1878, three entrances were formed and, although the old
channel used by the steamers had sufficient water, the captain of the steamer Duncan refused to attempt
it, never being certain of prevailing conditions (Weekly Humboldt Times 16 Feb. 1878). After one
particularly large event in March 1879, a new channel, twenty-one feet deep, was formed just below the
mouth of Salt River, a full two miles south of the old entrance (Ferndale Enterprise 14 March 1879).
Although the flood devastated the Island, it apparently spared most of Port Kenyon, this beneficence
nonetheless failed to raise the spirits of the soured Enterprise:
Port Kenyon has suffered no damage whatever, save the settling of the wharf a little, and this
could have been avoided, had ordinary judgment been used in its construction; had the piles been
cut longer and driven deeper and then been planked up solid so as to form a break-water, and
thereby ward off the current it would have proved a great protection to the ware-house. High
water is not as great a curse to Port Kenyon as the present Transportation Co., but of that
another time [emphasis added] (Ferndale Enterprise 1879a:3).
Next came a calamitous column by “Patty Prim” in the West Coast Signal that spoke of what, for the
Enterprise, had been the unspeakable:
I am told that PORT KENYON is fast becoming a “deserted village;” that families are moving to
more favored localities. I think it is premature to do so. Even the least sanguine still think Port
Kenyon has a successful future. Of course there are other steamers besides the—Whitelaw—and
some time they are coming here, and when we have Capt. EADS come and place a system of
jetties from DUNGAN’S Landing to the mouth of Eel River, and everybody fully realizes the
monstrous “fertility” of this valley, why then, of course, we are going to plunge headlong into a
maelstrom of prosperity, bringing in untold wealth. Don’t smile so derisively (West Coast Signal
1879:1).
A port is “a town or city…where ships load or unload,” and Port Kenyon found that it no longer lived up
to its name. Starting in 1876, Whitelaw and his associates had placed four steamers on the Port Kenyon
run: the Continental wrecked in December 1877; the Alexander Duncan “went ashore at Eel River” in
June 1878, was taken to San Francisco for repairs (Martin 1983:97), and did not return; the George
Harley “answered the needs of the area until a new steamer could be completed; and the Thomas A.
Whitelaw, which ran until the fall of 1878 and was then taken off the route (Edeline 1983:36). When Patty
Prim intimated that Port Kenyon was soon to be “deserted,” the town had been a port in name only for
months. Residents who relied on Whitelaw’s ships to carry their goods felt betrayed. “R. J.” (who may
have been Bear River rancher Richard Johnston) railed against Whitelaw & Co., asking that “farmers and
dairy men of the southern part of the county, will not, at any time, patronize by shipping our produce on
[the Whitelaw]”. . . (Ferndale Enterprise 1879b:3).
Yet even without the Whitelaw and despite Patty Prim’s prognostication, the town endured. In the same
June issue of the Enterprise in which “R. J.’s” letter appeared, J. Gardner Kenyon announced a “NEW
CASH STORE AT COMMERCIAL HOTEL BUILDING,” that offered “NO CREDIT. DON’T ASK IT” (Ferndale
Enterprise 1879c:2).
Come October and “Neptune” rose from the briny deep to ask “Merchants, Farmers, Mechanics,
Lumbermen and Labourers of Eel River valley, have you waked up?” If they have, “Neptune” amplified,
they would “[i]ncorporate into a joint stock company” to build boats that would not be in the hands of the
March, 2008
32
“monopolists.” He asked, regarding reader’s freight, “[h]ow much a ton are you paying by the way it is
now going, over Table Bluff?” Perhaps that question would wake someone up (Ferndale Enterprise
1879d:3). Indeed was not the avoidance of Table Bluff hill, with its high freighting costs, the raison
d’être for Port Kenyon?
Neptune’s letter brought forth a veritable waterspout of writing from the thus awakened readers of the
Enterprise. For months the paper was filled with accusations, rebuttals, proposals—all related to
reestablishing shipping at Port Kenyon (Ferndale Enterprise 1879e-i, 1880a-b). Then, in January 1880, a
committee was formed at Ferndale to incorporate a company that would build or secure a steamer that
would “ply between Eel River, Shelter Cove and San Francisco” (Ferndale Enterprise 1880c:3). The
letters continued unabated (Ferndale Enterprise 1880d-j) until April, when the Enterprise announced
“VICTORY!” as the “Eel River steamer” became “assured fact” (Ferndale Enterprise 1880k:2).
Yet what the Enterprise saw as triumph another discerned defeat. “Gum Boots,” in a lengthy letter of
rhymed couplets, relayed the concerns of the “gipsies, or diggers” regarding the consequences of bringing
a new ship to Salt River,
Ere many years have rolled around, all things will change and we will die. Our marshes will be
ditched and dyked and instead of ducks and the graceful Crane, on them will soon be large gelds
of grain. Our Alder bottoms and Willow groves to the mechanic and millmen will be treasure
troves; our forests of pine, of spruce and the wood that’s red will be cut down and to saw mills
fed. Our hills and valleys that are now bare, with house will be dotted here and there. Eel River,
which now with drift wood floats, will be jam full of stern wheel boats. The farmers here who’ve
cried hard times, will richer be than the Bodie mines. The nearby towns which we do see on
Humboldt soil, will cities be (Ferndale Enterprise 1880l:3).
“Gum Boots” may have aimed for irony, but he foretold a reality that, ship or no ship, would overtake the
Eel and would dismay many a hundred years hence.
But that was far in the future, while nearer to the present was the prospect of a reinvigorated riverine
economy, which brought with it the optimistic observations of old:
Some three miles up Salt River we come to the Enterprise saw mill, owned and run by Dennis &
Roberts, the mill being located on deep tide water receives its logs from up Eel River. Its sawing
capacity is 25,000 feet per day. One mile above the mill, located on the banks of the river is
located the town of Port Kenyon. This village is at the head of navigation and contains two large
warehouses, one on each side of the river [emphasis added], a store containing a complete stock
of goods is kept by J. G. Kenyon, a cooper shop, a blacksmith shop and one saloon. The town
site consists of sixty acres, laid off in small blocks, sixteen lots, 40x110 feet constituting a block.
There is scarcely anything about the town which would lead one to believe it a seaport town as
yet, but the future may prove beneficial to its prosperity and growth, as this point is properly the
head of navigation. Ferndale, the most prosperous town in the county, being only 1 ½ miles
distant, the two towns will in all probability in the future consolidate, forming one town
(Ferndale Enterprise1880m:3).
Not only did the writer envision an eventual “Fernport” or a “Kenyondale,” but he saw Ferndale alone as
being of such promise that she was “destined ere long to be the principal town of Humboldt” (Ferndale
Enterprise1880m:3).
March, 2008
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By 1880, the Whitelaw was history, at least on the Eel. During the summer of 1879, the bar had been
impassable to the Whitelaw, but the opinion was that by September 1st, the steamer would be able to once
again take up the River’s trade. This was not to be, however, because the insurance companies refused to
cover the steamer when it was within three miles of the bar (Ferndale Enterprise 22 Aug. 1879; 12 Sept.
1879). Local people were not happy about this situation and implored somebody to provide a steamer to
export the valley’s agricultural products (Ferndale Enterprise, Letters to the Editor, Aug. and Sept. 1879).
In December the Whitelaw was sold to Costa Rica merchants, leaving the valley “out of the steamship
business” until local men built themselves a boat (Ferndale Enterprise 19 Dec. 1879).
Businessmen did respond and the Eel River Steam Navigation Company was formed to undertake
construction of a steamer (Ferndale Enterprise 16 April 1880). In preparation, the bar was examined:
In order that the facts be known and published to the world as they really exist, a number
of experienced seamen went down to the entrance Wednesday and made a thorough
examination of all parts of the river and especially the bar, with the following
satisfactory results. The water from the river was found flowing into the sea through two
channels, each about 100 yards wide and 1½ miles apart, the water between these
entrances measured 8½ to 11 feet in depth at ¼ tide, which at high tide would be
increased to a depth of from 11½ to 14 feet. Upon examination the water on the bar of
the old entrance was, at 1/3 tide, found to measure 15 feet with a wide channel running
straight out to sea, enabling a vessel to enter with ease and without the slightest danger.
The water just inside the bar was found to measure 26 feet. The entrance made by last
winter’s high water, commonly known as the new entrance, was sounded at 1/3 tide and
marked 8 feet on the line.
This entrance, it is stated by those residing nearby, is rapidly filling up, which statement
is verified by its past history. Salt River was sounded on ½ tide from the old entrance to
the wharf at Port Kenyon, finding a good channel with water varying in depth from 8½
to 26 feet. The tide ebbs and flows up Eel and Salt Rivers, a distance of ten miles, with a
flood of from 5 to 7 feet once every 12 hours, besides the large amount of water which
must necessarily flow from Eel River and its many tributaries, which, in itself, is almost
sufficient the year round to make an entrance of sufficient depth to float a steamer of 7
feet draught. And when we add to this the seven or eight very large and deep sloughs
with their branches spreading fan-like over the country, covering thousands of acres with
water ranging from 1 to 15 feet, we can but conclude, with those who speak their honest
convictions, that it is the height of folly for anyone to think, much less talk, that this vast
amount of water can flow out at any point through an opening measuring from 75 to 100
yards in width and not make a deep and permanent channel (Ferndale Enterprise 6 Feb.
1880).
In April 1880, two of the directors of the Steam Navigation Company traveled to San Francisco to finalize
plans and specifications for the building of the new steamer and five months later, the steamer Ferndale,
was nearing completion (Ferndale Enterprise 16 April 1880; 29 Sept. 1880). In the meantime, the Steam
Navigation Company built a new warehouse on the north side of Salt River, near the Whitelaw
warehouses, anticipating that the arrival of the Ferndale was going to stimulate the local economy
(Ferndale Enterprise 27 Aug. 1880). The newspaper reported the progressive movement at Salt River:
The warehouses at Port Kenyon are being rapidly filled up with produce awaiting the
steamer. It will be remembered that the company have erected two large warehouses this
fall and it is believed that the five large houses now standing will not be sufficient to
March, 2008
34
contain the immense quantity to be shipped out of the valley by way of Eel River this
fall. There are already many hundred tons awaiting shipment and tons arriving every day
(Ferndale Enterprise 15 Oct. 1880).
Then it was time for the Ferndale, the ship, to eclipse thoughts about Ferndale, the town. In November
the Enterprise announced that the long-awaited vessel was “now at anchor at Port Kenyon.” The paper
praised itself and Richard Johnston, the Bear River buttermaker, for leading the drive to build the steamer.
It concluded with words that, if not prophetic for the entire area, at least came to apply to Port Kenyon:
“[n]ow we have the Ferndale and the progressive prosperity of the rich Eel River Valley depends largely,
if not solely, upon her success” (Ferndale Enterprise1880n:2).
The Ferndale was afloat, but the hopes of Port Kenyonites were sinking by December. First the Times
reported that Ferndale “had been detained in Eel River nearly three weeks on account of shoal water,” but
had finally cleared the bar and was headed toward Humboldt Bay. The goods still stored at Port Kenyon
were to be taken to Southport (Humboldt Weekly Times 1880a:3). Subsequently the Times announced
that the ship was at the D Street dock in Eureka, where it was inspected by the local citizenry. After
describing the vessel in detail, the paper noted, with suppressed jubilation, that:
[i]t is not definitely settled just yet, where the Ferndale will run, the navigation of Eel River not
being practicable for the present, but we hear it intimated that she will continue her trips to this
port, and remove the large quantity of freight that is now stored in the Port Kenyon warehouses,
the same to be hauled across the Bluff to Hookton (Humboldt Weekly Times 1880b:1).
“Southport,” “Hookton.” The fell words were like vinegar in the eyes of readers from Eel River. Here
they had built a ship for the express purpose of avoiding the costly trip over Table Bluff to either of these
two south bay ports, and now it appeared that their creation would be forced to dock at them, rather than
its intended home on the Eel.
Yet comeJanuary 1881, the Ferndale was running between Port Kenyon and San Francisco and the
newspaper spoke with pride about the new steamer, noting it was the “outgrowth of the spirit of
enterprise” characteristic of local citizens. A model steamer and first-class passenger boat, she was bound
to become the favorite of the valley’s people (Ferndale Enterprise 27 Jan. 1881; 7 April 1881). Port
Kenyon offered the Ferndale a superior wharf. In May 1881 “Socrates” complimented the wharf’s
builders, Messrs. Forrest, Turney, Hayse, Finnesay, and Nelson, who had recently completed their work
(Ferndale Enterprise 1881a:4).
Flush with success, the Navigation Company undertook construction of a freight steamer at Port Kenyon,
intended for the up-river trade (Ferndale Enterprise 7 April 1881) The Edith was 65 feet long with a
capacity of 40 tons on two feet draft. A stern wheeler, she was launched in May 1881 and with her
appearance, people were confident that she would “make the silent regions of the upper Eel River resound
with the shrieks of her whistle, the music of her bell and the splash of her wheel (Ferndale Enterprise 26
May 1881).
Eel River entrance, however, continued to cause the Navigation Company problems, causing it to
undertake a project to close the old entrance. Closer inspection during the summer of 1881 found the old
entrance to have seven feet of water and only six feet at the new entrance with no well-marked channel at
either place (Ferndale Enterprise 14 July 1881; 18 Aug. 1881). Infighting among owners, stockholders
and controlling interests halted the Ferndale’s runs to Eel River in 1881 (Ferndale Enterprise 15 Sept.
1881). After a three-year dry period, shipping was again attempted in the spring of 1884, when the
Ferndale was placed on the route between Port Kenyon and San Francisco (Ferndale Enterprise 10 May
1884). But the old problems at the entrance continued.
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In May 1884, the turbulent history of the Ferndale was summarized for readers of the Times Weekly
Telephone, the occasion being the grounding of the ship near the mouth of the Eel. The story began:
“[f]rom the time which the Ferndale was launched misfortune seems to have followed her.” After being
held in Eel River in November 1880, she escaped to Humboldt Bay, where she was forced to receive
goods at Heney’s [Southport] Landing before making two or three trips from Eureka to San Francisco:
There followed trouble in the management, dissatisfaction on the part of the stockholders, law
suits, etc., during which period she was several times laid up. Some of the suits have not yet been
decided. In July, 1883, she ran on a rock at Point Arena and sustained slight injuries, and in
October, 1883, while attempting to enter Morro Bay, she again ran on the rocks, receiving pretty
hard treatment but sustaining no serious damage, And now she is ashore on the beach near the
entrance to the river for the navigation of which she was originally built…(Times Weekly
Telephone 1884:3).
If this were not enough, the following paragraph described further disaster for the proponents of Port
Kenyon. The steamer Edith, which had plied the seas for three years (Ferndale Enterprise 1881b:3),
was lost while trying to remove the Ferndale from her entrapment, leaving Dennis, Roberts & Co.
without the vessel used by their Enterprise Mill (Times Weekly Telephone 1884:3).
The Ferndale lay on the beach until some time after the second week in June, but was once
again afloat and back at work by the third week (Daily Times-Telephone 11 June 1884; Ferndale
Enterprise 21 June 1884). The Ferndale’s trying time prompted more discussion and reflection
on the navigability of Eel River, but navigation’s cheer leaders refused to admit the truth,
suggesting that a pilot tug would solve the problem (Ferndale Enterprise 31 May 1884).
A new steamer, the Mary D. Hume, made her appearance at Salt River in the spring of 1885,
when the firm of Robarts Bros, purchased the Port Kenyon property. The newspaper reporter
hailed the venture, but cautioned that “their success depends solely upon the success of the bar”
(Ferndale Enterprise 14 March 1885). Despite the Hume’s grounding on the north spit that
summer, everyone remained sanguine of the Eel’s navigability (Ferndale Enterprise 18 July
1885; 25 July 1885). A particularly bad summer, which resulted in the shoaling of the channel
on the bar, didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of navigation proponent, even though the Hume
had to wait for two weeks before going to sea. But they did recognize a problem and began a
movement to secure a congressional appropriation for deepening the entrance, thinking that
$25,000 would render Eel River navigable at all times and in all seasons (Ferndale Enterprise 7
Nov. 1885).
Robarts Brothers provided the Editor of the Enterprise with some statistics regarding shipping on the
Mary D. Hume from Port Kenyon to San Francisco from January to Nov. 1886. Exports were valued at
$200,000; imports, such as general merchandise and flour, were valued at $300,000. During that elevenmonth period, 901 passengers crossed the Eel River bar (Ferndale Enterprise 24 Dec. 1886). The Robarts
Brothers concluded that the Eel River could be navigated, but that the bar was not in a condition to meet
the demands. So the company mobilized the public to secure government appropriations to improve the
entrance (Ferndale Enterprise 14 Jan. 1887; 28 Jan. 1887). Finally in the summer of 1887, a tug was put
to work, assisting vessels across Eel River bar (Ferndale Enterprise 29 July 1887). Because of the tug,
named the Robarts, the first schooner to sail the waters of Eel and Salt Rivers in many years was towed
across the bar and up to Port Kenyon, where she was loaded with 80,000 feet of spruce boards (Ferndale
Enterprise 19 Aug. 1887). But the tug’s service on Eel River was short-lived and by the fall of 1889, she
was working on San Francisco Bay (Ferndale Enterprise 18 Oct. 1889).
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36
A new steamer, the Newport, was put on the Port Kenyon run in the spring of 1890, but her trips were not
year-round, sometimes there was insufficient “down” freight and other times, the entrance was too
shallow for entering steamers, particularly during the dry months of summer and fall (Ferndale Enterprise
28 March 1890; 3 Oct. 1890; 9 Jan. 1891). Shoaling at the mouth of Salt River also caused problems,
sometimes restricting the steamers from reaching the wharf at Port Kenyon (Ferndale Enterprise 18 Oct.
1889). In 1892 the Hattie Gage was chartered for the Port Kenyon and San Francisco route. About the
size of the Mary D. Hume, which had been pulled from the route several years earlier because she was too
small, the Hattie Gage apparently was now considered of sufficient size for carrying Eel River’s exports
(Ferndale Enterprise 13 Dec. 1889; 27 May 1892). The Hattie Gage did double duty as a freighter and as
a tow for the lumber schooners which served the sawmill at Port Kenyon ( Ferndale Enterprise 9 Sept.
1892). The schooner, Amethyst, even with a tow, could be detained for weeks and on one occasion was
compelled to lighten her load in order to cross the barn, being, as the newspaper reported, “somewhat
shallow” (Ferndale Enterprise 4 Nov. 1892).
The decline of the Eel’s fisheries and navigation problems, notwithstanding, the proponents of a bustling
Port Kenyon remained optimistic:
Property in Port Kenyon is now at a low-ebb, but the time is coming when there will be a
boom in real estate in that locality….When Eel River entrance is improved, which it will
be in a few years now, a railroad will be built from Port Kenyon to the timber belt on the
south side of Eel River and then what will be the result. Numerous lumber carrying
vessels will ply between Port Kenyon and outside ports (Ferndale Enterprise 25 Nov.
1892).
The summer of 1893 brought a new steamer, the Weeott, to Eel River. With a crew of fourteen, the vessel
was 130 feet long and licensed to carry 50 passengers who were to be served by electric lights, a social
parlor, dining room, fourteen state rooms, and a saloon. In its announcement of the new steamer, the
Enterprise reminded people that to keep the Weeott on the River, she would need “substantial
encouragement and plenty of it” in the form of freight and passengers (Ferndale Enterprise 16 June
1893). Little mishaps in crossing the bar, such as finding herself on the south spit sand and being there
“hard and fast” until high tide, didn’t seem to bother the Weeott, as she continued to carry freight and
passengers to and from Port Kenyon (Ferndale Enterprise 1 Sept. 1893). “Shoalness” in Salt River at the
mouth of Centerville Slough was annoying at times for the Weeott, causing her to get “aground and fast”
on nearly every trip up and down the river. To remedy the problem, giant powder was exploded in the
bottom of the stream, deepening the water four or five feet, and another blast was thought to finish the job
(Ferndale Enterprise 13 April 1894). The Weeott did yeoman’s service carrying freight to and from Port
Kenyon into 1895, but mishaps were frequent, going aground on the Eel’s entrance bar due to shoal water
(Ferndale Enterprise 23 Aug. 1895).
Meanwhile, local citizens continued to press the Federal government for appropriations to improve the
entrance to the Eel, thinking that jetties to confine the current would make the entrance safely navigable
year round (Ferndale Enterprise 25 Dec. 1896). During 1896, the river was open eight months between
March and October, allowing the Weeott to export fish, grains, all kinds of dairy products (965,000
pounds of butter), cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and even 12 cases of frogs. Passenger traffic consisted of
291 arrival and 272 departures (Ferndale Enterprise 8 Jan. 1897).
By now the pattern had been set: occasionally the Eel would allow admission of a ship over its bar, but
more likely it would either keep them in (or out) or tempt them into an attempted crossing that would
result in at best a grounding and at worse, destruction. The commerce of the Eel was subject to the
March, 2008
37
vagaries of the river’s bar and the profits that could have stayed in the valley, if the river bar had behaved,
more often went over the hill with the Table Bluff freighters and the shippers who used Hookton and
Heney’s Landing.
Port Kenyon managed to be enough of a port to not go bust, but not enough to boom. The Western
Watchman revisited the lower Eel in 1886 “After Three Years” and found progress enough for optimism.
Ferndale was singled out for special praise, so prosperous that “[f]rom the centre of town to Arlynda, or to
Port Kenyon, going by road one scarcely gets out of stone’s throw of a comfortable dwelling.”
Meanwhile, “Port Kenyon is fast taking on the appearance of being a town and no doubt will one day join
hands with Ferndale and the two become a twin city” (Western Watchman 1886:3).
But the hands of the two communities were still far apart. In December the Robarts brothers, part owners
of the steamer Mary D. Hume, notified the Enterprise that they were the only shippers operating out of
Port Kenyon. They provided a lengthy list of products the Hume had taken from the port: butter, eggs,
lumber, shakes, shingles, apples, salmon, potatoes, oats, peas, lentils, barley, wool, and “plunder.” And
they came to point of their communication: they would like their fellow citizens to help “take steps
towards obtaining an appropriation from the government for the improvement of Eel River bar” (Ferndale
Enterprise1886:4).
In April 1887, the Enterprise copied an extensive article on Port Kenyon from the “Humboldt Edition of
the San Francisco Journal of Commerce.” It indicated that:
[t]he town just now is in a particularly flourishing and prosperous condition, and bid ere long to
be one of the most thrive shipping points on the Pacific Coast….
A short distance from the entrance [of Salt River], at a point on the river known as Dunlap’s,
there has lately been erected by Messrs. Stewart Brothers, a fine shingle mill, having a cutting
capacity of 40,000 shingles per day. At Port Kenyon stands the new and substantial saw mill
lately erected by D. R. Roberts. This mill has a cutting capacity of from 25,000 to 30,000 feet of
timber per day. It cuts spruce, pine [Douglas-fir] and redwood….Although the town is in its
infancy [an 11-year-old infant?!] there are already two general merchandise stores, postoffice,
hotel, livery stable, saloon. Blacksmith shop and cooper shop; also two nice schoolhouses,
having an attendance of over 100 scholars. Adjoining the west end of the town are the main
warehouses and wharves owned by Messrs. Robarts Bros. These warehouses and wharves are
probably the best constructed and most substantial in the county. The warehouses have a storage
capacity of two thousand tons, besides an unlimited storage space on the wharves and landing for
such commodities as lumber, shingles, shakes, staves, bolts, etc. On the north bank of the river
stand two more large warehouses belonging to the same firm, having storage room of about
fifteen hundred tons….These wharves are the landing of the steamer Mary D. Hume, which plies
weekly between San Francisco and this point….Travelers to the southern portion of Humboldt
County should come by this route; it is the shortest, quickest and cheapest….
Messrs. Robarts Bros. also own one-half of the town site of Port Kenyon, purchased by them
about two years ago (Ferndale Enterprise 1887:4).
The article indicated that the Mary D. Hume was “unable to move one-half of the freight offered for
transportation.” Accordingly, the Robarts brothers “have now been compelled to build a new tug to tow in
sailing vessels to accommodate the shippers” (Ferndale Enterprise 1887:4). The article appeared to rely
heavily on information provided by the Robarts brothers.
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Two and a half years passed, then, in January 1889, the tug Robarts capsized on the Eel River bar,
drowning her captain, W. S. Adams. The Robarts was attempting to tow the Hume in from the ocean
(Ferndale Enterprise 1889b:4). Two months later, the Robarts had gone “to Eureka to tow on Humboldt
Bar,” according to “And Whooperup,” who, writing to the Enterprise, hoped that “she will soon have
work enough on Eel River to keep her busy” (Ferndale Enterprise 1889c:4).
The following week the “And Whooperup” wrote of a ramble around Port Kenyon, passing the freighting
operation of the Robarts brothers; the Port Kenyon mill, managed by H. H. Moller; William Grinsell’s
blacksmith shop; John Henry’s wagon shop; and Halvorson’s cooper shop. Crossing the street, he
encountered Mrs. Gordon’s Port Kenyon laundry; James Delasaux’s saloon, general merchandise store,
and post office. Back across the street were the Commercial Hotel, run by D. R. Roberts; Kinney and
Havens general merchandise store, run by Myra Kinney; Q. Hegard’s Humboldt Mustard and Spice Mill;
and McMillan’s blacksmith shop, where Mr. Kinney had a turning lathe. Also noted were a primary
school and a grammar school, a W. C. T. U. branch, and an I. O. G. T. lodge (Ferndale Enterprise
1889d:4).
Later that year the owners of the Hume advertised trips between “San Francisco, Port Kenyon, and Shelter
Cove” (Ferndale Enterprise 1889e:1), serving the southern Humboldt ports without deigning to continue
north to Eureka. In October 1892 the steamer Hattie Gage spent several days waiting for the Eel River bar
to open, and then left with a cargo that included butter, peas, lentils, smoked fish, merchandise, and “one
bull” (Ferndale Enterprise 1892:4).
October was a difficult sailing month not only for the Hattie Gage. Five years to the month after her
problem at the bar, the Lady Mine, hesitant to make the crossing, tried a practice run across the bar at
Dunlap Slough. Once in the slough, a fog came in, prompting the Lady Mine to drop anchor and wait until
daylight. Then,
[a] few hours later,…the first watch, thinking that the slough must be rising rapidly, jumped out
of bed and lit in about 3 feet of water. The unearthly yell that escaped from him awoke all the
rest of the crew excepting the captain, who gently snored away. The sailing master ordered the
boats lowered and provisioned, to be ready for any emergency, and then decided to awaken the
captain, which was done by rolling him out of his bunk into the water. Soundings were then
ordered taken, and it was soon found that the good ship had sprung a leak in the night and was
full of the salty liquid. Distress signals were fired, which attracted the attention of the people on
shore, who immediately ran a life boat out and succeeded in rescuing the wet and hungry men
from their perilous position (Ferndale Enterprise 1897:4).
Problems were beginning to be experienced on Salt River as well as at the entrance to the River. In
January 1897, the local assemblyman introduced legislation for an appropriation of $10,000 to enable the
Humboldt County Supervisors to dredge and improve Salt River from its mouth to Port Kenyon (Ferndale
Enterprise 29 Jan. 1897). Things began to come to a head in late 1897, when the Robarts filed suit against
Z. Russ & Sons Company:
There was commenced in our Superior Court last Friday an action that will be watched
with great interest by the people of Eel River valley, as it involves the question of the
right of reclaiming the swamp and overflowed lands along Salt River and lower Eel
River. Reclamation work has been engaged in extensively there of late and the question
has now arisen whether or not the reduction of the tidal areas of these streams by the
necessary closing of the slough to reclaim the lands, will lose to the people of the valley
their only water highway to the ocean by the shoaling of Eel River bar and the closing of
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Salt River to navigation. The affirmative of this is the plaint in the present action, which
is in the nature of a test case and will be far reaching in its effect. As the question affects
the navigable waters of the state, the action is brought by the state, although the actual
complaint is [brought by] Robert W. Robarts of Ferndale, who seeks to have Z. Russ &
Sons Co. and Wm. N. Russ perpetually enjoined from obstructing what is known as
Jacks slough and also the Cut Off slough, all tide-water tributaries of Salt River. These
sloughs, it is claimed, constitute the major portion of the tidal area of Salt River and that
the daily action of the tides flowing in and out of them is necessary to keep that river and
Eel River bar navigable. The obstructions complained of, the removal of which is
demanded, are dams that have been built across these sloughs near their mouths for the
purpose of reclaiming the thousand or more acres of the Russ Co.’s Occidental ranch,
the work having been completed in October of this year—Standard (Ferndale Enterprise
7 Dec. 1897).
Eight months later, a local Superior Court judge decided the suit in favor of the Russ family, finding that
the sloughs were non-navigable, that they were never used for commercial enterprise, and that there was
no intent to use them for such purposes. Obviously not interested in the complex hydrology of the Delta,
the Court ruled that the defendants had the right to obstruct the sloughs because the state granted that right
when it patented the land to them for reclamation, regardless of the injury it might cause to Eel River bar
(Ferndale Enterprise 5 Aug. 1898).
It seems appropriate here to quote from an Editorial and a Letter to the Editor, both of which appeared in
the spring of 1886, as reclamation activities were well underway on lower Eel River. At this particular
time, Joseph Russ, Adam Putnam and H.D. Smith were proposing reclamation of the Centerville marsh
district, lying on the south side and bordering on Salt River. Some opposition began to form and the
question was raised that in reclaiming the lands and stopping up the small sloughs, a great damage was
being done to the navigation of Eel River by decreasing the amount of tide water coming in and going out
of the entrance.
The question is one of great importance, and should at this time be thoroughly
investigated. Should the allegations set forth be true, that the work will result in a
detriment to Eel River navigation, we, together with all citizens of this valley, desire that
it shall be stopped, if possible, and stopped immediately. The successful navigation of
Eel River is a matter in which every resident of this part of Humboldt county is
interested and anything which would deprive us of this means of transportation to the
outside world will ever receive the condemnation of the Enterprise…(Ferndale
Enterprise 17 April 1886).
Uri Williams, a pioneer settler of 1852, responded with a Letter to the Editor:
….If individuals are allowed to reclaim this marsh land and stop sloughs on the south
side of Eel River, what is to stop owners of the same kind of land from reclaiming and
dyking sloughs on the north or Table Bluff side? And if these sloughs are allowed to be
dyked, where is the navigation of Eel River? I say without fear of successful
contradiction, it will be closed….
In conclusion I say that a man with three grains of sense would not need to investigate or
look very far into the matter to know we cannot afford to diminish one bit the tide water
of Eel River (Ferndale Enterprise 1 May 1886).
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Uri was on the mark, having apparently the pre-requisite “three grains” to know what was bound to
happen and which, in fact, did happen. The Robarts Brothers, one of whom was married to a Russ
daughter, were suffering financially as the navigation upon which their warehouses and shipping business
depended began to falter, slowly but surely. Uri also understood that something else was happening on
lower Eel. He recalled that in his early days on the river, there was nearly always a well-defined channel
on the bar, easily traced with the eye by the deep blue water showing its course. He was confident in 1886
that the depth of water was less than in the early days, attributing this loss to the clearing up of the
country. He specifically noted that the wash and sediment from continual clearing and cultivation and the
ranging of stock had caused the filling up of Eel River (Ferndale Enterprise 1 May 1886).
The decision of Humboldt County’s judge in the Robarts vs. Russ case was appealed, eventually reaching
the California Supreme Court which reversed the lower court and remanded the case (Ferndale Enterprise
5 March 1901). Still hanging on to hopes for navigation after a two-year hiatus, the Robarts negotiated in
the spring of 1902 for the steamer, Argo, to begin the run between Fort Kenyon and San Francisco
(Ferndale Enterprise 7 March 1902; 18 April 1902; 29 April 1902). Serving the Eel River trade was not a
year-round operation. During low water in the summer and fall months and flood events during the
winter, the Argo’s service to Port Kenyon was restricted to only those periods when the bar had sufficient
water and a defined channel and its tributary corridor to the wharf, Salt River, had sufficient flows and a
deep entrance. In 1902 the Argo only made 25 trips out of Eel River, but during that period carried away
butter, wool, grains, cattle, calves, hogs, hides, and spruce lumber (Ferndale Enterprise 17 Feb. 1903).The
Argo was withdrawn from the Port Kenyon trade in the fall of 1903, the announcement being made by
Captain Dunham who was affiliated with the Port Kenyon sawmill (Ferndale Enterprise 16 Oct. 1903).
Undaunted by the plaguing problems of Eel River’s entrance bar and the irregularity of navigation, efforts
were again launched in early 1904 to form a local steamship company for the purpose of “securing
permanent and continuous” steamer connection between Port Kenyon and San Francisco. The newlyorganized company intended to purchase the Argo, get her back on the route, and purchase the Port
Kenyon warehouse property (Ferndale Enterprise 12 Jan 1904). The Argo, now under the control of the
San Francisco and Eel River Transportation Company, a home-grown institution, came back to the river
in the spring of 1904, but the hoped-for, “continuous” connection was interrupted by low water on Eel
River bar, and, during the winter months when it was not advisable to enter the river, the Argo made
Eureka her port of call (Ferndale Enterprise 5 April 1904; 23 Sept. 1904; 15 Dec. 1905). The Argo
continued to run periodically to Port Kenyon, despite going aground for two weeks on the south spit in
the summer of 1906 (Ferndale Enterprise 13 July 1906; 17 July 1906). But the final blow to the Argo and
Eel River’s navigation came in the spring of 1908, when the steamer beached at the entrance in late April
and despite all efforts to float her, the stranding of the vessel began to stretch into weeks, then months,
and she was not to be on the water again until three months had passed (Ferndale Enterprise 14 July
1908). Assurances that she would take up the run between San Francisco and Port Kenyon fell far short
when the Argo was sold in late 1908 and Eel River’s navigation history came to an end (Ferndale
Enterprise 4 Dec. 1908).
With its shipping industry held hostage by the Eel River bar and its cannery beset by racial strife, it was
no wonder that the Daily Humboldt Standard found the Port Kenyon of 1907 only a “little village,” and
focused its description on the dairy industry and those who “raise vegetables and small fruits.” The
Standard also offered a brief history of a declining town that included the following information, at least
some of which was correct:
Mr. Ferguson built the first house….In 1877 C. C. Dennis built the first sawmill at the mouth of
Reas Creek but it burned down and in 1884 Dave Roberts built the one we have now. The first
storekeeper was Mr. McNab. We have no store here now. In 1888 the Presbyterians built the
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41
church we have. It is used by the Methodists now. In 1884 F. W. Smythe built a condensed milk
factory, operated it for a year, and then sold it to F. D. Smith, who in 1897 moved it to Loleta,
where it now is….The population is about 200. A steamer comes here in the spring and summer
months and takes away thousands of pounds of butter, besides grain, peas, apples, and lumber
(Daily Humboldt Standard 1907:3).
The shipping struggles that hade plagued the lower Eel continued. Between 1893 and 1897 the steamer
Weott was on the Port Kenyon run, grounding on the Eel River bar in August 1895 but surviving the
ordeal (Edeline 1983:43-45). The steamer Argo began trips to Port Kenyon in April 1898, running there,
with some interruptions, for a decade (Edeline 1893:45-56). In April 1908 she beached at the entrance to
Eel River (Ferndale Enterprise 1908a:1). She remained stuck in the sand for more than two months, until
Messrs. Rusk and McDade succeeded in floating her again (Ferndale Enterprise 1908b:1). The Argo was
repaired in San Francisco, made a few more trips to Port Kenyon, and then went to Oregon. With her
departure, Port Kenyon ceased to be a port (Edeline 1983:46), with the exception of the salmon run. A
1910 report on the Port Kenyon fish cannery described “[b]oat loads of salmon…constantly arriving, the
fish being brought in the seiner’s boats, mostly gasoline launches” (Ferndale Semi-Weekly Enterprise
1910:8). No mention was made of how the processed fish were transported from the non-port.
Navigation problems on Eel River certainly reflected a variety of factors, including reclamation and the
resulting loss of tidal prism and land-use activities which contributed sediment to create an agraded
system. But the old river, herself, was a factor. Reports in the Ferndale Enterprise year after year after
year and one flood after another, clearly documented the life of a dynamic river system, continually
cutting in one place, depositing in another. Winter flood events that covered the entire Delta one winter
and created new channels were followed the next summer with flows so low no vessel could even attempt
entrance. Local efforts were made to control the river. Rip-rapping, breakwaters, diversions, and small
dams were among the treatments. Legislation to secure both Federal and State appropriations for
controlling Eel River was introduced on numerous occasions. A hard lesson to learn or a reality to accept,
but the Delta’s river was not going to submit to the hand of man, instead, it was going to be the everdynamic, hydrologically-complex system it was meant to be.
According to one account, by local resident Loren Salladay, the decline of the port could be dated from
1894, when “Eel River shifted its channel, widened out, and became shallower. Salt River followed suit
and, after several vessels were grounded trying to get in, the port was discontinued” (Schwarzkopf
1949:13). The grounding of the “several vessels” thus occurred over a 14-year period. When the channel
reportedly changed in 1894, there had been present, for a decade, an alternative shipping route that did not
involve the trip over Table Bluff; instead, the route went through Table Bluff, on the tracks of the Eel
River & Eureka Railroad (ER&ERR). Starting in November 1884, the ER&ERR ran from Burnell’s, east
of Alton, to Fields Landing. Conveniently, the tracks “came to the Eel near what was Singley’s Ferry”
(Kneiss 1956:93; Fountain 1967:vol. 50:144). For nearly 30 years, farmers and merchants in the Ferndale
area could access the ER&ERR at Singley’s. The railroad, however, only carried goods to Humboldt Bay,
where they were then shipped by sea to San Francisco. This alternative still cost $3.00 per ton more than
shipping directly from Port Kenyon (Perry 1963:140-143). The 1911 completion of Fernbridge then led to
the abandonment of the Singley station and its replacement by one at “Weott” (Ferndale Enterprise
1913a:3; Ferndale Enterprise 1913b:1), a name soon to be changed to Fernbridge. So it was that five years
after the loss of the Argo, a year ‘round connection linked Port Kenyon with the railroad. Another year,
and the railroad reached not only Eureka but San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Salt River became shallower and shallower. By 1949, the once-navigable waterway had lost
so much depth that “at low tide…parts of it can be waded across by a man with hip boots” (Schwarzkopf
1949:13). Today, a pair of sneakers might be all that is needed.
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Without its port, the town lost its vitality. “One by one, the deserted mill and warehouse and cannery
buildings fell into disrepair and were torn down. The docks, and finally the store, suffered the same fate.
For, after all, Ferndale was only a couple of miles away, and the center of things was now there”
(Schwarzkopf 1949:13). And, of course, there was also the competing metropolis of Arlynda Corners.
5.4 WASHINGTON CORNERS/ARLYNDA CORNERS
Ventriloquist J. Gardner Kenyon, an expert at relocating his voice, also did the same with his town.
According to an account based on information likely provided by himself,
[t]he steamers having ceased to run to Port Kenyon, he [Kenyon] removed his store one and a
half miles east of Port Kenyon, on the Eureka and Ferndale road. This place is called “Arlynda.”
Arlynda is an Indian word signifying merchandise or property (Elliott 1881:196).
Of course the steamers had not permanently “ceased to run” by that date, although service was at times
interrupted. It seems that Kenyon may have wanted to be connected with the more reliable land route,
which went through his new town, than the sea route whose port bore his name. As for Kenyon’s new
town, it was situated at a point where the Eureka-Ferndale road met the road coming east from Port
Kenyon (Pacific Avenue). The junction thus formed was enough to give the location the name
“Washington’s Corners” (Elliott 1881:159) prior to Kenyon’s rechristening of it.
Kenyon had moved his store to Arlynda Corners in 1879, not long after the Thomas A. Whitelaw was
taken off the Port Kenyon run. Kenyon, no longer anchored to the area as closely as when his store was in
his namesake town, left the area for Seattle in 1883 (Edeline 1983:87).
Arlynda never grew as big as Port Kenyon at its peak, but the newer town did manage a grocery store,
saloon (later converted to another store), blacksmith shop, starch factory (which later became the
Humboldt Creamery), and a feed mill/cooper shop. Kenyon’s original store changed hands several times
(Edeline 1983:87-88) and is still in business, giving Arlynda one more commercial enterprise than its
long-superseded neighbor, Port Kenyon.
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6.0 METHODS AND RESULTS
6.1 PREFIELD RESEARCH
The background research for this project included archival research at the Humboldt State University
Library, Humboldt County Library, Humboldt County Historical Society, Humboldt County Assessors and
Recorders Office, and the Department of Public Works The California Historical Resources Information
System (CHRIS) Records Search included an examination of the archaeological site records, maps, and
project files at the North Coast Information Center (NCIC), one of the regional information centers of the
CHRIS. The NCIC is located at 15900 Highway 101 N, Klamath, CA 95548. Jennifer Burns, M.A. and
James Roscoe, M.A. conducted the record search on December 19th, 2007. Following completion of this
archaeological study, a copy of this report will be filed with the NCIC
In addition to the library and NCIC record search, the following inventories were consulted: the Historic
Property Directory, the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), Determinations of Eligibility for the
National Register of Historic Places, Historic Spots in California, California Historical Landmarks, and
California Points of Historical Interest, California Register of Historical Places, the California Inventory of
Historic Resources. The literature search is undertaken to determine if there are any previously recorded
archaeological resources or historic structures within the project area and whether the area has been
included within any previous archaeological research or reconnaissance projects.
The records search at the NCIC revealed that three cultural resource studies have been conducted within ½
mile of the project area (Table 1). Eight previously recorded archaeological or cultural sites were
documented within ½ mile of the project area (Table 2).
Table 1. Previous Studies within ½ mile.
Survey Number Title
S9861
Ferndale Wastewater Rehabilitation Project
S23991
HMGP #1046-380-1008
HU21420
Ferndale Wastewater Treatment Marsh
Project.
Author/Date
Eidsness/1988
Results
Winter/2001
Negative
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Table 2. Previous Cultural Resources recorded within ½ mile.
P Number/
Site Type
Recorder
Trinomial
P1550
(HP2) Single Family Property; (HP33)
K. Winter
CA-HUM-1025 Farm/Ranch
P1548H
K. Winter
P1552
(HP2) Single Family Propter; (HP33)
K. Winter
P1549
(HP4) Ancillary Building; (HP8)
K. Winter
CA-HUM-1024 Industrial Building
P1553
(HP2) Single Family Property
K. Winter
CA-HUM-1028
P1546
K. Winter
CA-HUM-1021
P1551
K. Winter
P1547
K. Winter
CA-HUM-1022
Distance from
Project Area
200 meters
315 meters
110 meters
50 meters
370 meters
385 meters
435 meters
260 meters
The historic properties recorded by K. Winter near the project vicinity will not be affected by this project.
The buildings were observed during the field survey and found to be as described by Winter in 2001. No
updated site records were completed for these resources.
The County of Humboldt’s Natural Resources Division identified eight properties to be surveyed for
historic resources. All are in private ownership and each has a separate assessor’s parcel number,
although the current ownership deed for one parcel, APN 100-111-001 is listed under the ownership of
the Western Rivers Conservancy, and actually includes two assessor’s parcel numbers, 100-111-001 and
100-091-008.
100-111-001
100-091-008
1409 Riverside Road
Owner: Western Rivers Conservancy
71 SW Oak Street
Portland, OR 97204
100-171-005
349 Port Kenyon Road
Owner: Janet Martin (Reed) Fisk
Ferndale, CA 95536
100-171-006
Adjacent on west to 349 Port Kenyon Road
Owner: Janet Martin (Reed) Fisk
100-161-007
Owners: John M. and Kristin M. Vevoda
387 Price Creek Road
Ferndale, CA 95536
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100-191-009
3155 State Route
Owners: Mary M. and Catherine L. Scalvini
P.O. Box 622
Ferndale, CA 95536
100-002-014
1009 Bertelsen Lane
Owner: John M. Vevoda
Ferndale, CA 95536
100-172-020/031 190 and 160 Port Kenyon Road
Owner: Daniel J. Bugbee
Ferndale, CA 95536
106-021-076
50 Fulmore Road, Ferndale, CA 95536
Ferndale, CA 95536
106-021-077
215 Fulmore Road, Ferndale, CA 95536
Ferndale, CA 95536
For each property, deed searches were conducted in the Humboldt County Recorder’s Office, Eureka,
California in January 2008. Tax assessment records, federal census schedules and newspaper microfilm at
the Humboldt County Library in Eureka and Humboldt State University Library in Arcata provided
historical information on the properties. Site visits were made and interviews conducted during January
and February 2008. Parcel maps, U.S.G.S. Quad maps, the historic Belcher and Forbs maps, maps from
the “Humboldt Bay Historical Atlas” (Laird), and surveys and maps in the Recorder’s Office were used to
locate property ownerships and structures.
6.2 FIELD INVENTORY
An archaeological field reconnaissance of the project area was conducted by James Roscoe, M.A.,
William Rich B.A., and Erik Whiteman M.A., on January 1, 17, 18, 26 and 27 and February 12, 2008.
The archaeological field investigation involved a systematic, mixed-strategy archaeological field survey
of the entire Salt River Ecosystem Restoration project area. The survey was designed to suit the study
area’s sensitivity for the occurrence of prehistoric and historic cultural resources based on pre-field
research. The areas of intensive and cursory survey coverage are shown in Figure 4.
The highest priority was given to potentially sensitive areas identified through pre-field research as
having been the focus of historic land-use and settings where prehistoric archaeological sites might be
located. Intensive field reconnaissance included systematically traversing the project area at 25 meter
intervals or less. At regular intervals the surveyors scraped the ground surface, using a hoe or shovel, to
allow inspection of the mineral soil.
Areas of predicted low archaeological sensitivity were subjected to less intensive, cursory survey.
Cursory inspections were conducted by covering areas in widely spaced transects which enabled
March, 2008
46
surveyors to visually inspect sensitive landforms and topographic features from a distance. The aim of
this survey method was to cover the entirety of the project and to identify areas of high archaeological
sensitivity not indicated through pre-field research.
Linear historic sites such as dikes and ditches were inspected along their lengths to identify associated
features, and to assess integrity. Historic and topographic maps and aerial photographs were utilized as
an aid in locating and mapping linear systems.
The filed survey was hindered by winter conditions and flooding of low lying areas of the project area.
The filed work was conducted during and after periods of heavy rain and a portion of the Vevoda property
and several other areas aloud the banks of the Salt River were flooded thus hindering surface survey
visibility.
Expected prehistoric cultural resource indicators included chert and obsidian tools, lithic debitage, ground
stone implements, milling stone features, locally darkened soil, shell and/or bone debris, and pit features.
Expected historic cultural resource indicators included ceramic, glass, or metal artifacts; structures; and
pits.
March, 2008
47
TN
Legend
mN
MILES
0
- Intensive Survey Coverage
0.5
1
18.5
- Cursory Survey Coverage
0
0.5
KILOMETERS
-Innundated with Water
Figure 4. Survey Coverage Map, 1:24,000.
March, 2008
46
1
o
6.3 INVENTORY RESULTS
During the field investigation twelve historic era resources were identified. These include eight
farmsteads (RA-SR-01 to 08), a linear dike and ditch system (RA-SR-09), a barn foundation and corral
(RA-SR-10), Salt River channel improvement features (RA-SR-11), and a cement feature at the site of
Port Kenyon (RA-SR-12). In addition to the identified resources, one culturally sensitive area has been
delineated within the project area (Figure 5, Appendix C).
Surface survey did not detect cultural materials within the sensitive area; however, background archival
research revealed that this location is the approximate footprint of the Historic Town of Port Kenyon
(Appendix C). During the pedestrian survey, crews were not allowed to conduct subsurface
archaeological investigations to determine a presence or absence of archaeological materials.
Additionally, a foundation (RA-SR-12) that is likely to be associated with historic operations at Port
Kenyon was documented within this area (Appendix A). Due to an extensive history of flooding and silt
deposits in the area it is possible that buried archaeological materials are present at this site. Specific
recommendations are offered in section 7.0.
Eight parcels with structures were inventoried to satisfy CEQA and NHPA Section 106 provisions which
require the identification of historically-significant properties that could be impacted by implementation
of the project. No physical impacts will be experienced by any of these properties; however, where
conservation easements or land trust/public ownerships could be involved, an inventory was considered
appropriate.
The dairy barns on this landscape follow a standard theme with variations. They are “two-story” in height
to allow for good hay storage, but generally they do not have floored lofts. The basic arrangement
consists of a central hay mow, bordered on either side by 12-foot driveways and outside each driveway
12-foot cow stables with wooden stanchions and mangers. In some barns there are no mangers, the feed
simply placed on the floor alongside the driveway; in others, there are 2-foot mangers into which the feed
is dropped. Cows were confined by the stanchions, eating out of the manger or off the floor while being
milked. The cow stables were accessed by cow-sized doors which are generally sliding, but can also be
hinged. Wagons and later tractors entered the driveways via sliding doors and passed in front of the
stanchions to distribute the feed, which included carrots and beets grown on the farm, hay and grains.
Extending the length of the roof ridge was a mechanism with a fork for lifting loose hay through a loft
door and into the mow. Later baled hay filled the mow. Hay hoods are generally found at only one gable
end, but sometimes at both.
Barn lengths vary according to the number of cows to be accommodated on a side. Each cow was allotted
three feet. Generally there were four cows to a 12-foot “bay.” So a barn built to milk 20 cows on a side
would be 60 feet long. The standard width of the cow stables is 12 feet and the same for the driveways
and with two of each in a barn, those spaces accounted for 48 feet. Mows were rarely less than 30 feet so
barns generally started at about 78 feet.
Modernizing in the 1920s caused the stables to be paved, including the manure gutters, and the interior
whitewashed. After World War II, much smaller milking barns were constructed. Modern and sanitary,
they are, nonetheless, unexciting and aesthetically lack-luster when compared to the old-style barns that
still dot the lower Eel River valley.
March, 2008
49
RA-SR-11
RA-SR-09
RA-SR-10
RA-SR-03
RA-SR-06
RA-SR-02
Culturally Sensitive Area
RA-SR-07
RA-SR-01
RA-SR-05
RA-SR-12
RA-SR-04
RA-SR-08
TN
mN
MILES
Legend
0
0.5
1
18.5
- Culturally Sensitive Area
0
- Resource Location
0.5
KILOMETERS
- Resource Location
Figure 5. Resource Location and Culturally Sensitive Area Map, 1:24,000.
March, 2008
48
1
o
RA-SR-01
Scalvini Ranch, APN 100-091-009
Location: Portion of west half of southeast quarter and southeast quarter of southwest quarter section 35,
3N2W, 3155 State Highway
History These lands were part of a patent granted to George Knisely in 1868. At that time he was granted
280 acres consisting of the southeast quarter, east half of the southwest quarter and northwest quarter of
southwest quarter of section 35, 3N2W (Patents 1:277). Charles Nelson purchased the west half of the
southeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter, section 36, in 1891 (Deeds 38:307).
However, tax assessments as early as 1883 list Nelson as owner of the property. Perhaps he was
purchasing the ranch from Knisely and was not granted the deed until he paid it off. Nelson sold two
parcels of land, including that listed above to Gust Johnson in 1900 (Deeds 72:93). In 1919 Gust and
Anna Johnson sold the ranch to Rocco and John Scalvini (Deeds 145:436).
The deed description for that transaction was for the west half of the southeast quarter and the southeast
quarter of the southwest quarter section 36 with a number of exceptions; regardless, the ranch was
essentially intact and today consists of just under 100 acres. Rocco bought out his brother John sometime
after World War II (Dorothy Scalvini, personal communication, 23 Jan. 2008). Current title in the
Assessor’s Office is listed in the names of Mary M. Scalvini and Catherine L. Scalvini.
Tax assessments for Charles Nelson indicate improvements on the land in 1883. According to Dorothy
Scalvini, in addition to the present farmstead, there was another house (now gone) across the highway. In
1883, Nelson was assessed for 100 acres, valued at $900 with improvements valued at $200. The
assessment also lists farm utensils, horses, 4 calves, two dozen poultry, and 100 sheep valued at $125.
Five years later, 16 cows, valued at $320, replaced the sheep. Nelson was operating a prosperous farm,
assessed at $2500, and in addition to the cows, he had seven calves and three hogs. The 1891 tax
assessment shows a $300-increase in the value of improvements and Nelson had increased his herd to 20
cows, 15 calves, and eight stock cattle.
The 1920 tax assessment for Rocco and John Scalvini lists the farm at 95.50 acres valued at $11,290 with
improvements at $650. Furniture, wagons, harness, farm utensils, four horses, two dozen poultry, a dog,
and machinery had a total assessed value of $705. The brothers were milking 48 cows, had six calves and
a bull, all valued at $2,515. At the time of the 1930 assessment, they were milking 45 cows and in
addition to the regular farm stock and equipment, they also had an auto valued at $260.
Rocco Scalvini was born in Italy in 1885, coming to the United States as a young man. He was engaged
in dairying most of his life. He was married to Giusina, who was from the same village in Italy, but their
marriage occurred after her arrival in Ferndale in 1920. The couple had four children, Jim, Lucy
(Flocchini), Lino, and Rocco, Jr. (Ferndale Enterprise 6 Dec. 1929; 14 Nov. 1991).
Rocco Scalvini, Jr. operated the ranch until the 1964 flood caused him to look for another way to make a
living (Dorothy Scalvini, personal communication, 23 Jan. 2008). Since that time, the ranch has been
leased out, current lessee being Daniel DelBiaggio, who is milking 80 Jerseys.
Structures
a. House: The house is one story with two gabled sections which are perpendicular to each other. Siding
on one section is asbestos shingles, the other has modern T-111 vertical siding. The house has both
double-hung and sliding aluminum windows. Dorothy Scalvini said that this is an old house that was
remodeled at least twice. She thought the Johnsons lived in the house after they purchased it in 1900
(personal communication, 23 Jan. 2008). Perhaps the original house was among the improvements made
March, 2008
51
by Charles Nelson during his ownership in the 1880s and 1890s. Whatever that original architecture
might have been, it has been seriously compromised.
b. Office: Of contemporary construction, the office measures 10.5 by 16 feet, has plywood siding, a gable
roof, and sits on a post-and-pier foundation. It has a single window in each of the four walls and an entry
on the south side.
c. Milking Barn: A modern structure, the milking barn has a gabled roof and measures 23 by 50 feet. It is
concrete throughout with metal stanchions for efficient cleaning. Three walls have aluminum sliders and
doors; the fourth wall on the south opens to the paved ramp and corrals for the cows’ entry. Dan Del
Biaggio, Jr. said the milking barn was constructed in 1991-92 (personal communication, 11 Jan. 2008).
d. Loafing/Feeding Barn: It was not possible to measure this structure because of the stock, but this is a
large structure. The concrete walls extend only part way to the metal roof, so that the remaining space is
open. There are three large openings at the north gable end. This is a recent structure, built about 2003 or
2004 according to Dan Del Biaggio, Jr. (personal communication 11 Jan. 2008).
e. Hog Barn: This is one of four older buildings located adjacent to each other and would predate the
modern milking and feeding barns. It has a shed roof with exposed rafter ends, vertical board siding, a
large opening on the west, and cement floor. It measures 12.5 by 48. Its original use is unknown.
Currently it houses the generator, but at one time housed hogs.
f. Calf Barn: Coming off the old dairy barn and paralleling the hog building, this older structure
measures 32.5 by 64 feet. It has a gabled roof covered with sheet metal. Siding is vertical board and the
eaves are lined with exposed rafter ends. The west wall has a large sliding door. It is presently used as a
calf barn, but Rocco Scalvini may have kept his bull in this building (Dorothy Scalvini, personal
communications, 23 Jan. 2008).
g. Dairy Barn: This is a standard dairy barn with a gable roof and a single hay hood at the rear gable. It
has an 11-foot cow stable, two-foot manger, and 10-foot driveway on the south with a mow of about 30
feet, giving a total width of about 76 feet. Length is 75 feet, indicating a 50-cow barn (25 per side). The
wood stanchions are still present in the south side stable. After the 1955 flood, Rocco Scalvini put in the
concrete floor, which has a significant slope up into the barn (Dan Del Biaggio, Jr., personal
communication, 11 Jan. 2008). Rocco Scalvini had calf pens inside this barn. A construction date is
unknown; one might speculate that Rocco, Sr. built the barn during his tenure, perhaps as early as the
1920s.
h. Milk House: The concrete-block milk house is at the corner of the barn and calf barn. It measures 14
by 21 feet. It has a gable roof with a ventilator and sheet metal covering. Construction date unknown.
RA-SR-02
Silva-Vevoda Ranch, APN 106-121-076
Silva-Vevoda Ranch, APN 106-021-077
Location: N half SW qt sec 36, 3N2W
History There are two separate Assessor’s Parcel numbers for this ranch, but it will be treated as one
property since its description since 1868 has remained fairly intact, except for a 1.75-acre parcel in the
southeast corner sold to Gust Johnson in 1919 (Deeds 147:228). In 1868 George Knisely by his attorney
Jacob B. Knisely sold the north half of the southwest quarter section 36, 3N2W to Patrick Husheon for
$500 (Deeds G:66). Patrick had land troubles on at least two occasions, once when he and his brother
March, 2008
52
James differed over ownerships of land (Deeds 21:129, 1884), and another time (1909) when Patrick sued
the James W. Kelley estate over ownership of this 80-acre ranch (Deeds 110:319). Patrick won the first
time, but lost the second. In the latter case, the Court ruled that Patrick had no right to the land, but did
have a right to be paid $500 semiannually beginning Jan. 1, 1909 from the Kelley Estate. The Court also
ordered Patrick to deed the land to the Kelley Estate to be held in escrow by the Bank of Ferndale until
his death (Deeds 110:319). In 1910, when the Kelley Estate was distributed to the widow and children,
the widow, Mary, received an undivided one-third of the north half of the southwest quarter section 36,
and each of the four children received a sixth, but all of this was subject to a life estate held by Patrick
(Deeds 113:75). Born in May 1830, Patrick was a native of Ireland (U.S. Census, 1900). A death date
was not located, but it was apparently some time between 1910 and 1915 according to tax assessments for
those two years.
The ranch passed from Kelley family ownership in 1946, when Joe E. and Maria E. Silva purchased it,
still described at that time as the north half of the southwest quarter section 36, with the 1.75-acre
exception (Deeds 281:391). John P. and Lotta R. Vevoda and John M. Vevoda purchased the ranch from
Maria Silva in 1972 (OR 1139:341). Present owners are John M. and Kristin M. Vevoda (OR 2005:4435).
This latter deed includes APNs 106-021-076 and 106-021-077, plus another APN 100-101-013, which is
the strip east of Salt River along the east line of the north half of the southwest quarter section 36.
Structures
APN 106-021-076
a. House at 50 Fulmore Road: This house is about 25 by 32 feet, including the attached garage. It has a
low, hipped roof covering both garage and house and hipped front stoop. Windows are 1/1 and doublehung, roofing is composition shingles, and siding is asbestos shingles. To the rear are a metal storage shed
and another small outbuilding. According to Larry Moranda, this house was built about 1950 by Louie
Rocha (personal communication 13 Feb. 2008).
b. House at 215 Fulmore Road: A Craftsman Period house, this little bungalow is 26.5 by 39 feet with a
rear portion about 15 by 22 feet. It has a front-facing gabled roof with knee brackets and exposed rafter
ends along the eaves. A little gabled stoop covers the front entry. Windows are 1/1 and double-hung.
Siding is asbestos shingles, which is not original, but probably added in the 1950s. The rear section has a
porch on the south side and in the north wall is a cooler vent along with a 6/6 window. Windows with two
sashes, each with six panes, were used in Humboldt County prior to about 1880, indicating that this
window came from an earlier house, located perhaps on this property. Perpendicular to the house and
located at the rear of the house lot is a side-gable building that measures 22 feet across the front. It is
presently used for storage, but was obviously once a living space. The door is from another era and not
contemporaneous with the house construction which is estimated as the 1920s. Built right on the road, the
separate garage, 18.5 by 20 feet, has vertical board siding, a gabled roof, and sliding door.
APN 106-021-077
a. Dairy Barn: This barn, 60 by 76 feet, has a gabled roof covered with sheet metal, a peaked hay hood at
the south gable end, and vertical board siding. In the south wall are a large sliding door into the mow,
sliding cow stable doors on either side and a loft door. Small square windows line the cow stable walls.
Two unusual features of this barn are the wood floors and manure gutters in the cow stables. Today,
these features are rarely seen because they have been replaced with concrete. These original stables with
their wood stanchions, which still have their leather hinges, are growing increasingly rare with time.
At 60 feet, this was a 40-cow barn (20 per side). Located alongside Fulmore Road and directly across
from the bungalow at 125 Fulmore, this barn has an open hay storage area added to the north wall.
March, 2008
53
b. Milking Barn, Milk House, and Equipment Shed: Across a narrow paved courtyard to the south of
the barn is a building that includes a milking area with stanchions, a tank room (milk house), and an open
(on one side) equipment shed. The milk house, 15 by 19 feet, rests on a high concrete foundation and has
a gabled roof covered with composition shingles, horizontal board siding, and small, square windows. It
is located alongside the road at the west end of the milking barn, which measures 24 feet in length and
something less than the 19-foot width of the milk house. The building extends another 37.5 feet to the
east, is open on the north, and provides space for equipment storage. This building may have been
constructed after the 1955 flood (John Vevoda, personal communication, 21 Jan. 2008).
c. Loafing/Feeding Barn: It was not possible to measure this structure because of the heifers. This is a
long, low building with open sides and a sheet metal roof. It extends to the east at right angles to the barn.
It was erected by John Vevoda in the late 1970s or early 1980s (Alan Cooley, personal communication, 9
Feb. 2008).
RA-SR-03
Sousa-Vevoda Ranch, APN 100-112-014
Location: Roughly N half SE qt north of Salt River and tiny piece of SW qt SE qt north of Salt River,
section 35, 3N2W, 1009 Bertelsen Lane
History This property passed through a number of ownerships in the 1860s and 1870s, including one
owner from Del Norte county, Alexander Robertson. In partnership with A.C. Hutchinson, the two men
owned the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 35 in the late 1860s, passing that portion
onto to Coridon Coston and then to Volney Coston, and eventually to Jackson Walker (Deeds G:181;
G:179; G:180; H:608; T:346; T:347). J.G. Kenyon received a patent for the east half of the southeast
quarter of section 35 in 1860 (Patents 1:135). Kenyon also had possession of the little piece in the
southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 35 north of Salt River, which he sold to Jackson
Walker in 1891 (Deeds 39:140). In 1896, S.D. O’Neal sold 23 acres in the northeast quarter of the
southeast quarter of section 35 north of Salt River to Jackson (Deeds 57:344). Gradually Jackson Walker
created the ranch.
Walker leased the Jackson Walker Ranch of 70 acres to John L. Sweet in 1896 (Deeds 62:45). That fiveyear lease included 40 head of dairy cows or heifers and whatever fowls were on the ranch at a monthly
rent of one-half of the net proceeds from the sale of the milk from those 40 cows and their replacements.
Walker was a native of North Carolina, coming to Humboldt in 1875. Unmarried and without relatives,
Walker left his estate, consisting principally of land on the Island and up Francis Creek, to three friends,
John H. Trost, Frank G. Williams, and James Smith, each receiving one-fourth, and the remaining
fraction to the three men as trustees of the Ferndale Public School to be used to the “best advantage for
said school” (Ferndale Enterprise 12 Nov. 1901: Deeds 91:176). This transfer included the northwest
quarter of the southeast quarter of section 35 (40 acres), the 23 acres in the northeast quarter of the
southeast quarter section 35, and the three-acre parcel north of Salt River in the northwest corner of the
southwest quarter of the southeast quarter section 35.
In 1922 the ranch went to Joe S. Sousa (Deeds 157:378). Joe and Emelia Sousa leased their ranch on the
Island, containing 70 acres, to Joe F. Leal in 1925 at an annual rent of $1700. The lease included a list of
items belonging to Sousa but which Leal could use, including the hay carrier, water pipe and milking
machine pipe attached to the barn; Leal was to leave the windmill, washtub and hot water boiler in the
house and the watering troughs upon termination of the lease (Leases 5:421).
March, 2008
54
Sousa’s deed to the ranch from Smith and Williams apparently was clouded by the involvement of the
Ferndale School District and Sousa had to sue the District to resolve title. The Superior Court issued a
judgment in favor of Sousa in 1941 and a clear title was vested in him (Deeds 250:279). Joe Sousa died in
1964 and his widow, Emelia sold the ranch to John P. and Lotta Vevoda (OR 793:593). In 1987, the ranch
went to John Vevoda, present owner (OR 1832:186).
Structures
a. House: The two-story, side-gable house has a front porch extending across the front and an attached
garage. It was constructed in 1988 (Kristin Vevoda, personal communication, 21 Jan. 2008). The old
ranch house was burned and the new one constructed by John Vevoda (Gene Godinho, personal
communication, 5 Feb. 2008).
b. Loafing/Feeding Barns: The three metal loafing/feeding barns were constructed in the 1980s/1990s
(Kristin Vevoda, personal communication, 21 Jan. 2008). All are covered and have either several
openings on an end or are open on all sides. A fourth barn, located to the rear of the milking barn, is of
wood construction and enclosed on three sides; on the fourth, the lower portion of the wall is open.
Associated with these structures are corrals, gates, feeding and watering troughs, and concrete flooring.
These structures are being used for the heifers, as they are not currently milking at this ranch. It was not
possible access these buildings for measuring and describing more fully because of the stock.
c. Milking Barn: Built in 1977, the milking barn is 50 by 50 with five stanchions per side. Concrete and
metal, this building has aluminum sliding doors and windows. At the rear is the concrete ramp leading
from the corral into the barn. Adjacent to this barn is a metal grain tank. This structure is not currently in
use.
d. Work Shop: This gable-roofed building of metal and wood siding measures 20 by 36.5 feet. It has a
large sliding door on the front, a sheet metal roof, and small windows along the side walls.
f. Milk House: The milk house, attached to the old barn, measures 11 by 20 feet. It has a gabled roof,
covered with sheet metal, and horizontal board siding. One gable end abuts the barn wall; the other is
lined by fuel tanks. On the north wall is an entrance and a pair of small, square windows, also found on
the south wall. According to Dave who feeds for Vevoda, this building was constructed after the 1964
flood (personal communication 5 Feb. 2008).
g. Barn: This old barn, measuring 62 feet by 122 feet. Long and low, its appearance is unique among the
area’s dairy barns, which raises the question of whether it was built for that purpose. However, there is a
hay hood on the front gable, one large hinged door about 11 feet wide and one sliding door, 10 feet in
width. Post timbers are 6x6 and have saw marks. John Vevoda said this was a dowel barn and that the hay
fork had a date of 1853 on it, but no pegs were found and the construction does not appear to be mortise
and tenon, although mortises for holding a horizontal timber are present on posts on the north side of the
mow.
It isn’t clear that the original barn had cow stables in it, although there is currently one on the south side.
Pole stanchions and flooring indicate that this stable was certainly used for milking, but these features are
not contemporaneous with the construction of the barn; they were built later. The south side shows no
evidence of prior use for milking, but was used for calf pens marked by exterior doors.
Because this complex of buildings straddles the subdivision line between the northeast quarter of the
southeast quarter and the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter, section 35, tax assessments are not
always clear, particularly the old ones. The first improvements for the 40-acre northwest quarter of the
March, 2008
55
southeast quarter appear in 1876/77 and are valued at $150. It is impossible to know what this
improvement was. An 1885 assessment for Jackson Walker for this same 40 acres valued improvements
at $300. Does this figure represent a house and barn? J.G. Kenyon’s tax assessment for 1885 for the east
half of the southeast quarter shows no improvements. The 1910 and 1920 tax assessments for Williams
and Smith list $400 worth of improvements on the 23 acres and no improvements on the 40 acres. These
confusing numbers suggest that the assessor didn’t know on which parcel the improvements were located.
The barn appears to have been used for some purpose other than dairying. Eel River valley produced
grains, hay, and potatoes before the dairy industry took hold in the 1880’s. There is the possibility that
this barn could have been a storage facility for one of these products and therefore constructed before
1880. Further research is necessary to determine eligibility for NHRP or CRHR.
RA-SR-04
Fuller-Hamblin House, APN 100-171-005
Location: 349 Port Kenyon Road, SW corner section 36, 3N2W
History In 1881 Wm. Cronk sold 1.88 acres at Arlynda Corners to Isaac Fuller for $450 (Deeds 3:497).
That parcel remained intact until 1995, when Virginia Martin divided the property between her two
daughters. Fuller sold the property to Hannah Wells in 1884 (Deeds 15:208); Wells transferred half
interest to Lydia Holmes in 1885 (Deeds 18:579); J. G. Kenyon sold an adjacent .36 acre parcel to
Hannah Wells in 1885 (Deeds 16:251); and in 1886 Holmes transferred her one-half interest back to
Wells (Deeds 19:733).
In 1886 Wells sold the two parcels to Joseph Disher (Deeds 21:188), who sold to Nathaniel Hurlbutt in
1891 (Deeds 39:465). From Hurlbutt the two parcels went to Peter Beck in 1893 and from Beck to Anna
L. Monroe in 1897 (Deeds 48:229; 59:551). In 1905 Anna and Charles Monroe sold both parcels to
Charles F. Noble, who was engaged in the blacksmith trade at Arlynda corners for a good many years
(Deeds 90:272; 1900 U.S. Census; Edeline 1983). In 1914, Noble sold the house and blacksmith shop
properties to Elisabeth and Axel Frederiksen, (Deeds 128:306). Axel was also a blacksmith. In 1926,
Antone and Johanna Christiansen sold an adjacent parcel, 35x75, to the Frederiksens (Deeds 175:245). In
1946, Elisabeth Frederiksen sold all three parcels to William and Myrtle Hamblin (Deeds 284:264).
William Hamblin transferred the properties to his daughter and son-in-law, Myrtle and Cecil Cowan in
1966 (OR 884:156). The Cowans sold the house and commercial buildings to Joaquin (Jack) and Virginia
Martin in 1973 (OR 1220:333). The current two parcels (005 and 006) and the one adjacent on the east
where the mobile home is located were carved out of the 1.88 acre, .36 acre, and 35x75 foot parcels by
Virginia Martin and transferred to her daughters in 1995 (OR 1995:18846; 18847; 18848).
The house was constructed on the 1.88 acre parcel by Isaac Fuller. Tax assessments indicate that Wm.
Cronk had some kind of improvements on the property in 1880, when it was given an assessed value of
$75. After Fuller purchased the property, the improvements remained at $75 in the 1882 tax assessment.
However, in 1883 Fuller’s assessment showed improvements valued at $200. Generally improvements
appear on the assessment list the year after their construction, indicating, in this case, that Isaac
constructed the present dwelling in 1882. Under Fuller’s name, the 1883 tax assessment lists furniture
assessed at $20, a sewing machine at $10; a horse at $10; and 3 dozen poultry at $6. Deeds for transfer of
real property never—almost never—record the presence of improvements on a piece of property.
However, when Isaac Fuller sold the property to Hannah Well in 1884 for $800, the property was
described as 1.88 acres, “being the house and lot of Isaac Fuller lying north of the public road in the Town
of Arlynda…” (Deeds 15:208). The old house is the home of Janet Martin (Reed) Fisk, her husband
Robert, and children and grandchildren.
March, 2008
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William and Myrtle Hamblin, who operated a business in the adjoining commercial building, also lived in
this house. Myrtle was much involved in Arlynda, where she lived for fifteen years prior to her death in
1961. Where the mobile home now sits to the east of the house was Myrtle’s gift to Arlynda each
December—a big tree decorated by local residents as the community’s Christmas tree (Ferndale
Enterprise 22 Dec. 1961).
Structure
a. House: This one-and-a-half story, center gable house measures 28 by 35 feet with an entry addition on
the west that measures 15 feet across the front. Modern siding and aluminum windows have replaced the
original materials. Janet Martin-Fisk said the original house had Victorian ornamentation probably on the
cornice (personal communication 5 Feb. 2008). Originally the entrance was under the center gable,
flanked by matching windows, not the present picture window. Windows in 1880s houses generally were
2/2, double-hung, and wood framed. On the back at the northwest corner of the house is a small
uncovered porch into the back door. A break in the roofline indicates this portion of the house, which
extends the width of the main house, might have been an addition or a porch, now enclosed except for one
corner. The house has a frieze board, corner boards and watercourse, and sits on a perimeter foundation.
RA-SR-05
Christiansen-Martin Ranch, APN 100-161-007
Location: 441 Port Kenyon Road, in SE qt sec 35, 3N2W, south of Salt
River and north of Port Kenyon Road.
History This parcel, just under 40 acres, was carved out of a larger parcel patented by J.G. Kenyon in
1860 (Patents 1:135). That patent was for the entire 80 acres in the east half of the southeast quarter of
section 35. In 1896, the 37.77-acre parcel that has followed the chain of title throughout the property’s
history was created when Kenyon sold that piece to C.A. Monroe (Deeds 57:416). A year later the
property went to Michael Canty (Deeds 60:234). Canty dairied at Port Kenyon for forty-four years, but
not on this parcel (Ferndale Enterprise 23 Feb. 1945). In 1901 he leased it to Hans Hansen. In that lease,
Canty granted Hansen his ranch at Arlynda for a term of five years at an annual rent of $450, but reserved
a half acre of land in the southeast corner adjoining the bottling works (Deeds 71:571). Also included in
that lease were 18 cows valued at $35 each; two horses and a colt, $90; a wagon, $35; a mower, $25; hay
rake and harrow $12; block and tackle and ropes $10; three milk cans $3 each, and one wheel hoe $3.
Further research is needed to identify the bottling works.
A year later Canty leased the property to Ben Marti for a term of four year with the same annual rent as
for Hansen. Marti was to purchase all hay in the barn on the place and was permitted to cut wood for his
own use along the banks of Francis Creek (Deeds 77:613). In 1906 Canty sold the ranch to Antone
Christiansen (Deeds 95:44). In 1958, Antone’s widow, Johanna, sold the property to Joaquin (Jack) and
Virginia Martin, who dairied here until Jack’s illness in 1990, when the property was sold to the present
owners, John and Kristin Vevoda (OR 1990:16237).
Canty contracted with James Scott to construct the house in 1897 (Ferndale Enterprise 21 Sept. 1897; 22
Oct. 1897). Candy was a native of County Cork, Ireland, where he was born on 5 October 1853. He
arrived in the Eel River valley in 1881 and for 44 years dairied at Port Kenyon, where his six children
were born and raised. Canty was a stockholder in the Valley Flower Co-operative Creamery and was its
first patron on opening day on 1 March 1914. One of Canty’s daughters, Ellen, was married to George
Bertain, a long-time family in the Humboldt community. Michael Canty died in 1945 at the age of 91
(Ferndale Enterprise 23 Feb. 1945).
March, 2008
57
Antone Christiansen dairied on this ranch, beginning in 1906 and continuing until his retirement in the
1940s. Born in Denmark in 1873, Christiansen came to the United States as a young man and began a
dairy career that spanned 59 years. He died in 1949 and was survived by his widow, Johanna (Ferndale
Enterprise 11 Nov. 1949). The 1908 tax assessment for Christiansen lists furniture, farm utensils, two
wagons, harness, three horses, poultry, and 20 cows. Two years later he was milking 37 cows (1910 tax
assessment).
Jack Martin, son of a Portuguese dairy family, but born in the valley, dairied on the Christiansen ranch for
about thirty years, until his final illness and death in 1990 (Ferndale Enterprise 13 Dec. 1990). According
to his daughter, Janet Martin (Reed) Fisk, her father milked 200 cows at this location (personal
communication 16 Jan. 2008). Hard work and long hours made this dairy a success as Jack carried on the
tradition of his predecessors on the land, Antone Christiansen and others who leased the ranch.
Structures
a. Canty House: This is a two-story house, measuring 30 by 37 feet, with a one-story rear section
measuring 26 by 30 feet. It has a side gable roofline with a center gable over the front door and stoop. The
original horizontal, shiplap siding is covered with asbestos shingles and the wood frame, 1/1 windows
have been replaced with aluminum. The house has a watercourse and now sits on a perimeter foundation,
which replaces the original post-and-pier foundation. The front stoop has a hipped-style roof and two
turned posts. The rear section is entered through a recessed porch, has a gabled roof and retains its
original shiplap siding. The house was constructed in 1897.
b. Dairy Barn: This gabled barn measures 71 by 90 feet. The front wall contains one sliding door into a
cow stable and three large and two small hinged doors. There are no hay hoods. The rear wall has both
sliding and hinged doors. Siding is horizontal board and the roof is covered with sheet metal. The southside cow stable is identified by a break in the barn’s roof. It was not possible to view the barn’s interior,
but its arrangement must be similar to the standard dairy barn with cow stables, driveways and central
mow. A barn 90 feet in length indicates a 60-cow barn (30 per side). Jack Martin milked 200 cows (Janet
Martin Fisk, personal communication, 16 Jan. 2008).
c. Milk House: Attached to the north side of the barn, the milk house measures 14.5 by 24 feet. The
lower wall is cement with horizontal wood siding above. The gabled roof is covered with sheet metal and
exposed rafter ends line the eaves.
d. Loafing/Feeding Barn: The loafing/feeding barn is located to the rear (west) of the barn. It was not
possible to measure it due to the presence of stock, but it appears to be about 35 feet by 75 feet, estimated
by its relationship to the barn. It has a gabled roof covered with sheet metal and exposed rafter ends.
e. Garage/Apartments: Located between the house and barn, this building measures 34.5 by 45 feet. It is
a side-gable building with composition shingles, exposed rafter ends, and horizontal board siding. A large
sliding door on the south wall accesses the garage area, but several small doors lead to individual living
areas. The building was constructed in 1974 by Jack Martin for his hired help (Janet Martin Fisk, personal
communication, 5 Feb. 2008).
f. Shed: To the rear of the Garage/Apartments and parallel is a building which appears to be an
equipment shed. It measures 23 by 31 feet. The building has a gable roof covered with sheet metal, a
metal door on the west end, exposed rafter ends and vertical board siding. It was also constructed by Jack
Martin.
RA-SR-06
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58
Riverside Ranch, APN 100-111-001and 100-091-008
Location: NW qt SE qt, SE qt SE qt, SW qt SE qt east of Salt River, fract SW qt NE qt, fract N half SW
qt north of Salt River, S half NW qt, fract N hf NW qt, section 28, 3N2W (APN 100-091-008); fract NE
qt east of Salt River, small piece in NE corner SE qt, section 33, 3N2W (APN 100-111-001.
History Adam Putnam, leading Ferndale businessman and banker, began acquiring land on lower Eel
River in 1881 with both purchases and patents. Totaling about one thousand acres, Putnam’s land was
located in sections 28, 31, 32, 33, and 34, 3N2W. In 1882 he began reclamation of these lands.
Marsh Land Redemption:….The land is a portion of the old Freeman ranch situated on
the north side of Salt River west of Port Kenyon. Mr. Putnam is running 120 rods of
ditch along the west line of his land, throwing up dykes the entire length. The ditch will
average between 3 and 4 feet in depth, being over 9 feet at its opening into Salt River.
The lower or river end is blind, being provided with a box 2 by 3 feet square made with
2-inch redwood plank and provided with a flood gate which will effectually prevent the
ingress of tide water and permit the free flow of drainage water from the entire country
back. The boxing and cutting are the heaviest works of the kind that have ever been done
in this section, so far as we can learn. Several thousand feet of lumber will be required in
the execution of the work and the expense will be great, but we think Mr. Putnam will be
recompensed tenfold for his outlay. The work will stimulate others to action and once
started thousands of acres of our finest grass lands will be brought out of their
barrenness and make homes for hundreds of industrious people. Mr. Putnam has nearly
250 acres in one body, including the old Markley place, all of which he proposes putting
into red clover and other choice grasses adapted as good for dairy cattle (Ferndale
Enterprise 7 April 1882).
An 1884 Reclamation District included numerous land owners and 2,127.68 acres in sections 28, 29, 32,
and 33 in 3N2W and sections 4,5,6 and 7 in 2N2W (Ferndale Enterprise 3 May 1884). By July of that
year, the work was progressing and hundreds of acres on lower Eel River were being converted from tidal
sloughs and marshes into dairy farms (Ferndale Enterprise 26 July 1884). Lands now occupied by the
Riverside Ranch were included in these reclamation efforts of the 1880s and the portion now identified as
APN 100-111-001 (northeast quarter section 33 east of Salt River and little corner in northeast quarter of
the southeast quarter section 33, also northeast of Salt River) was owned by Putnam and/or his partners.
A native of Nova Scotia, Adam Putnam came to California in 1867 as a young man of twenty, worked a
various enterprises in several places in the state before coming to Humboldt County in 1869. He formed a
long-time partnership with H.D. Smith that involved cattle and ranching in northern California, eastern
Oregon and Nevada. But Putnam was not a rancher. He was a businessman, involved in a mercantile
business in Ferndale, and with the organization of the Bank of Ferndale in 1893, assumed its presidency,
a position he held until his death in 1930 (Ferndale Enterprise 27 June 1930).
Riverside Ranch was leased property, but no leases were located in the Recorder’s Office for these early
arrangements. Because of time constraints it was not possible to search the newspaper for information on
Riverside Ranch. Only a couple of references were available. Mads Madsen was leasing the ranch in 1897
and was at that time building a “fine dwelling house” on the Ranch near Port Kenyon and reshingling the
“big barn” on the Putnam & Smith ranch (Ferndale Enterprise 15 June 1897; 22 Oct. 1897). An 1899
reference mentions that Mads Madsen was affiliated with the Riverside creamery (Ferndale Enterprise 3
Jan. 1899).
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59
Mads Madsen leased a portion of the ranch in 1892 for $3,000 and converted an old
warehouse on his section into a small creamery. The ranch produced about 4,500 pounds
of milk daily and a year later was producing 9,000 ponds daily….Mads Madsen put a
ferry across Salt River in February 1895 to accommodate his creamery customers. By
October 1895, due to the large amount of milk coming to the Riverside creamery, Mr.
Madsen installed a new separator….In November he was paying the highest price of all
the Humboldt Creameries for milk.
An electric railroad track was built from the Riverside Creamery to the bank of Salt River by Mr. Madsen
in 1897, to transport his milk from the launch to his creamery (Edeline 1983). [Edeline has photos of the
house and the ferry crossing at Riverside Ranch (pp. 77, 78)].
The barn referred to in the 1897 reference burned about 1925 when Joe Rocha was leasing the ranch and
living in the old house. The family lost 8 or 10 cows and 4 or 5 horses to the fire. Only a foundation slab
remains to identify the location of that barn. Despite being anchored with cables to the ground, the old
house washed away in one of the floods (Tony Rocha, personal communication, 11 Feb. 2008).
Putnam’s partner, Hugh D. Smith sold his half interest in the ranch to Joseph A. Shaw in 1900. Part of the
transaction included the Riverside Water Works and its reservoirs, pipes, tanks, tools, and implements
(Deeds 68:602). Even after Putnam’s death in 1930, the trustee of the estate continued to manage his land,
granting Shaw in 1936 with additional rights to lay water pipe over a portion of the Riverside Ranches
(Deeds 221:311). In 1944, Shaw purchased the estate’s interest in the Riverside Ranch (Deeds 272:89).
Donald and Helen Hodges and Earl and Nellie Ambrosini purchased the ranch (all three parcels) in 1986
from the trustee of the Joseph A. Shaw estate (OR 1822:1139). Rich Ambrosini, who was one of the
grantors in the deed transaction to the present owner, Western Rivers Conservancy, said that he had
dairied on the ranch for 37 years (personal communication, 11 Feb. 2008). According to Tony Renner, the
ranch now consists of 400 acres and they are currently milking 150 Holstein cows (personal
communication 11 Feb. 2008).
Landscape features include pilings on the right bank in this lower reach of Salt River. According to Rich
Ambrosini, these piling once had planking and tires attached to keep downstream vessels away from the
bank (personal communication 11 Feb. 2008). Other features are the levees, ditches, and a spillway
associated with reclamation and the concrete slab from the old barn.
Structures None of the original Riverside Ranch buildings remain; the barn burned about 1925 and the
house washed away in one of the floods. Buildings now present at the end of Riverside Road are the
following:
a. Milking Barn: Constructed after the 1964 flood (Ambrosini, personal communication, 11 Feb. 2008),
the milking barn is 22 feet wide and 60 feet long, including the tank room. This gabled-roof building sits
high above the ground (12 steps up) with a lower wall of concrete and an upper of wood with aluminum
sliders. All of the floors and ramps leading from the loafing/ feeding barn into the milking barn are
concrete.
b. Office/Storage Building: The milking barn is connected by a walkway to an office/storage building,
17x20, also sitting on a concrete base high above the ground. The upper portion, under a gable roof with
exposed rafter ends, is covered with horizontal siding and plywood.
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60
c. Loafing/Feeding Barn: Attached to the rear of the milking barn and extending alongside the dairy
barn is a feeding/loafing area with concrete floor, metal roof, and open sides. Because of the stock, it was
not possible to measure this structure. On the south side are the calf pens, also covered, but accessible to
the outside. A wooden loading chute extends down to the road from the feeding barn. Two large metal
grain tanks and a smaller tank are located alongside the milking barn.
d. Work Shop: This sheet metal building, located to the rear of two large grain tanks, has a sliding door
on the south and measures 22 by 24 feet.
e. Dairy Barn: This is a large barn, constructed after the 1955 flood (Rich Ambrosini, personal
communication, 11 Feb. 2008). Because of stock, it was not possible to accurately measure the barn;
however, it appears to be fairly standard, perhaps 78 feet wide and 120 feet long, indicating an 80-cow
barn (40 per side). The barn features hay hoods at both gable ends, a metal roof, and vertical board siding.
f. Residence Complex: A short distance down the road are a mobile home, trailer, several wooden sheds
and lots of miscellaneous farming debris.
RA-SR-07
Hamblin Farm Equipment and Blacksmith Shop. APN 100-171-006
Location: Intersection of Market Street and Port Kenyon Road
Southeast corner of section 35, 3N2W
History There appear to be two buildings on this property: the rear building was a blacksmith shop; the
front was a tractor sales and repair business (Janet Martin Fisk and Sheldon Stenquist, personal
communications). However, closer inspection shows that the front building is actually two structures
with two different construction dates. In 1914, Charles Noble sold two parcels to Axel and Elisabeth
Frederiksen, 1.88 acres and .36 acres. In 1926 the Frederiksen bought the third parcel, 35x75, from
Antone Christiansen (Deeds 175:245). The present assessor’s parcel map does not show where these
original parcels were; however, an older parcel map, courtesy of Sue in the Assessor’s Office, shows two
parcels (then 003 and 004 on page 16 and now 006 on page 17) with two commercial buildings on them.
One building appears to cover most of the 35x75-foot lot; the other building is on the adjacent parcel to
the east and somewhat set back from the first building.
Both Charles Noble and Alex Frederiksen were blacksmiths. Edeline (1983) places the Arlynda
Blacksmith Shop north and across the road from the Arlynda Saloon. The blacksmith shop on this
property would fit this location. Edeline does not provide any dates for the blacksmith shop, but Noble
was practicing his blacksmith trade in 1900 and purchased the property in 1905 (U.S. Census, 1900).
The building to the front of the blacksmith shop was Hamblin Farm Equipment, a Case tractor sales and
repair business for about twenty years (1947-1966) (Sheldon Stenquist, personal communication, 19 Jan.
2008). Stenquist, who worked for the Hamblins in the early 1960s was under the impression that the
Hamblins constructed the building about 1947. Tax assessments, however, indicate that as early as 1926,
the year the 35x75-foot lot was purchased from Antone Christiansen by Axel and Elisabeth Frederiksen,
there were improvements on that lot, valued then at $200. Further complicating this history is the
reservation in the lease from Michael Canty to Hans Hansen for the Christiansen-Martin Ranch in 1901.
The ranch was identified as being 38 acres, more or less, but reserved from the lease was “one-half acre
of land in the southeast corner of said lands adjoining the bottling works” (Deeds 71:571).
March, 2008
61
More research would be required to establish the original functions of these buildings. Some questions to
consider are whether or not the rear building was the original blacksmith shop or the old bottling works
mentioned above, and also determine when the two buildings were consolidated.
Structures
a. Hamblin Farm Equipment: The building is located at Arlynda Corners where Market Street and Port
Kenyon Road intersect. The shop is 39 feet in length and measures 61 feet across the front. The roof is
covered with sheet metal and terminates at the street façade in a false front. Siding is an overlapping
board. A pair of aluminum sliders and a standard-sized door are located in the front wall to the west of a
centered vehicle door. Along the west wall are five small windows, square in shape and six-paned. There
are two different constructions in this building. It is quite apparent from interior inspection that the
section on the west was built at a different time than the remaining section.
b. Blacksmith Shop: The rear building measures 27 feet in width and 41 feet in length. It has a low
gabled roof covered with sheet metal and board-and-batten siding. In the east wall are three openings: a
multi-paned door, an aluminum slider, and a fixed window. Another small window is located in the rear
wall. A doorway between the two buildings allows easy passage from one building to the other. At the
time that Sheldon Stenquist worked for Hamblin in the 1960s, the blacksmith shop still contained a forge,
lathe, and metal equipment.
RA-SR-08
Salladay-Bugbee Property, APN 100-172-020, 190 Port Kenyon Road
Salladay-Bugbee Property, APN 100-172-031, 160 Port Kenyon Road
Location: In SW qt SW qt sec 36 3N2W
History These parcels were created out of three parcels consolidated under the ownership of Harry
McDonough in 1894 and 1895 (Deeds 52:13, 53:89, 54:178). The three parcels passed through the
following ownerships: (Martin Bertelsen, 1919-1926 (Deeds 148:103); George Scalvini , 1926-1946,
(Deeds 176:411); J.F. and Icy Yancey, Aug. to Dec. 1946, (OR 7:168); and James C. and Laura Allison,
Dec. 1946-July 1958 (OR 7:169). In 1958, the Allisons sold a parcel two-thirds of an acre in size to John
and Anna Salladay (OR 499:556). Ownerships between the Salladays and the present owner include Lafe
and Dotty Young, 1973-1975 (Deeds OR 1200:512); Michael and Sandra Milich, 1975-1981 (OR
1297:338); Barry Potepan and Mark Bazen, 1981-1988, (OR 1638:295); and Barry Potepan, 1988-1996,
(OR 1876:347). The present owner, Daniel Bugbee, purchased the property, now designated as two APNs
100-172-020 and 100-172-031, in 1996 (OR 1996:23399).
According to Dan Bugbee (personal communication 23 Feb. 2008), Barry Potepan had a wood working
shop, Wild Turkey Wood Works, in the building during his ownership in the 1980s and until Bugbee’s
purchase in the 1990s. Prior to that John Salladay, who was a contractor, had a cabinet shop in the
building. The adjoining house to the east was built by Sallday after he purchased the property in the
summer of 1958 and before the lot split, completed prior to 1963. One portion of the present building, on
APN 031, was the garage associated with the house. The western portion was built with a four-foot
foundation after the 1964 flood. Presently Bugbee operates a dairy refrigeration business out of the
building. He is on call 24/7 to assist dairymen in the event of a breakdown of the refrigeration units
associated with the milk tanks.
Structure
a. Commercial Building: There are actually two buildings incorporated into this commercial structure.
The eastern portion was constructed as a garage and was associated with the adjoining house. It appears to
have been built between 1958 and 1963. The western portion, which sits on a four-foot perimeter
March, 2008
62
foundation, was built the year following the 1964 flood. The entire building measures 50.5 by 50.5 feet.
There is nothing notable about the building—it has a low roofline, horizontal shiplap siding, and
entrances on the north and west sides. It is accessed from Port Kenyon Road by a circular drive.
RA-SR-09
This site record is for a system of dikes, ditches, and cross field drains. The dike was constructed along the
north bank of the Salt River to reduce flooding and drain the land for cattle production. The dike was
constructed with a ditch on the north side connecting smaller cross field drains and the natural swales. A
poured cement spillway (F1) and a cement boxed head gate (F2) are recorded as associated features to this
resource.
RA-SR-10
This site is located on the northwest bank of the Salt River on Riverside Ranch and consists of a concrete
foundation, corral posts, and a modern corral enclosure. The barn foundation is square, measuring 60’x60’
with two cement ramps entering from the northeast side. A cement cistern is also present at the site
location. No wood features of the former barn are intact, and the concrete pad is currently used as a cattle
feed platform. The modern corral is composed of wood posts with metal gates. Barbed wire and T-posts
form the fence lines. The road leading to the site is graveled with imported river rock.
RA-SR-11
The channel improvement features consist of logs set vertically into the bank of the Salt River. The logs
measure 15’ diameter and are spaced approximately 12 feet apart. The southern logs still retain a
horizontally attached 3” x 12” plank. These planks are nailed to the logs with 6 inch long square galvanized
nails. The feature measures approximately 1500 feet long.
RA-SR-12
The site consists of a cement feature that once served as the foundation to machinery at Port Kenyon. The
feature is nearly square, measuring 73 inches (south elevation) by 79 inches (West Elevation) and 48 inches
tall. The feature was constructed of multiple cement pours. Course aggregate cement forms the lower layer,
extending 12 inches below ground surface. The upper layer is composed of finer cement and holds 14, 5/8
inch diameter by 6 inch long screws for mounting machinery or similar equipment. A hollow channel was
formed through the feature at the present ground surface. This channel measures 10.5 inches wide and 14
inches tall. The upper layer of cement was formed with a trough, 16 inches wide and 17 inches deep. The
feature appears isolated along the banks of Salt River within a pasture used for hay production and grazing.
6.4 DETERMINATION OF SIGNIFICANCE
This survey recorded thirty-eight structures on ten separate assessor’s parcels, consisting of five
farmsteads (RA-SR-01 to 05), two lots at Arlynda Corners (RA-SR-06 and 7), and a property on two lots
at 160 and 190 Port Kenyon Road (RA-SR-08). National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility
criteria as delineated by Section 106 and California Register of Historic Resources (CRHR) criteria were
applied in the evaluation of individual buildings. The criteria are similar, one more focused on California
history and cultural heritage and the other more broadly applied (see 2.0 Regulatory Framework). The
eligibility criteria for listing on the NRHP and the CRHR outline the regulations for properties that are
associated with the broad patterns of history (criterion A) and/or important people (criterion B), are
notable examples of the built environment (criterion C), and have or may have archaeological value
(criterion D).
Within a context of dairying on lower Eel River, the period of significance begins with the institution of
commercial dairy operations c. 1880 and extends to the present. One of the surveyed resources—the barn
March, 2008
63
on the Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03) may have its association with the agricultural period prior to
dairying; however, that association was not documented.
When dealing with farmsteads and the landscape on which these complexes are located, the focus was
more on the collection of structures, rather than on any single structure. The farmsteads and landscape
are not considered eligible under criterion B, the association with important persons in our past following
extensive archival research. Criterion D, resources containing data pertinent to understanding an
indigenous culture and the historic occupying culture is a possibility; however, no specific sites were
identified that would meet this criterion following extensive archival research.
The two remaining criteria are applicable to this cultural landscape. The surveyed properties contribute in
some meaningful way to the board patterns of this region’s heritage (A), most notably an agricultural
heritage represented by a dairy industry and culture that has sustained life on lower Eel River for 125
years. Criterion C that looks at the craftsmanship, integrity, and the special built qualities of houses and
barns on this landscape is also applicable. However, the overarching standard in determining eligibility
for the CRHR or NRHP focuses on the context of farmsteads, landscape features, and the natural
environment, and how this collection creates the lower Eel River cultural landscape.
Farmstead Complexes: Four of the five farmsteads surveyed retain sufficient integrity to convey their
significance within a context of dairying on lower Eel River: the Christiansen-Martin Ranch (RA-SR-05),
the Scalvini Ranch (RA-SR-01), the Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03), and the Silva-Vevoda Ranch
(RA-SR-02). Of these farmsteads, only the Christiansen-Martin Ranch (RA-SR-05) retains a house of
sufficient integrity to be associated with this significance. The Scalvini Ranch (RA-SR-01) house no
longer retains sufficient integrity to convey this significance; the house at the Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RASR-03) is a contemporary house built in 1988; and the house associated with the Riverside Ranch (RASR-06) is no longer extant. Of the two houses located on the Silva-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-02), the 1950
house does not meet any of the criteria. The 1920s bungalow has compromised integrity due to changes in
siding, windows, and front door and stoop, but it is, nonetheless, part of the Silva-Vevoda Ranch (RASR-02) and does not detract from this farmstead.
The six, free-standing, metal loafing/feeding barns, all built within the past twenty-five years, do not meet
qualifying criteria for the listing on the CRHR or NRHP. Although they are not considered historic
because they are of modern construction, they do not detract from their associated farmsteads, and are, in
fact, integral to present dairy operations. The wood-constructed loafing/feeding barns on the ChristiansenMartin Ranch (RA-SR-05) and the Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03) are contributors to the farmsteads,
regardless of age, because of their wood construction and compatibility with the historic buildings. The
milking barns at the Scalvini Ranch (RA-SR-01) and Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03), currently not in
use, are essential to modern dairying operations. Their age precludes historic designation, but they do not
detract from the significance of their respective farmsteads and are included in those farmsteads as noncontributing structures.
Seven outbuildings—workshops, garages, apartments, and offices/storage spaces were surveyed.
Individually, none meet qualifying criteria for the listing on the CRHR or NRHP; however, the workshop
on the Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03) and the garage at the bungalow on the Silva-Vevoda Ranch
(RA-SR-02) are part of those significant farmsteads. The milk houses at the Scalvini Ranch (RA-SR-01)
and the Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03) are integral to their respective farmsteads. The milking barn at
the Silva-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-02) which incorporates under one roof a milking area, the milk house
identified above, and an equipment shed is a contributor to its farmstead.
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The dairy barns on the Scalvini Ranch (RA-SR-01), the Silva-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-02), Riverside
Ranch (RA-SR-06), and the Christiansen-Martin Ranch (RA-SR-05) are considered eligible under criteria
A and C. They are excellent examples of a unique construction found on the bottom lands in the
Humboldt Bay region and specifically associated with the dairy industry that has continued for 125 years.
They display, with some variations, the standard arrangement of cow stables, driveways, and mows.
The barn at the Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03) is not the standard dairy barn and in its unique
construction is considered eligible under criteria C. Exceptionally long and very low, it appears to have
been constructed for a use other than dairying, which suggests an early date of construction, perhaps
earlier than the 1880s.
Buildings at Arlynda Corners: The Fuller-Hamblin House (RA-SR-04), although constructed in the
1880s and originally a good example of center-gable architecture, has lost the integrity of style that could
convey that significance. Loss of the central entry, changes in window materials, the addition of an
intrusive window, and modern siding have all diminished the original architecture and compromised the
building’s integrity.
The commercial building (RA-SR-07) in which Hamblin’s farm equipment business was located is not
significant architecturally. It was built as a utilitarian structure with little architectural interest. It does
have historic value, however; for approximately twenty years, it was part of the commercial activity at
Arlynda Corners. As a farm equipment business, Hamblin’s was important to local ranchers, serving their
equipment and repair needs. The building’s history prior to the Hamblin enterprise needs to be
documented to more fully understand its role in local commercial activities, including the Frederiksen’s
blacksmith business.
The blacksmith shop (RA-SR-07) to the rear of Hamblin’s building was not adequately documented as
part of this survey. A construction date could not be determined. However, this building was part of the
Arlynda commercial district and served area ranchers for years. Additional research is recommended
before determination of eligibility to the CRHR or NRHP.
160 and 190 on Port Kenyon Road (RA-SR-08): This property contains a single commercial building
comprised of two different constructions. The entire building dates from between 1958 and 1965. It meets
none of the qualifying criteria for designation as a historic resource under CEQA nor a historic property
under NHPA.
Historic Era Landscape Features (RA-SR-09 to 11): The Dike and Ditch System (SR-RA-09), Barn
Foundation and Corrals Site (RA-SR-10), and River Improvement Features (RA-SR-11) are not considered
historic resources eligible for listing on the CRHR nor historic properties eligible for listing on the NRHP.
The sites may be associated with an important event or theme on the local level; however, they do not
retain integrity of the context to be considered significant for listing on the CRHR or NRHP under
Criterion A. The sites are not significant under criterion B because they are not likely to be directly
associated with an important person. These sites cannot be considered significant under Criterion C
because they do not posses a particular quality such as the oldest type or best available example of its type.
The sites are not eligible under criterion D because they do not posses data to address important research
questions.
These sites were intensively recorded, documenting the information potential each of these sites offers.
The dike and ditch system was thoroughly surveyed and mapped. Cross section sketches were completed
at six locations. Associated features included a tide gate and cement spillway that were documented. The
barn and corral site was recorded and mapped. The barn foundation was measured and described. The
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River Improvement Features are a series of vertical logs imbedded in to the bank of Salt River with
horizontal wooden cross bracing. This feature was also measured, mapped, and described. Each site was
photographed. The information potential that each of these sites offers was recorded and is presented in
the archaeological site records for each site (Appendix A).
Historic Port Kenyon culturally sensitive area and RA-SR-12: The site and culturally sensitive area
are situated along the north and south bank of the Salt River approximately 380 meters northwest of the
intersection of Port Kenyon Road and Meridian Road. This location was determined sensitive for
historic-era cultural resources associated with the milling, canning and shipping activities that occurred at
Port Kenyon between the 1860s to the early 1900s. It is probable that buried archaeological deposits are
present at this location. Surface survey identified one cement feature (RA-SR-12), which appears to be a
foundation for machinery and may indicate where additional features and artifacts may be buried (ie
building alignments or foundations). The site is considered potentially eligible for listing on the CRHR
under criterion A for its association with early settlement and development of Port Kenyon and the Eel
River valley. The site may be significant under criterion B because it is directly associated with John
Gardner Kenyon, an important person in local history. This site cannot be considered significant under
Criterion C because it does not posses a particular quality such as the oldest type or best available
example of its type. The site may be eligible under criterion D because it may possess data to address
important research questions.
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6.5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
1. No surveyed properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or on the California
Register of Historical Resources (National Park Service, National Register; State of California, CHRIS).
None of the surveyed properties are listed in an existing survey or register. A previous survey for the
Ferndale Wastewater Treatment Marsh Project, conducted in 2001, does not include any of the properties
surveyed in this investigation (Winter and Morgan, 2001).
2. No individual properties were determined eligible for listing on neither the CRHR nor the National
Register of Historic Places.
3. Farmsteads, as a complex of buildings, determined eligible for listing on the CRHR and NRHP under
Criterion A for their significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural
heritage:
a. Christiansen-Martin Farmstead (RA-SR-05). Contributing structures: dairy barn, milk house,
loafing/feeding barn, and Canty House. Non-contributing: shed and garage/apartments
b. Sousa-Vevoda Farmstead (RA-SR-03). Contributing structures: barn, milk house, woodconstructed loafing/feeding barn, and workshop. Non-contributing: metal loafing/feeding barns,
milking barn, and house.
c. Silva-Vevoda Farmstead (RA-SR-02). Contributing: dairy barn, milking barn/milk
house/equipment shed, bungalow and garage. Non-contributing: 1950 house and loafing/feeding
barn.
d. Scalvini Farmstead (RA-SR-01). Contributing: dairy barn, calf barn, milk house, hog barn.
Non-contributing: milking barn, loafing/feeding barn, office, and house.
4. Individual buildings determined eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources under
Criterion C because each embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction
and/or possesses high artistic value:
a. Dairy barns on Riverside Ranch (RA-SR-06), Christiansen-Martin Ranch (RA-SR-05), SilvaVevoda Ranch (RA-SR-02), and Scalvini Ranch (RA-SR-01)
b. Barn on Sousa-Vevoda Ranch (RA-SR-03)
5. The two buildings at RA-SR-07 need further research to determine eligibility for the California
Register of Historical Resources under Criterion A:
a. Hamblin Farm Equipment Building (the two structures)
b. Blacksmith Shop
6. The Salladay-Bugbee property (RA-SR-08) at 160 and 190 Port Kenyon Road was determined to be
ineligible for designation as a historic property, meeting none of the qualifying criteria.
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7. The Dike and Ditch System (SR-RA-09), Barn Foundation and Corrals Site (RA-SR-10), and River
Improvement Features (RA-SR-11) are not considered eligible for listing on the CRHR nor the NRHP.
No specific site protection recommendations are warranted for these sites.
8. The cement feature (RA-SR-12) and surrounding culturally sensitive area are potentially eligible for
listing on the CRHR under criteria A, B, and D. Further research is recommended to determine eligibility.
9. Cultural Landscape. The surveyed properties are part of a larger landscape, one that should be more
fully documented to determine eligibility for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources
and/or the National Register of Historic Places as a cultural landscape that has made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage and the history of this
nation. Certainly, the farmsteads and many of the buildings are important in their own right as examples
of area ranches and necessary buildings associated with the dairy industry, but it is the collection as a
whole that gives significance to an entire landscape. Shaped by an incredibly rich and dynamic
environment created by the Eel River and its tributaries, wetlands, riparian forests, tidal sloughs and
marshes, topography, and the Pacific Ocean, this landscape reflects human use/alteration, creating a
cultural overlay now visible in the built environment of structures, features, and buildings. They represent
the history and cultural heritage of this landscape and a vibrant dairy industry that persists and has
through multiple family generations. The region portrays a unique natural environment, human use of
and adaptation to that environment, the physical overlay on that environment; all integral to the highly
significant lower Eel River cultural landscape.
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6.6 NATIVE AMERICAN CONSULTATION
Consultation included a letter faxed to the Native American Heritage Commission from Curtis Ihle with
the Humboldt County Resources Conservation District in June, 2007. The Native American Heritage
Commission (NAHC) reviewed the Notice of Preparation and recommended contacting the appropriate
Information Center and conducting an archaeological inventory. Hélène Rouvier, Cultural Director for
the Wiyot Tribe, responded on May 19, 2007 that “[t]he Salt River is within Wiyot ancestral territory and
has a high potential for cultural use and resources . . . Additionally, the watershed may have cultural
significance as a traditional cultural property, particularly for traditional subsistence and gathering”
(Appendix B).
Consultation initiated by Roscoe and Associatesincluded a letter faxed to the Native American Heritage
Commission on December 26, 2007. The Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) was asked to
search their Sacred Lands Inventory File and to provide a list of Native American representatives for the
project area. The NAHC replied on December 28, 2007 that no sacred lands were present within the
project area and provided a list of interested Native American tribes near the project area. A letter was
sent to all representatives on the NAHC list on December 26, 2007 (Appendix B). Hélène Rouvier,
Cultural Director for the Wiyot Tribe, responded on December 31, 2007 “…the Wiyot Tribe has no
known cultural sites in the area. However, there is potential for cultural use and resources” and “this
department requests intensive pedestrian survey and surface scrapes.” Nick Angeloff, Tribal Historic
Preservation Officer for the Bear River Tribe, replied on January 7, 2007 “[w]e have no knowledge of
cultural resources within your project area beyond what is commonly known.” On January 14, 2008,
Hélène Rouvier wrote an e-mail stating that a tribal representative “thinks that there was a village
somewhere in that area (it was wiped out in the 1860 massacres)…” Consultation continued throughout
the duration of the project including phone conversations with Ms. Rouvier. On March 13, 2007, Jennifer
Burns contacted Ms. Rouvier to discuss the letter dated May 19, 2007 that recommended considering the
Eel River watershed as a Traditional Cultural Property. Studies to determine whether the project area is
eligible as a Traditional Cultural Property were not conducted as a part of this Cultural Resources
Inventory and are considered outside the scope of the current project. Further studies are recommended
to address the Wiyot Tribe’s concerns. Ms. Rouvier indicated that the Wiyot Tribe is concerned about the
health of the watershed and that restoration projects such as the currently proposed project are important
in maintaining traditional subsistence and gathering practices.
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7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
During the background archival research, interviews with knowledgeable individuals, and the
archaeological field survey, four archaeological sites and eight building complexes were identified and
recorded. The location of Port Kenyon, where it coincides with the project’s APE, has been designated as
a “Culturally Sensitive Area,” due to the high probability for buried historic-era archaeological materials
(Appendix C).
The following recommendations will ensure that project affects are limited to levels that are considered
less than significant. With implementation of the following recommendations, no adverse impacts will
occur as a result of this project.
No adverse affects to the eight building complexes (RA-SR-01 through 08) or cultural landscape will
occur as a result of project implementation; therefore, no specific mitigation measures are recommended at
this time. Should the proposed project be amended to include adverse affects to any of the following sites
RA-SR-01, RA-SR-02, RA-SR-03, RA-SR-05, RA-SR-06, or RA-SR-07 further research is recommended.
The historic sites (RA-SR-09 to 11) recorded during this investigation are not considered historic resources
under CEQA nor historic properties under NHPA and therefore do not warrant specific mitigation
measures. No specific site protection recommendations are warranted for the identified historic-era sites:
Dike and Ditch System (RA-SR-09), Barn Foundation and Corrals Site (RA-SR-10), and River
Improvement Features (RA-SR-11). These sites were intensively recorded, documenting the information
potential each of these sites offer (Appendix A).
The culturally sensitive area is situated along the north and south bank of the Salt River approximately 380
meters northwest of the intersection of Port Kenyon Road and Meridian Road (see Figure 5). This location
was determined sensitive for historic-era cultural resources associated with the milling, canning and
shipping activities that occurred at Port Kenyon between the 1860s to the early 1900s. It is probable that
buried archaeological deposits are present at this location. Surface survey identified one cement feature
(RA-SR-12), which appears to be a foundation for machinery and may indicate where additional features
and artifacts may be buried (ie building alignments or foundations). It is recommended that pre-project
archeological testing be conducted at this location to determine presence or absence of cultural materials
within the proposed area of potential effects for this project. It appears that this location contains
substantial overburden of flood soils, capping the historic ground surface. Deep auger boring or backhoe
trenching is recommended to determine presence or absence of cultural materials within this sensitive area
prior to any project related excavations.
The Wiyot Tribe has recommended that the Eel River watershed be considered as a Traditional Cultural
Property. Studies to determine whether the project area is eligible as a Traditional Cultural Property were
not conducted as a part of this Cultural Resources Inventory and are considered outside the scope of the
current project. Further studies are recommended to address the Wiyot Tribe’s concerns.
The following pages offer recommendations for ensuring that potential project impacts on inadvertently
discovered cultural resources are eliminated or reduced to less than significant levels.
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7.1 PROTOCOLS FOR INADVERTENT DISCOVERIES
Inadvertent Discovery of Cultural Resources
If cultural resources, such as chipped or ground stone, historic debris, building foundations, or bone are
discovered during ground-disturbance activities, work shall be stopped within 20 meters (66 feet) of the
discovery, per the requirements of CEQA (January 1999 Revised Guidelines, Title 14 CCR 15064.5 (f))
and 36 CFR § 800.13 (a-b). Work near the archaeological finds shall not resume until a professional
archaeologist, who meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines, has evaluated the
materials and offered recommendations for further action.
Prehistoric materials which could be encountered include: obsidian and chert flakes or chipped stone tools,
grinding implements, (e.g., pestles, handstones, mortars, slabs), bedrock outcrops and boulders with mortar
cups, locally darkened midden, deposits of shell, dietary bone, and human burials. Historic materials
which could be encountered include: ceramics/pottery, glass, metal, can and bottle dumps, cut bone,
barbed wire fences, building pads, structures, trails/roads, railroad rails and ties, trestles, etc.
Inadvertent Discovery of Human Remains
If human remains are discovered during project construction, work will stop at the discovery location,
within 20 meters (66 feet), and any nearby area reasonably suspected to overlie adjacent to human
remains (Public Resources Code, Section 7050.5). The Humboldt County coroner will be contacted to
determine if the cause of death must be investigated. If the coroner determines that the remains are of
Native American origin, it is necessary to comply with state laws relating to the disposition of Native
American burials, which fall within the jurisdiction of the NAHC (Public Resources Code, Section 5097).
The coroner will contact the NAHC. The descendants or most likely descendants of the deceased will be
contacted, and work will not resume until they have made a recommendation to the landowner or the
person responsible for the excavation work for means of treatment and disposition, with appropriate
dignity, of the human remains and any associated grave goods, as provided in Public Resources Code,
Section 5097.98. Work may resume if NAHC is unable to identify a descendant or the descendant failed
to make a recommendation.
The following text details procedures for treatment of an inadvertent discovery of Human Remains:
- Immediately following discovery of known or potential human remains all ground-disturbing
activities at the point of discovery shall be halted,
- No material remains shall be removed from the discovery site, a reasonable exclusion zone
shall be cordoned off,
- The Project Manager shall be notified and the Project Manager shall contact the county
coroner.
- It is highly recommended the services of a professional archaeologist be retained to
immediately examine the find and assist the process.
- All ground-disturbing construction activities in the discovery site exclusion area shall be suspended.
- The discovery site shall be secured to protect the remains from desecration or disturbance, with 24hour surveillance, if prudent.
- Discovery of Native American remains is a very sensitive issue, and all project personnel shall hold
any information about such a discovery in confidence and divulge it only on a need-to-know basis.
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- The Coroner has two working days to examine the remains after being notified. If the remains are
Native American, the Coroner has 24 hours to notify the Native American Heritage Council
(NAHC) in Sacramento (telephone (916) 653-4082).
- The NAHC is responsible for identifying and immediately notifying the Most Likely Descendant
(MLD) of the deceased Native American.
- Within 24 hours of their notification by the NAHC, the MLD shall be granted permission by the
landowner’s authorized representative to inspect the discovery site, if they so choose.
- Within 24 hours of their notification by the NAHC, the MLD shall recommend to the landowner and
Project Manager means for treating or disposing, with appropriate dignity, the human remains and
any associated grave goods. The Recommendation may include the scientific removal and nondestructive or destructive analysis of human remains and items associated with Native American
burials.
- Whenever the NAHC is unable to identify a MLD, or the MLD identified fails to make a
recommendation, or the landowner or his/her authorized representative rejects the recommendation
of the MLD and mediation between the parties by the NAHC fails to provide measures acceptable to
the landowner, the landowner or his/her authorized representatives shall re-inter the human remains
and associated grave offerings with appropriate dignity on the property in a location not subject to
further subsurface disturbance.
- Following final treatment measures, the Project Manager or professional archaeologist shall ensure
that a report is prepared that describes the circumstances, nature and location of the discovery, its
treatment, including results of analysis (if permitted), and final disposition, including a confidential
map showing the reburial location. Appended to the report shall be a formal record about the
discovery site prepared to current California standards on DPR 523 form(s). Report copies will be
distributed to the NCIC, NAHC and MLD.
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72
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Edeline, Denis P.
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1880a Communicated (two letters). Ferndale Enterprise, January 9:3.
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1908a Steamer Argo on the Beach. Ferndale Enterprise, May 1:1.
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Hughes, R.E.
1978 Aspects of Prehistoric Wiyot Exchange and Social Ranking. Journal of California Anthropology
5(1):55-66.
Humboldt County Assessor’s Office
1868 Tax Assessment. Humboldt County Assessor’s Office.
Humboldt County Recorder’s Office
N.d. Humboldt County Index to Land Claims, Book 1. (The material referenced by the index is
contained in Humboldt County Land Claims, Book A, which cannot be located at the recorder’s
office.)
Humboldt Historian
1979 The Shaw Brothers. Humboldt Historian, May-June 1979.
Humboldt Daily Times
1876a A New Enterprise. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, May 21.
1876b Port Kenyon. [Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, August 11:3.
March, 2008
79
1876c Letter from “White Alder.” [Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, September 26, 1876:3.
1877a New Enterprise. [Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, March 3.
1877b Port Kenyon. [Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, June 15, 1877:3.
1877c Cape Mendocino. [Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, August 2:2.
1877d In Prospective.
[Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, October 12.
1877e The Wreck of the “Continental.” [Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, December 19:3.
1878a The Roads—The Flood, Etc. [Eureka] Humboldt Daily Times, February 16:1.
Humboldt Times
1857 Salmon Fisheries. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, December 19:2.
1859 Eel River Salmon Fisheries. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, October 29:2.
1866 Post Office Appointments. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, July 14:3.
1867 Freighting ad. Humboldt Times, September 28:2.
1873a Kenyon ad. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, July 12:2.
1873b Kenyon’s Landing on Salt River. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, July 19:2.
Humboldt Weekly Times
1880a The “Ferndale.” [Eureka] Humboldt Weekly Times, December 4:1).
1880b The “Ferndale.” [Eureka] Humboldt Weekly Times, December 11:1.
Humboldt Weekly Times
1880a The “Ferndale.” [Eureka] Humboldt Weekly Times, December 4:1).
1880b The “Ferndale.” [Eureka] Humboldt Weekly Times, December 11:1.
Jones, T. L., and W. R. Hildebrandt
1995 Reasserting a prehistoric tragedy of the commons: Reply to Lyman. Journal of Anthropological
Archaeology 14:78-98.
Kinman, Seth
1876 Life and Adventures of the Renouned [sic] hunter and Trapper, Guide and Explorer Seth Kinman.
Unpublished MS, copy on file in the Humboldt County Collection, Humboldt State University
Library, Arcata.
Kneiss, Gilbert H.
1956 Redwood Railways. Berkeley: Howell-North.
Klamath County
1851-1853 Preemption Claims, Book A. Available at the Humboldt County Recorder’s Office, Eureka.
March, 2008
80
Kroeber, A. L.
1925 Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 78. Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C.
1928 Law of the Yurok Indians. Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference of Americanists. Pp
511-516. 2 vols. Rome, 1926.
Kroeber, A. L., and T. T. Waterman
1917-1918 Notes on the Geography of Northwestern California: Yurok, Wiyot, Hupa, Chilula.
Manuscript from the Bancroft Library, University of California.
Levulett, Valerie and William Hildebrandt
1987 The King Range Archaeological Project: Results of the 1984 Field Season, Excavations at CAHUM-307, Hum-276, Hum-270, and Hum-175. Anthropological Studies Center, Sonoma State
University.
Loud, L.L.
1918 Ethnography and Archaeology of the Wiyot Territory. University of California Publications in
American Anthropology and Ethnology 14 221-436.
Lyman, R. Lee
1991 Prehistory of the Oregon Coast. Elsevier Publishing Company
Martin, Wallace E.
1983 Sail & Steam on the Northern California Coast 1850 – 1900. San Francisco: National Maritime
Museum Association.
MacKinnon Pens
2008 MacKinnon Pens. Electronic document, http://www.mackinnonpens.com/history.htm, accessed
January 18, 2008.
McBride, Viola
1992 Early Ferndale: Settled in 1852. Ferndale Enterprise, Summer Edition, 1992.
McKean, Erin, ed.
2005 The New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Melendy, Howard B.
n.d. The Founding of Klamath City. In Fountain, Susie Baker. Papers, vol. 119:18. Microfilm at
Humboldt State University Library, Arcata.
Merriam, C. Hart.
1998 C. Hart Merriam Papers, vol. 1. Microfilm located at the Humboldt State University Library,
Arcata, California.
Moranda, Larry
March, 2008
81
2008 Personal Communication. Humboldt Hill, 13 Feb.
Moratto, Michael J.
1984 California Archaeology. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press.
Nomland, Gladys A.
1935 Sinkyone Notes. University of California Publications in American Anthropology and Ethnology
35(2):149-178.
1938 Bear River Ethnography. Anthropological Reports 2(2).
Pearsall, Clarence E., ed.
1928 History and Genealogy of the Pearsall Family in England and America, vol. 3. San Francisco: H.
S. Crocker Company, Inc.
Perry, M.A.
1963 The History of Loleta. Master’s thesis, Humboldt State University.
Pilling, Arnold R.
1978 Yurok. In Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 8: California, Robert F. Heizer, ed. Pp. 137154. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
Powers, Stephen
1877 Tribes of California, in Contributions to North American Ethnology Volume III. Department of
the Interior, U.S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, J.W. Powell,
in Charge. Government Printing Office, Washington. (Reprinted in 1976 by University of California
Press, Berkeley.)
Renner, Tony
2008 Personal Communication. Riverside Ranch, 11 Feb.
Rocha, Tony
2008 Personal Communication. Ferndale. 11 Feb.
Rohde, Jerry
2005 Cultural Resources Survey, Del Norte Coast Redwoods – Mill Creek Acquisition. Prepared for
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park/Mill Creek Acquisition. On file at HSU-CICD-CRF.
Rohde, Jerry, and Gisela Rohde
1994 Redwood National & State Parks: Tales, Trails, & Auto Tours. McKinleyville, CA:
MountainHome Books.
Schmitt, Martin F., ed.
1960 General George Crook: His Autobiography. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Scalvini, Dorothy
2008 Personal Communication. Ferndale, 23 Jan.
March, 2008
82
Stenquist, Sheldon
2008 Personal Communication. Rohnerville, 19 Jan. 2008
Schwarzkopf, Chet
1949 Port Kenyon—Ships Once Made History. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, May 29, 1949:13,
22.
Spott, Robert, and E. F. Benedict
1949 Territory of the Yurok People and the Neighboring Tribes. [Eureka] Humboldt Times, June 26:4.
State of California. California Historic Resources Information System. On line at www.ohp.parks.ca.gov.
Tax Assessments
1860s - 1950s Humboldt County. Available on microfilm at the Humboldt County Library, Eureka..
Teeter, Karl V.
1964 The Wiyot Language. University of California Publications in Linguistics 37.
Times Weekly Telephone
1884 The Steamer “Ferndale.” [Eureka] Times Weekly Telephone, May 31:3
Tushingham, Shannon
2005 Progress Report on 2003-2004 Archaeological Investigations within North Coast Redwoods
District. UC Davis. On file at HSU-CICD-CRF.
United States Censuses. Population Schedules for 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. On
microfilm at Humboldt State University Library, Arcata.
United States Surveyor General
Map of Section 34, T3N, R2W, Humboldt Meridian. San Francisco: Surveyor General.
U. S. Department of the Interior
1889 Map of Township 13 North, Range 1 East, Humboldt Meridian. San Francisco: U. S. Department
of the Interior, Surveyor General.
Van Kirk, Susie.
1996 Newspaper References Concerning Navigation, Fisheries, Floods, and Projects on Lower Eel
River, Humboldt County, California, 1851-1955. Unpublished manuscript.
Verwayan, Don
2005 Is the Gunther Pattern a Maritime Adaption? Humboldt State University. On file at HSUCICD-CRF.
Vevoda, Dave
2008 Personal Communication. Ranches, 5, 9 Feb.
Vevoda, John
2008 Personal Communication. Price Creek, 21 Jan.
March, 2008
83
Vevoda, Kristin
2008 Personal Communication. Price Creek, 21 Jan.
Waterman, T. T.
1920 Yurok Geography. University of California Publications in American Anthropology and
Ethnology 16:5.
West Coast Signal
1871 Stage line ad. [Eureka] West Coast Signal, September 20:3.
1873a Freight line ad. [Eureka] West Coast Signal, October 1:2
1873b Fast freight ad. [Eureka] West Coast Signal, October 1:4
1879 Editor Signal. [Eureka] West Coast Signal, May 31:3.
1877 Port Kenyon. [Eureka] West Coast Signal, November 14:3.
1878a Port Kenyon Imports and Exports. [Eureka] West Coast Signal, January 16:3.
1878b Saturday Evening. [Eureka] West Coast Signal, February 6:3
Weekly Humboldt Times
1874 thru 1879 Published in Eureka. On microfilm at Humboldt State University Library, Arcata.
West Coast Signal
1871 thru 1878 Published in Eureka. On microfilm at Humboldt State University Library, Arcata.
Western Watchman
1886 After Three Years. Western Watchman, November 13, 1886:3.
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March, 2008
84
APPENDIX A
CONFIDENTIAL SITE RECORDS
March, 2008
85
State of California — The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
*Resource Name or #: RA-SR-01
P1. Other Identifier: Scalvini Ranch 3155 State Highway 211
*P2. Location: ⌧ Not for Publication
Unrestricted
*a. County: Humboldt______________
____
and
Date 1959(1972) T 3N; R 2W; SE ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec 36; Humboldt B.M
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad Fortuna
City Ferndale
Zip 95536
c. Address 3511 State Highway 211
d. UTM: Zone 10, 03 94 476 mE/ 44 94 507 mN (NAD 83)
e. Other Locational Data: From Highway 101, take the Ferndale exit and continue for 0.7 miles. Turn right onto Fernbridge/Ca211, and continue for approximately 3.5 miles. Turn left at 3511 Highway 211.
*P3a. Description: This site includes eight buildings on Assessor’s parcel number 100-091-009.
1) House: The house is one story with two gabled sections which are perpendicular to each other. Siding on one section is asbestos
shingles; the other has modern T-111 vertical siding. The house has both double-hung and sliding aluminum windows. The house has
been remodeled at least twice. The tax assessments state Charles Nelson made improvements to the land in 1883, which might have
been the construction of the house. Whatever the original architecture might have been, it has been substantially altered. Due to
limited access on private property, the house was not measured, nor fully inspected.
2) Office: Of contemporary construction, the office measures 10.5 by 16 feet, has plywood siding, a gable roof, and it sits on post-andpier foundation. It has a single window in each of the four walls and an entry on the south side.
Continued…
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Residence); HP33(Farm/Ranch)
*P4. Resources Present: ⌧Building Structure Object ⌧Site District Element of District
Other (Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: View east
of historic milk barn. Photo was taken
January 11, 2008.
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source: ⌧Historic Prehistoric
Both
*P7. Owner and Address:
Mary M. and Catherine L. Scalvini
PO Box 622 Ferndale, CA 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
Susie Van Kirk and Tanya Fechner
Bayside, CA 95518
*P9. Date Recorded: 1/11/2008
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive
Pedestrian Survey
*P11. Report Citation: A Cultural Resources Investigation of the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project, February 2008
*Attachments: NONE Location Map ⌧Sketch Map ⌧Continuation Sheet ⌧Building, Structure, and Object Record
⌧Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
*Required information
Primary #
HRI #
BUILDING, STRUCTURE,
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 4
*Resource Name or # RA-SR-01
B1. Historic Name: Scalvini Ranch
B2. Common Name: none
B4. Present Use: Dairy Farm
B3. Original Use: Dairy Farm
*B5. Architectural Style: Vernacular
*B6. Construction History: The house, office, milking barn, and loafing/feeding barn are modern buildings. The house is one
story with two gabled sections which are perpendicular to each other. Siding on one section is asbestos shingles; the other has
modern T-111 vertical siding. It has both double-hung and sliding aluminum windows. The house has been remodeled at least twice.
*B7.
Moved? ⌧No
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: Gravel driveway provides access to each building. The surrounding area is used for grazing.
b. Builder: unknown
B9a. Architect: unknown
Area: Salt River
*B10. Significance: Theme: Commercial Dairy Operations
Property Type: Ranch
Applicable Criteria:
Period of Significance: 1880-present
No individual properties at this site were determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. A complex of
buildings is eligible for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources under criterion A for their significant contribution to
the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage. The eligible buildings are the hog barn, calf barn, dairy barn, and
milk house. They contribute to the history of dairy farming on the Salt River. The dairy barn is determined eligible for the California
Register of Historical Resources under Criterion C because it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of
construction. The Scalvini Ranch house no longer retains sufficient integrity to convey the significance within the context of
dairying on the Salt River. The milking barn, loafing/feeding barn, and office are all modern building and are not eligible.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Property); HP33 (Farm/Ranch)
*B12. References: Dan DelBiaggio; January 11, 2008, personal
communication
B13. Remarks: No buildings on this site are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places or on the California Register of Historical
Resources. The buildings will not be altered by the Salt River Ecosystem
Restoration Project.
*B14. Evaluator: Susie Van Kirk and Tanya Fechner
*Date of Evaluation: 1/11/08
(This space reserved for official comments.)
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 3 of 4
*Recorded by: Susie Van Kirk and Tanya Fechner
*Resource Name or #) RA-SR-01
*Date 01/11/2008
⌧ Continuation
Update
*P3a. Description: Cont…
3) Milking Barn: A modern structure, the milking barn has a gabled roof and measures 23 by 50 feet. It is concrete throughout with
metal stanchions. Three walls have aluminum sliders and doors; the fourth wall on the south opens to the paved ramp and corrals for
the cows’ entry. Dan DelBiaggio Jr. said the milking barn was constructed in 1991-1992 (personal communications Jan. 11 2008).
4) Loafing/Feeding Barn: The concrete walls extend only part way to the metal roof, so that the remaining space is open. There are
three large openings at the north gable end. This is a recent structure built around 2003-2004 according to Dan DelBiaggio Jr.
(personal communications Jan 11, 2008).
5) Hog Barn: This is one of four older buildings (the others listed below) located adjacent to each other and would predate the modern
milking and feeding barns. It has a shed roof with exposed rafter ends, vertical board siding, a large opening to the west, and cement
floor. It measures 12.5 by 48 feet. Currently it houses a generator, but at one time it housed hogs.
6) Calf Barn: Attached to the side of the old dairy barn and paralleling the hog building, this older structure measures 32.5 by 64 feet.
It has a gabled roof covered with sheet metal. Siding is vertical board and the eaves are lined with exposed rafter ends. The west wall
is a large sliding wooden door. It is presently used as a calf barn.
7) Dairy Barn: This is a standard dairy barn with a gable roof and a single hay hood at the rear gable. It has an 11 foot cow stable,
two foot manger, and a 10 foot driveway on the south with a mow of about 30 feet, giving the total width of about 76 feet. Length is 75
feet, indicating a 50-cow barn (25 per side). The wood stanchions are still present in the south side stable. After the 1955 flood, Rocco
Scalvini put in the concrete floor, which has a significant slope up into the barn (Dan DelBiaggio Jr. personal communication, Jan. 11,
2008). Rocco Scalvini had calf pens inside the barn. The construction date is unknown; one might speculate that Rocco Sr. built the
barn during his tenure, perhaps as early as the 1920s. The dairy barn is determined eligible for the California Register of Historical
Resources because it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction
8) Milk House: The concrete-block milk house is at the corner of the barn and calf barn. It measures 14 by 21 feet. It has a gable
roof with a ventilator and sheet metal covering. Construction date is unknown.
*B6. Construction History: Cont… The tax assessments state Charles Nelson made improvements to the land in 1883, which
might have been the construction of the house. Whatever the original architecture might have been, it has been substantially altered.
Of contemporary construction, the office measures 10.5 by 16 feet, has plywood siding, a gable roof, and it sits on post-and-pier
foundation. It has a single window in each of the four walls and an entry on the south side. The milking barn was constructed in 19911992 and has a gabled roof and measures 23 by 50 feet. It is concrete throughout with metal stanchions. Three walls have aluminum
sliders and doors; the fourth wall on the south opens to the paved ramp and corrals for the cows’ entry. The loafing/feeding barn has
concrete walls that extend only part way to the metal roof, so that the remaining space is open. There are three large openings at the
north gable end. It was built in 2003-2004
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
State of California - The Resources Agency
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-01
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
4
4
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
USGS 7.5’ Fortuna, CA and Ferndale, CA
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
*Date of Map:______________
1959 (1972)
RA-SR-01
Ferndale Quad
Fortuna Quad
Source: Terain Navigator Pro, USGS 7.5’ Fortuna, CA and Ferndale, CA 1959 (1972), Scale: 1:24,000
MILES
0.5
0
TN
1
15.0o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
mN
0.5
KILOMETERS
1
*Required Information
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
P1. Other Identifier: Silva-Vevoda Ranch 50 Fulmor Road
Unrestricted
*a. County: Humboldt___________________
and
Date 1959(1972 T 3N ; R 2W ; NW ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec 36 ; Humboldt B.M
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad Fortuna
City Ferndale
Zip 95536
c. Address 50 and 215 Fulmor Road
d. UTM: Zone 10 , 03 94 249 mE/ 44 94 859 mN (NAD 83)
e. Other Locational Data: From Highway 101, take the Ferndale exit and continue for 0.7 miles. Turn right onto
Fernbridge/Ca-211, and continue for approximately 3.2 miles. Turn right on Port Kenyon Road; take the first left onto Fulmor
Road. Drive for 1.7 miles. The barn is located on the right.
*P3a. Description: This site includes five buildings on parcels number 106-121-076 and 106-021-077. These parcels are treated as
one property given that the description since 1868 has remained fairly intact, except for a 1.75 acre parcel sold in 1919 in the southeast
corner.
APN # 106-021-076: House at 50 Fulmor Road: This house is about 25 by 32 feet, including the attached garage. It has a low,
hipped roof covering both garage and house and hipped front stoop. Windows are 1/1 and double hung, roofing is composition
shingles, and siding is asbestos shingles. To the rear are a metal storage shed and another small outbuilding. According to Larry
Moranda, this house was built about 1950 by Louie Rocha (personal communication February 13, 2008).
Continued…
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Residence); HP33 (Farm/Ranch)
*P4. Resources Present: ⌧Building
Structure
Object ⌧Site
District
Element of District
Both
John M. and Kristin M. Vevoda
1009 Bertelson Lane
Ferndale, CA 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
Susie Van Kirk
and Tanya Fechner
Bayside, CA 95518
Pedestrian Survey
*Attachments: NONE Location Map ⌧Sketch Map ⌧Continuation Sheet ⌧Building, Structure, and Object Record
⌧Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
Page 2 of 4
NRHP Status Code
B1. Historic Name: none
B2. Common Name: Silva-Vevoda Ranch
*B5. Architectural Style: Bungalow and vernacular
*B6. Construction History: At this site there are two houses, and one of each: dairy barn, milking barn, milk house, equipment
shed and loafing/feeding barn. The house at 50 Fulmor Road is about 25 by 32 feet, including the attached garage. It has a low,
hipped roof covering both garage and house and hipped front stoop. Windows are 1/1 and double hung, roofing is composition
shingles, and siding is asbestos shingles. To the rear are a metal storage shed and another small outbuilding. It was built in the 1950s.
The house at 215 Fulmor Road is a Craftsman Period house.
Continued…
*B7. Moved?
⌧No
Yes
Unknown
Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: none
b. Builder: unknown (unless noted above)
Area: Salt River
Period of Significance: 1880-present Property Type: Ranch
buildings is eligible for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources under Criterion A for their significant contribution
to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage. The buildings eligible are the dairy barn, milk
house/equipment shed, bungalow and garage. They are significant to commercial dairying on the Salt River and contribute to
the history of dairy farming on the Salt River. However, the 1950s house and loafing/feeding barn are all modern building and
are not eligible. The Dairy barn is eligible for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources under Criterion C.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Residence);
HP33 (Farm/Ranch)
*B12. References: Louie Rocha (personal communication
February 13, 2008)
Resources. The buildings will not be altered by the Salt River Ecosystem
Restoration Project.
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page
3
of
4
*Recorded by:
Tanya Fechner and Susie Van Kirk
*Date 1/11/08
⌧ Continuation
Update
H*P3a. Description: Cont…
House at 215 Fulmor Road: A Craftsman Period house, this bungalow is 26.5 by 39 feet with a rear portion about 15 by 22 feet. It
has a front-facing gabled roof with knee brackets and exposed rafter ends along the eaves. A little gabled stoop covers the front entry.
Windows are 1/1 and double hung. Siding is asbestos shingles, which is not original, but probably added in the 1950s. The rear
section has a porch on the south side and in the north wall is a cooler vent along with a 6/6 window. Windows with two sashes, each
with six panes, were used in Humboldt County prior to about 1880, indicating this window came from an earlier house located perhaps
on this property. Perpendicular to the house and located at the rear of the house lot is a side-gabled building that measures 22 feet
across the front. It is presently used for storage, but was obviously once a living space. The door is from another era and is not
contemporaneous with the house construction which is estimated at the 1920s. Built right on the road, the separate garage, 18.5 by 20
feet, has vertical board siding, a gabled roof, and sliding door.
APN # 106-021-077:
1) Dairy Barn: This barn, 60 by 76 feet, has a gabled roof covered with sheet metal, a peaked hay hood at the south gable end, and
vertical board siding. In the south wall are large sliding doors into the mow, sliding cow stable doors on either side or a loft door. Small
square windows line the cow stable walls. The wood floors and manure gutters still remain, which is rarely seen because most older
barns have had their floors replaced with concrete. The original stables have the leather hinges on the wood stanchions. At 60 feet,
this was a 40-cow barn (20 per side) with an open hay storage area added to the north wall. The barn is located directly across Fulmor
Road from the bungalow at 215 Fulmor Road.
2) Milking Barn, Milk House, and Equipment Shed: Across a narrow paved courtyard to the south of the barn is a building that
includes a milking area with stanchion, a tank room (milk house), and an open (on one side) equipment shed. The milk house, 15 by
19 feet, rests on a high concrete foundation and has a gabled roof covered with composition shingles, horizontal board siding, and
small, square windows. It is located alongside the road at the west end of the milking barn, which measures 24 feet in length and
something less than the 19 foot width of the milk house. The building extends another 37.5 feet to the east, is open on the north, and is
used for equipment storage. This building may have been constructed after the 1955 flood (John Vevoda, January 21, 2008, personal
communication).
3) Loafing/Feeding Barn: This is a long, low building with open sides and a sheet metal roof. It extends to the east at right angles to
the barn. It was erected by John Vevoda in the late 1970s or early 1980s (Alan Cooly, personal communication, 9 Feb. 2008). It was
not possible to measure this structure due to heifers using the barn.
*B6. Construction History: Cont…
This bungalow is 26.5 by 39 feet with a rear portion about 15 by 22 feet. It has a front-facing gabled roof with knee brackets and
exposed rafter ends along the eaves. A little gabled stoop covers the front entry. Windows are 1/1 and double hung. Siding is
asbestos shingles, which is not original, but probably added in the 1950s. The rear section has a porch on the south side and in the
north wall is a cooler vent along with a 6/6 window. Windows with two sashes, each with six panes, were used in Humboldt County
prior to about 1880, indicating this window came from an earlier house located perhaps on this property. Perpendicular to the house
and located at the rear of the house lot is a side-gabled building that measures 22 feet across the front. It is presently used for storage,
but was obviously once a living space. The door is from another era and is not contemporaneous with the house construction which is
estimated at the 1920s. Built right on the road, the separate garage, 18.5 by 20 feet, has vertical board siding, a gabled roof, and
sliding door. The bungalow is located directly across from the dairy barn at 215 Fulmor Road. The dairy barn is 60 by 76 feet, has a
gabled roof covered with sheet metal, a peaked hay hood at the south gable end, and vertical board siding. In the south wall are large
sliding doors into the mow, sliding cow stable doors on either side or a loft door. Small square windows line the cow stable walls. The
wood floors and manure gutters still remain, which is rarely seen because most older barns have had their floors replaced with
concrete. The original stables have the leather hinges on the wood stanchions. At 60 feet, this was a 40-cow barn (20 per side) with
an open hay storage area added to the north wall. The milking barn was constructed after the 1955 flood and measures 19 by 24 feet.
The milk house, 15 by 19 feet, rests on a high concrete foundation and has a gabled roof covered with composition shingles, horizontal
board siding, and small, square windows. The loafing/feeding barn was built in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
RA-SR-02
4
4
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
*Date of Map:______________
1959 (1972)
RA-SR-02
APN#106-021-077
APN#106-021-076
Ferndale Quad Fortuna Quad
MILES
0.5
0
1
0
DPR 523J (1/95)
mN
15.0o
CALIF
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1
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
P1. Other Identifier: Sousa-Vevoda Ranch at 1009 Bertelson Lane
Unrestricted
and
Date 1959(1972) T 3N; R 2W; NW ¼ of SE ¼ of Sec 35; Humboldt B.M
b. USGS 7.5' Quad Ferndale
City Ferndale
Zip 95536
c. Address 1009 Bertelson Lane
Fernbridge/Ca-211, and continue for approximately 3.5 miles. Turn right on Port Kenyon Road and continue for less than
0.1 miles. Turn right on Fulmor Road and continue for approximately 2 miles. Turn left on Bertelson Lane. The
farmstead is located approximately 0.5 miles on the left.
*P3a. Description: This site includes nine buildings on Assessor’s parcel number 100-112-014.
1) House: The two-story, side-gable house has a front porch extending across the front and an attached garage. It was
constructed in 1988 (Kristin Vevoda, personal communication, 21 Jan. 2008). The old ranch house burned and the present building
was constructed by John Vevoda (Gene Godinho, personal communication, 5 Feb. 2008).
2) Loafing/Feeding Barns: The three metal loafing/feeding barns were constructed in the 1980s/1990s (Kristin Vevoda, personal
communication, 21 Jan. 2008). All are covered and have either several openings on an end or are open on all sides.
Continued…
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2 ( Single Family Property); HP33(Farm/Ranch)
Structure
Object ⌧Site
District
Element of District
P5b. Description of Photo: View west
January 24, 2008
Both
1009 Bertelson Lane
Ferndale, CA 95536
*P8. Recorded by: Susie Van Kirk
and Tanya Fechner, B.A.
Bayside, CA 95518
Pedestrian Survey
*Attachments: NONE ⌧Location Map ⌧Sketch Map ⌧Continuation Sheet ⌧Building, Structure, and Object Record
Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 4
B2. Common Name: Sousa-Vevoda Ranch
*B5. Architectural Style: none
*B6. Construction History: The house is a two-story, side-gable house that has a front porch extending across the front and an
attached garage. It was constructed in 1988. The three metal loafing/feeding barns were constructed in the 1980s/1990s. All are
covered and have either several openings on an end or are open on all sides. A fourth barn, located to the rear of the milking barn,
is of wood construction and enclosed on three sides; on the fourth, the lower portion of the wall is open.
Continued…
*B7. Moved? ⌧ No
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location:
b. Builder: unknown (unless stated above)
Area: Salt River
No buildings at this site were determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. A complex of buildings is
eligible for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources under Criterion A for their significant contribution to the broad
patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage of dairying on the Salt River. The eligible structures are the dairy barn, milk
house, wood-constructed loafing/feeding barn, and workshop. The metal/loafing barns, milking barn, and house are modern
structures and are not eligible. The barn on the Sousa-Vevoda ranch is eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources
under Criterion C because it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction.
*B12. References: Kristin Vevoda, personal communication, 21 Jan. 2008; Gene Godinho, personal communication, 5 Feb. 2008
B13. Remarks: The barn needs more research to determine what it
was used for. No buildings on this site are listed on the National
Resources. The buildings will not be altered by the Salt River
Ecosystem Restoration Project.
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 3 of 4
*Recorded by: Tanya Fechner and Susie Van Kirk
*Date 1/11/08
⌧ Continuation
Update
*P3a. Description: Cont…
A fourth barn, located to the rear of the milking barn, is of wood construction and enclosed on three sides; on the fourth, the lower
portion of the wall is open. Associated with these structures are corrals, gates, feeding and watering troughs, and concrete flooring.
These structures are being used for the heifers, as they are not currently milking at this ranch. It was not possible to access these
buildings for measuring and describing more fully because of the stock.
3) Milking Barn: Built in 1977, the milking barn is 50 by 50 with five stanchions per side. Concrete and metal, this building has
aluminum sliding doors and windows. At the rear is the concrete ramp leading from the corral into the barn. Adjacent to this barn is
a metal grain tank. This structure is not currently in use.
4) Work Shop: This gable-roofed building of metal and wood siding measures 20 by 36.5 feet. It has a large sliding door on the
front, a sheet metal roof, and small windows along the side walls.
5) Milk House: The milk house, attached to the old barn, measures 11 by 20 feet. It has a gabled roof, covered with sheet metal,
and horizontal board siding. One gable end abuts the barn wall; the other is lined by fuel tanks. On the north wall is an entrance
and a pair of small, square windows, also found on the south wall. This building was constructed after the 1964 flood (personal
communication 5 Feb. 2008).
6) Barn: This barn, measures 62 feet by 122 feet. Long and low, its appearance is unique among the area’s dairy barns, which
raises the question of whether it was built for that purpose. However, there is a hay hood on the front gable, one large hinged door
about 11 feet wide and one sliding door, 10 feet in width. Post timbers are 6x6 and have saw marks. John Vevoda said this was a
dowel barn and that the hay fork had a date of 1853 on it, but no pegs were found and the construction does not appear to be
mortise and tenon, although mortises for holding a horizontal timber are present on posts on the north side of the mow.
*B6. Construction History Cont…
Associated with these structures are corrals, gates, feeding and watering troughs, and concrete flooring. The milking barn, built in
1977, is 50 by 50 feet with five stanchions per side. Concrete and metal, this building has aluminum sliding doors and windows.
The work shop has a gable-roof of metal and wood siding measures 20 by 36.5 feet. It has a large sliding door on the front, a sheet
metal roof, and small windows along the side walls. The milk house was constructed after the 1964 flood and measures 11 by 20
feet. It has a gabled roof, covered with sheet metal, and horizontal board siding. The barn measures 62 feet by 122 feet. Long and
low, its appearance is unique among the area’s dairy barns, which raises the question of whether it was built for that purpose.
However, there is a hay hood on the front gable, one large hinged door about 11 feet wide and one sliding door, 10 feet in width.
Post timbers are 6x6 and have saw marks. This is a long, low barn, whose construction appears to be for some use other than
dairying. Eel River valley produced grains, hay, and potatoes before the dairy industry took hold in the 1880s. There is the
possibility that this barn could have been a storage facility for one of these products and therefore constructed before 1880.
Further research is necessary to determine eligibility for NHRP or CRHR.
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-03
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
4
4
Page_____of_____
USGS 7.5' Ferndale, CA and Fortuna, CA
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-03
Ferndale Quad
Fortuna Quad
Source: Terain Navigator Pro, USGS 7.5’ Ferndale, CA and Fortuna CA 1959 (1972), Scale: 1:24,000
MILES
0.5
0
TN
1
15.0o
CALIF
0
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DPR 523J (1/95)
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Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
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Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
P1. Other Identifier: Fuller-Hamblin House at 349 Port Kenyon Road
Unrestricted
*a. County: Humboldt_______________
____
and
Date 1959(1972) T 3N; R 2W; SW ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec 36; Humboldt B.M
b. USGS 7.5' Quad Ferndale
City Ferndale
Zip 95536
c. Address 349 Port Kenyon Road
Fernbridge/Ca-211, and continue for approximately 3.5 miles. Turn right on Port Kenyon Road and continue for less
then 0.1 miles. The house is located on the right side.
*P3a. Description: This site includes one house on Assessors parcel number 100-171-005. This one-and-a-half story, center gable
house measures 28 by 35 feet with an entry addition on the west that measures 15 feet across the front. Modern siding and
aluminum windows have replaced the original materials. Janet Martin-Fisk said the original house had Victorian ornamentation
probably on the cornice (personal communication 5 Feb. 2008). Originally the entrance was under the center gable, flanked by
matching windows, not the present picture window. Windows in 1880s houses generally were 2/2, double-hung, and wood framed.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2(Single Family Residence)
Structure
Object ⌧Site
District
Element of District
P5b. Description of Photo: This photo is the Fuller Hamblin House. View to the north east.
Both
Janet Martin (Reed) Fisk
Ferndale, CA 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
Susie Van Kirk
Bayside, CA 95518
Pedestrian Survey
*P11. Report Citation: A Cultural
Resources Investigation of the Salt
River Ecosystem Restoration Project, February 2008
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 4
B1. Historic Name: Fuller-Hamblin House
B2. Common Name: none
B4. Present Use: Single Family Residence
B3. Original Use: Single Family Residence
*B5. Architectural Style: Vernacular
*B6. Construction History: Isaac Fuller constructed the present dwelling in 1882. This one-and-a-half story, center gable house
measures 28 by 35 feet with an entry addition on the west that measures 15 feet across the front. Modern siding and aluminum
windows have replaced the original materials. Janet Martin-Fisk said the original house had Victorian ornamentation probably on
the cornice (personal communication 5 Feb. 2008).
*B7. Moved? ⌧No
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location:
b. Builder: Isaac Fuller
Area: Salt River
The Fuller-Hamblin House, although constructed in the 1880s and originally a good example of center-gable architecture, has
unfortunately lost the integrity of style that could convey that significance. Loss of the central entry, changes in window materials
and the addition of a picture window, and modern siding have all diminished the original architecture and significantly altered the
building’s integrity.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Residence)
*B12. References: Janet Martin-Fisk, personal communication 5 Feb.
2008
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 3 of 4
*Resource Name or #)
RA-SR-04
*Date 01/11/2008 ⌧ Continuation
Update
*P3a. Description Cont…
On the back at the northwest corner of the house is a small uncovered porch into the back door. A break in the roofline indicates
this portion of the house, which extends the width of the main house, might have been an addition or a porch, now enclosed except
for one corner. The house has a frieze board, corner boards and watercourse, and sits on a perimeter foundation.
Originally the entrance was under the center gable, flanked by matching windows, not the present picture window. On the back at
the northwest corner of the house is a small uncovered porch into the back door. A break in the roofline indicates this portion of the
house, which extends the width of the main house, might have been an addition or a porch, now enclosed except for one corner.
The house has a frieze board, corner boards and watercourse, and sits on a perimeter foundation. A break in the roofline indicates
that portion of the house, which extends the width of the main house, might have been an addition or a porch, now enclosed except
for one corner. The house has a frieze board, corner boards and watercourse, and sits on a perimeter foundation.
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-04
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
4
4
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-04
Ferndale Quad
Fortuna Quad
Source: Terain Navigator Pro, USGS 7.5’ Ferndale, CA and Fortuna, CA 1959 (1972), Scale: 1:24,000
MILES
0.5
0
TN
1
15.0o
CALIF
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QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
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KILOMETERS
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Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
P1. Other Identifier: Christiansen-Martin Ranch at 441 Port Kenyon Road
Unrestricted
and
Date 1959(1972) T 3N; R 2W; SW ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec 35; Humboldt B.M
*b. USGS 7.5' Quad Ferndale
City Ferndale
Zip 95536
c. Address 441 Port Kenyon Road
d. UTM: Zone 10, 03 93 698 mE/ 44 94 503 mN (NAD 83)
Fernbridge/Ca-211, and continue for approximately 3.5 miles. Turn right on Port Kenyon Road and continue for less
than 0.1 miles. The house is located on the right side.
*P3a. Description: This site includes six buildings on Assessors parcel number 100-161-007.
1) Canty House: Michael Canty owned this two-story house, measuring 30 by 37 feet, with a one-story rear section measuring 26
by 30 feet. It has a side gable roofline with a center gable over the front door and stoop. The original horizontal, shiplap siding is
covered with asbestos shingles and the wood frame, 1/1 windows have been replaced with aluminum. The house has a
watercourse and now sits on a perimeter foundation, which replaces the original post-and-pier foundation. The front stoop has a
hipped-style roof and two turned posts. The rear section is entered through a recessed porch, has a gabled roof and retains its
original shiplap siding. The house was constructed in 1897.
Continued…
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Property); HP33 (Farm, Ranch)
Structure
Object ⌧Site
District
Element of District
P5b. Description of Photo: This photo
is of the 1897 Canty House. View
looking northwest.
Both
1009 Bertelson Lane
Ferndale, CA 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
Susie Van Kirk
Bayside, CA 95518
Pedestrian Survey
Resources Investigation of the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project, February 2008
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 4
B1. Historic Name: Canty House
B2. Common Name: Christiansen-Martin Ranch
B4. Present Use: Dairy and Sheep Farm
*B5. Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: The Canty house was built in 1897 by James Scott. It is a two-story house, measuring 30 by 37 feet,
with a one-story rear section measuring 26 by 30 feet. It has a side gable roofline with a center gable over the front door and stoop.
The original horizontal, shiplap siding is covered with asbestos shingles and the wood frame, 1/1 windows have been replaced with
aluminum. The house has a watercourse and now sits on a perimeter foundation, which replaced the original post-and-pier
foundation. The front stoop has a hipped-style roof and two turned posts.
Continued…
*B7. Moved? ⌧No
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location:
b. Builder: James Scott & Jack Martin
Area: Salt River
buildings is eligible for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources under Criterion A for their significant contribution to
the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage. The eligible structures are the dairy barn, milk house, loafing/feeding
barn, and Canty House. The buildings which are not eligible are the shed and garage/apartments. Continued…
*B12. References: Janet Martin Fisk, personal communication, 5 Feb.
2008
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 3 of 4
*Recorded by: Tanya Fechner and Susie Van Kirk
*Date 1/11/08
⌧ Continuation
Update
2) Dairy Barn: This gabled barn measures 71 by 90 feet. The front wall contains one sliding door into a cow stable and three large
and two small hinged doors. There are no hay hoods. The rear wall has both sliding and hinged doors. Siding is horizontal board
and the roof is covered with sheet metal. The south-side cow stable is identified by a break in the barn’s roof. It was not possible to
view the barn’s interior, but its arrangement must be similar to the standard dairy barn with cow stables, driveways and central
mow. A barn 90 feet in length indicates a 60-cow barn (30 per side). Jack Martin milked 200 cows (Janet Martin Fisk, personal
communication, 16 Jan. 2008).
3) Milk House: Attached to the north side of the barn, the milk house measures 14.5 by 24 feet. The lower wall is cement with
horizontal wood siding above. The gabled roof is covered with sheet metal and exposed rafter ends line the eaves.
4) Loafing/Feeding Barn: The loafing/feeding barn is located to the rear (west) of the barn. It was not possible to measure it due
to the presence of stock, but it appears to be about 35 feet by 75 feet, estimated by its relationship to the barn. It has a gabled roof
covered with sheet metal and exposed rafter ends.
5) Garage/Apartments: Located between the house and barn, this building measures 34.5 by 45 feet. It is a side-gable building
with composition shingles, exposed rafter ends, and horizontal board siding. A large sliding door on the south wall accesses the
garage area, but several small doors lead to individual living areas. The building was constructed in1974 by Jack Martin for his
hired help (Janet Martin Fisk, personal communication, 5 Feb. 2008).
6) Shed: To the rear of the Garage/Apartments and parallel is a building which appears to be an equipment shed. It measures 23
by 31 feet. The building has a gable roof covered with sheet metal, a metal door on the west end, exposed rafter ends and vertical
board siding. It was also constructed by Jack Martin.
*B6. Construction History: Cont…
The rear section is entered through a recessed porch, has a gabled roof and retains its original shiplap siding. The dairy barn
measures 71 by 90 feet. The front wall contains one sliding door into a cow stable and three large and two small hinged doors.
There are no hay hoods. The rear wall has both sliding and hinged doors. Siding is horizontal board and the roof is covered with
sheet metal. The milk house measures 14.5 by 24 feet. The lower wall is cement with horizontal wood siding above. The gabled
roof is covered with sheet metal and exposed rafter ends line the eaves. The loafing/feeding barn is located to the rear (west) of
the barn. It was not possible to measure it due to the presence of stock, but it appears to be about 35 feet by 75 feet, estimated by
its relationship to the barn. It has a gabled roof covered with sheet metal and exposed rafter ends.
Located between the house and barn are garage/apartments. This building measures 34.5 by 45 feet. It is a side-gable building
with composition shingles, exposed rafter ends, and horizontal board siding. A large sliding door on the south wall accesses the
garage area, but several small doors lead to individual living areas. The building was constructed in 1974 by Jack Martin for his
hired help.
The equipment shed measures 23 by 31 feet. The building has a gable roof covered with sheet metal, a metal door on the west
end, exposed rafter ends and vertical board siding. It was also constructed by Jack Martin.
*B10. Significance: Theme: Cont…
The dairy barn at the Christiansen-Martin Ranch is significant and is an excellent example of the unique construction found on the
bottom lands in the Humboldt Bay region and specifically associated with the dairy industry that has continued for 125 years. The
Christiansen- Martin Ranch house along with the barns are considered eligible under Criterion C. The wood-constructed
loafing/feeding barn on the Christiansen-Martin contributes to the farmsteads, regardless of age, because of their wood
construction and compatibility with the historic buildings.
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-05
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
4
4
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-S R-05
Ferndale Quad
Fortuna Quad
MILES
0.5
0
TN
1
15.0o
CALIF
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QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
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0.5
KILOMETERS
1
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HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
P1. Other Identifier: Riverside Ranch at 1409 Riverside Road
Unrestricted
and
City Ferndale
Zip 95536
c. Address 1409 Riverside Road
d. UTM: Zone 10, 03 9o 308 mE/ 44 94 962 mN
Fernbridge/Ca-211, and continue for approximately 3.5 miles. Turn right on Port Kenyon Road and continue for 1.4 miles.
Turn right on Dillon, then take the first left on to Riverside Road. The residence is located at 2 miles up on the left on
Riverside Road.
*P3a. Description: This site includes six buildings on Riverside Ranch, APN 100-111-001, 100-111-008 and 100-091-008
None of the original Riverside Ranch buildings remain; the barn burned about 1925 and the house washed away in one of the
floods. Buildings now present at the end of Riverside Road are the following:
1) Milking Barn: Constructed after the 1964 flood (Ambrosini, personal communication, 11 Feb. 2008), the milking barn is 22 feet
wide and 60 feet long, including the tank room. This gable-roofed building sits high above the ground (12 steps up) with a lower wall
of concrete and an upper of wood with aluminum sliders. All of the floors and ramps leading from the loafing/ feeding barn into the
milking barn are concrete.
Continued…
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Property) HP33 (Farm/Ranch)
Structure
Object ⌧Site
District
Element of District
P5b. Description of Photo: View
north, January 24, 2008 date.
Both
Western Rivers Conservancy
71 SW Oak St.
Portland, OR 97204
*P8. Recorded by:
Susie Van Kirk
Bayside, CA 95518
Pedestrian Survey
Resources Investigation of the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project, February 2008
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
Page 2 of 4
NRHP Status Code
B2. Common Name: Riverside Ranch
B4. Present Use: unknown
*B5. Architectural Style: modern
___
*B6. Construction History: The milking barn was constructed after the 1964 flood. It is 22 feet wide and 60 feet long, including
the tank room. This gable-roofed building sits high above the ground (12 steps up) with a lower wall of concrete and an upper of
wood with aluminum sliders. All of the floors and ramps leading from the loafing/ feeding barn into the milking barn are concrete.
Continued…
*B7. Moved? ⌧No
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location:
*B8. Related Features: Landscape features include pilings on the right bank in this lower reach of Salt River. According to Rich
Ambrosini, these pilings once had planking and tires attached to keep downstream vessels away from the bank (personal
communication 11 Feb. 2008). Other features are the levees, ditches, and a spillway associated with reclamation and the concrete
slab from the old barn.
b. Builder: unknown
Area: Salt River
None of the original Riverside Ranch buildings remain; the barn burned about 1925 and the house washed away in one of the
floods. The Dairy barn at Riverside Road is eligible for listing on the California National Historical Register under Criterion C.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: HP2 (Single Family Property) HP33 (Farm/Ranch)
*B12. References: Ambrosini, personal communication, 11 Feb. 2008
B13. Remarks: The buildings will not be altered by the Salt River
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 3 of 4
RA-SR-06
Update
2) Office/Storage Building: The milking barn is connected by a walkway to an office/storage building, 17x20, also sitting on a
concrete base high above the ground. The upper portion, under a gable roof with exposed rafter ends, is covered with horizontal
siding and plywood.
3) Loafing/Feeding Barn: Attached to the rear of the milking barn and extending alongside the dairy barn is a feeding/loafing area
with concrete floor, metal roof, and open sides. Because of the stock, it was not possible to measure this structure. On the south
side are the calf pens, also covered, but accessible to the outside. A wooden loading chute extends down to the road from the
feeding barn. Two large metal grain tanks and a smaller tank are located alongside the milking barn.
4) Work Shop: This sheet metal building, located to the rear of two large grain tanks, has a sliding door on the south and
measures 22 by 24 feet.
5) Dairy Barn: This is a large barn, constructed after the 1955 flood (Rich Ambrosini, personal communication, 11 Feb. 2008).
Because of stock, it was not possible to accurately measure the barn; however, it appears to be fairly standard, perhaps 78 feet
wide and 120 feet long, indicating an 80-cow barn (40 per side). The barn features hay hoods at both gable ends, a metal roof, and
vertical board siding.
6) Residence Complex: A short distance down the road is a mobile home, trailer, and several wooden sheds.
The milking barn is connected by a walkway to an office/storage building, 17x20, also sitting on a concrete base high above the
ground. The upper portion, under a gable roof with exposed rafter ends, is covered with horizontal siding and plywood. Attached to
the rear of the milking barn and extending alongside the dairy barn is a feeding/loafing area with concrete floor, metal roof, and open
sides. A wooden loading chute extends down to the road from the feeding barn. Two large metal grain tanks and a smaller tank are
located alongside the milking barn. The work shop is a sheet metal building, located to the rear of two large grain tanks, has a
sliding door on the south and measures 22 by 24 feet. The dairy barn was constructed after the 1955 flood. Because of stock, it
was not possible to accurately measure the barn; however, it appears to be fairly standard, perhaps 78 feet wide and 120 feet long,
indicating an 80-cow barn (40 per side). The barn features hay hoods at both gable ends, a metal roof, and vertical board siding. A
short distance down the road is a mobile home, trailer, and several wooden sheds.
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-06
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
4
4
Page_____of_____
USGS 7.5' Ferndale, CA
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-06
Source: Terain Navigator Pro, USGS 7.5’ Ferndale, CA 1959 (1972), Scale: 1:24,000
MILES
0.5
0
TN
1
15.0o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
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1
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
P1. Other Identifier: Hamblin Farm Equipment and Blacksmith Shop at Arlynda Corners
Unrestricted
and
City: Ferndale
Zip: 95536
c. Address 1409 Riverside Road
d. UTM: Zone 10, 03 93 796 mE/ 44 94 568 mN
Fernbridge/Ca-211, and continue for approximately 3.5 miles. Turn right on Port Kenyon Road. The buildings are at the
intersection of Market and Port Kenyon Rd.
*P3a. Description: This site includes two buildings on APN 100-171-006.
1) Hamblin Farm Equipment: The building is located at Arlynda Corners at the intersection of Market and Port Kenyon. The
shop is 39 feet long and measures 61 feet across the front. The roof is covered with sheet metal and terminates at the street
façade in a false front. Siding is horizontal overlapping board. A pair of aluminum sliding windows and a door is located in the front
wall to the west of a centered vehicle door. Along the west wall are five small windows, square in shape and six-paned. There are
two different constructions in this building. Interior inspection shows that the section on the west was built at a different time than
the remaining section.
Continued…
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP6 (1-3 Story Commercial Building)
Structure
Object ⌧Site
District
Element of District
north, January 24, 2008.
Both
Western Rivers Conservancy
71 SW Oak St.
Portland, OR 97204
*P8. Recorded by:
Susie Van Kirk
Bayside, CA 95518
Pedestrian Survey
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 4
B2. Common Name: Hamblin Farm Equipment and Blacksmith Shop at Arlynda Corners
B4. Present Use: Feed Storage
B3. Original Use: Commercial Building and Blacksmith Shop
*B5. Architectural Style: Utilitarian
*B6. Construction History: The blacksmith shop measures 27 feet in width and 41 feet in length. It has a low gabled roof
covered with sheet metal and board-and-batten siding. In the east wall are three openings: a multi-paned door, an aluminum slider,
and a fixed window. Another small window is located in the rear wall. The Hamblin Farm Equipment building is 39 feet long and
measures 61 feet across the front.
Continued…
*B7. Moved? ⌧No
Yes
Unknown
*B8.
Related Features: none
Date:
Original Location:
b. Builder: unknown
Area: Arlynda Corners
*B10. Significance: Theme: Dairy Industry
Property Type: Commercial
Period of Significance: 1880-Present
More research needs to be done on these two buildings. The deeds state the blacksmith shop could have been a bottle works
in 1901. The commercial building in which Hamblin’s farm equipment business was located is not significant architecturally, but
it does have historic value. For approximately 20 years it was part of the commercial activity at Arlynda corners for local
residents.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: HP6 (1-3 Story Commercial Building)
*B12. References: none
B13. Remarks: No buildings on this site are listed on the National Register
of Historic Places or on the California Register of Historical Resources.
The buildings will not be altered by the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration
Project.
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 3 of 4
RA-SR-07
Update
2) Blacksmith Shop: The rear building measures 27 feet in width and 41 feet in length. It has a low gabled roof covered with
sheet metal and board-and-batten siding. In the east wall are three openings: a multi-paned door, an aluminum slider, and a fixed
window. Another small window is located in the rear wall.
The roof is covered with sheet metal and terminates at the street façade in a false front. Siding is an overlapping board. A pair of
aluminum sliders and a door is located in the front wall to the west of a centered vehicle door. Along the west wall are five small
windows, square in shape and six-paned. There are two different constructions in this building. Interior inspection shows that the
section on the west was built at a different time than the remaining section. The date of construction for both buildings is not yet
determined.
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-07
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
4
4
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-07
Ferndale Quad
Fortuna Quad
MILES
0.5
0
TN
1
15.0o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
mN
0.5
KILOMETERS
1
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 2
*Resource Name or #:RA-SR-08
P1. Other Identifier: Salladay-Bugbee Property at 190 and 160 Port Kenyon Rd.
Unrestricted
*a. County _Humboldt_________ _______________
and
Date 1959(1972) T 3N ; R 2W ; SW ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec 36 ; Humboldt B.M
City Ferndale
Zip 95536
c. Address 190 and 160 Port Kenyon Rd.
d. UTM: Zone 10 , 03 94 176mE/ 44 94 479mN
Fernbridge/Ca-211, and continue for approximately 3.2 miles. Turn right on Port Kenyon Road. The property is located on
the left, just past the turn for Fulmor Rd.
*P3a. Description: This site includes one commercial building on Assessor’s Parcel Numbers100-172-020 and 100-172-031.
There are two buildings incorporated into this commercial structure. The eastern portion was constructed as a garage and was
associated with the adjoining house. It appears to have been built between 1958 and 1963. The western portion, which sits on a
four-foot perimeter foundation, was built the year following the 1964 flood. The entire building measures 50.5 by 50.5 feet. There is
nothing notable about the building—it has a low roofline, horizontal shiplap siding, and entrances on the north and west sides. It is
accessed from Port Kenyon Road by a circular drive.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: HP6 (1-3 story commercial building)
Structure
Object ⌧Site
District
Element of District
South, Commercial Structure. Date of
photo: 2/20/08
Both
Daniel Bugbee
190 Port Kenyon Rd
Ferndale, CA 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
Suzie Van Kirk
Bayside, CA 95518
Pedestrian Survey
*Attachments: NONE ⌧Location Map ⌧Sketch Map ⌧Continuation ⌧Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record
Other (List):
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-08
*Resource Name or #_______________________
2
2
Page_____of_____
1959 (1972)
*Date of Map:______________
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
RA-SR-08
Ferndale Quad Fortuna Quad
MILES
0.5
0
TN
1
15.0o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
mN
0.5
KILOMETERS
DPR 523J (1/95)
1
Copyright (C) 1997, Maptech, Inc.
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 9
P1. Other Identifier: Riverside Ranch Dike and Drainage System
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted
*a. County Humboldt________________________
Date 1959
T 3N ; R 2W ; NW ¼ and NW ½ of SW ¼ and W ½ of SE ¼ and
SE ¼ of SE ¼ of Sec 28; and NE ¼ of NE ¼ of Sec 29; and NE ¼ of Sec 33; Humboldt B.M
City
Zip
c. Address
d. UTM: Zone 10 , (NAD 83) 03 90 099 mE/ 44 95 173 mN at Point A
03 89 904 mE/ 44 96 183 mN at Point B
03 89 130 mE/ 44 96 581 mN at Point C
03 88 769 mE/ 44 97 494 mN at Point D
03 89 305 mE/ 44 97 275 mN at Point E
e. Other Locational Data: From Ferndale take Main street northeast 1.3 miles to Port Kenyon Road. Turn west and proceed
1.4 miles west to Dillon Road. Turn north on Dillon Road and go over the Salt River Bridge to Riverside Road. Turn west and
proceed 1.5 miles to the southern end of this dike and ditch system on Riverside Ranch.
*P3a. Description: This site record is for a system of dikes, ditches, and cross field drains. The dike was constructed along the north
bank of the Salt River to reduce flooding and drain the land for cattle production. The dike was constructed with a ditch on the
north side connecting smaller cross field drains and the natural swales. A poured cement spillway (F1) and a cement boxed
head gate (F2) are recorded as associated features to this resource.
.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: Water conveyance system (AH6)
*P4. Resources Present:Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: North facing view of the dike and ditch at Cross Section Sketch Point #1.
Source: Historic Prehistoric
Both
Riverside Ranch
Ferndale CA, 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
William Rich & Erik Whiteman
Roscoe & Associates
3781 Brookwood Dr.
Bayside, CA 95524
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive Pedestrian Survey
*P11. Report Citation: A Cultural Resources
Investigation of the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project, February 2008
*Attachments: NONE Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 9
B1. Historic Name:
B2. Common Name: Riverside Ranch Dike and drainage system
B3. Original Use: Flood control and field reclamation
*B5.
B4. Present Use: Flood control and storm water drainage
Architectural Style: Earthen dike and ditch and shallow cross field drains (lacking a berm or dike).
*B6. Construction History: The construction date of the dike is unknown. It is possible that cement tide gate
and spillway were constructed later, possibly after the 1955 or 1964 floods.
*B7.
Moved? No
Yes
Unknown
*B8.
Related Features: A poured cement spillway (F1) and a cement boxed tidegate (F2) are recorded as associated features
Date:
B9a. Architect: Unknown
Original Location:
b. Builder:
*B10. Significance: Theme: Tideland reclamation of Eel River bottoms Area: Lower Salt River, Riverside Ranch
Property Type: Earth Dike and Ditch Applicable Criteria:
Period of Significance: Unknown
(a) and (c)
See Linear Feature Record.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes:
AH16—Tidegate, AH16-- Spillway
*B12. References:
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: William Rich and Erik Whiteman
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 3 of 9
*Resource Name or # RA-SR-09 (Spillway)
B1. Historic Name:
B2. Common Name: Riverside Ranch Concrete Spillway (Feature 1)
B4. Present Use: Spillway
B3. Original Use: Spillway
*B5.
Architectural Style: Poured concrete
*B6.
Construction History:
*B7.
Moved? No
*B8.
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location: North corner at 0389196 mE
(NAD 83)
4496346 mN
Related Features: The spillway is constructed into the main dike and ditch.
B9a. Architect: N/A
b. Builder:
Unknown
Area: Lower Salt River, Riverside Ranch
*B10. Significance: Theme: Tideland reclamation of Eel River bottoms
Property Type: Spillway
Applicable Criteria: (a) and (c)
The spillway consists of a rectangular cement pad measuring 30 feet wide and 50 feet long. The north and east corners have
upright cement posts (18”x18”x4’). The west and south corners have 12” diameter wood posts, which are 4 feet tall. The
spillway feature appears to drain the main Riverside Ranch ditch to the Salt River.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: Water conveyance system (AH6)
*B12. References:
B13. Remarks: The poured concrete spillway is similar to the concrete
foundation of the Former Barn, 800 feet to the east.
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 4 of 9
*Resource Name or # RA-SR-09 (Tidegate)
B1. Historic Name:
B2. Common Name: Riverside Ranch Tidegate (Feature 2)
B4. Present Use: Tidegate
B3. Original Use: Tidegate
*B5.
Architectural Style: Poured concrete with two corrugated steel culverts and steel top hinged flood gate
*B6.
*B7.
Moved? No
*B8.
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location: North corner at 0389196 mE
(NAD 83)
4496346 mN
Related Features: the feature bisects the main dike and connects the ditch and other cross field drains.
b. Builder:
___
Unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme: Tideland reclamation of Eel River Bottoms
Property Type: Tidegate
Applicable Criteria: (a) and (c)
The tide gate is constructed of concrete with two 48 inch diameters corrugated metal culverts. Large wood timbers are also
used in the feature. The cement work measures 40 feet long and 16 feet wide and also serves as a bridge on Riverside Road.
The gate connects the main ditch and cross field drains on southern pastures on the Riverside Ranch
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: Water conveyance system (AH6)
*B12. References:
B13. Remarks:
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-09
*Resource Name or #____________________________
Page____of_____
6
9
USGS 7.5’ Ferndale, CA
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (PR 1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-09
Riverside Ranch Dike and
Drainage System
D
E1
X
2
X
3
X
C
Spillway
B
Tidegate
X
5
4
X
6
LEGEND
X
A
Dike
Ditch
X
1-6 Cross Section Sketch
A-E UTM Point
SOURCE: Terain Navigator Pro, USGS 7.5' Ferndale, CA 1959 (PR 1972) SCALE: 1:24,000.
TN
MILES
0.5
0
1
mN
18.5o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
0.5
KILOMETERS
1
Primary#
HRI#
LINEAR FEATURE RECORD
Trinomial
Page
L1.
5
of
9
Resource Name or #: RA-SR-09
Historic and/or Common Name: Riverside Ranch Dike and Drainage System
L2a. Portion Described: Entire Resource Segment Point Observation Designation:
b. Location of point or segment: This dike and ditch system is located on the Riverside Ranch along the north bank of the lower
reaches of the Salt River. The southerly point of the ditch is located at UTM (Zone-10, NAD 83) 03 90 099 mE/ 44 95 173 mN and the
northerly extent of the ditch terminates at 03 89 305 mE/ 44 97 275 mN.
L3.
Description: This resource consists of a system of a dikes, ditches, and cross field drainages. The earthen dike was
constructed with its ditch on the north side, towards the fields. Filed draining was accomplished by improving some of the
natural drainages and excavating straight inter-field ditches connected to the larger ditch along the dike. Other features of the
dike and ditch system are a concrete spillway and concrete boxed tide gate.
L4.
Dimensions: Cross Section #1 (Cross sections 2-6 are on the following continuation pages).
a. Top Width: 5 feet
b. Bottom Width:12 feet dike-12 feet ditch
L4e. Sketch of Cross-Section # 1
c. Height or Depth: 5 feet
d. Length of Segment: 2.5 miles
Facing:
L5.
Associated Resources:
AH16—Tidegate, AH16-- Spillway
L6. Setting: The dike bounds the northern edge of
Salt River. Terrain is level, open and used for cattle
grazing.
L7. Integrity Considerations: The dike and ditch
system is intact and maintained yearly.
L8b. Description of Photo, Map, or Drawing: View to the northwest near Cross Section Sketch Point 6
L9. Remarks:
L10. Form Prepared by: William Rich and Ryan
Brown
L11. Date: 1/19/08
DPR 523E (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-09
*Resource Name or #____________________________
Page____of_____
6
9
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (PR 1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-09
Riverside Ranch Dike and
Drainage System
D
E1
X
2
X
3
X
C
Spillway
B
Tidegate
X
5
4
X
6
LEGEND
X
A
Dike
Ditch
X
1-6 Cross Section Sketch
A-E UTM Point
TN
MILES
0.5
0
1
mN
18.5o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
0.5
KILOMETERS
1
Primary#
HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 7 of 9
*Recorded by: William Rich & Erik Whiteman
*Date 1/8/2008
Continuation Update
L4. continued
Dimensions: Cross Section #2
b. Bottom Width: 5 feet
Facing: Northwest
b. Bottom Width: 12 feet dike /20 feet ditch
c. Height or Depth: 5 feet dike/ 3 feet ditch
Facing: West
DPR 523L (1/95)
Facing: East
Primary#
HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 8 of 9
*Date 1/8/2008
Continuation Update
L4. continued
Facing: North
b. Bottom Width:12 feet road, 12 feet dike, Facing: North
12 feet ditch
Road
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary#
HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 9 of 9
*Date 1/8/2008
Continuation Update
View to the south of concrete spillway.
DPR 523L (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
*Resource Name or #:
RA-SR-10
P1. Other Identifier: Barn and Corral Site
*a. County ___Humboldt______________________
and
Date 1959 (PR 1972)
T 3N ; R 2W ; NE ¼ of SW ¼ of Sec 28 ; Humboldt B.M
*b. SGS 7.5' Quad Ferndale
City
Zip
c. Address
d. UTM: Zone 10 , 0389469 mE/ 4496385 mN (NAD 83)
e. Other Locational Data: From Ferndale take Main Street northeast 1.3 miles to Port Kenyon Road. Turn west and proceed
1.4 miles west to Dillon Road. Turn north on Dillon Road and go over the Salt River Bridge to Riverside Road. Turn west and
proceed 1.5 miles to the southern end of the dike system.
*P3a. Description: This site is located on the northwest bank of the Salt River on Riverside Ranch and consists of a concrete
foundation, corral posts, and a modern corral enclosure. The barn foundation is square, measuring 60’x60’ with two cement
ramps entering from the northeast side. A cement cistern is also present at the site location. No wood features of the former
barn are intact, and the concrete pad is currently used as a cattle feed platform.
The modern corral is composed of wood posts with metal gates. Barbed wire and T-posts form the fence lines. The road
leading to the site is graveled with imported river rock.
*P3b. Resource Attributes:
Foundations/ Structure (AH2), Walls/ fences (AH11), and Well/ cistern (AH5)
P5b. Description of Photo: South West overview of
barn foundation. JPEG DSCN1573
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Source:
Historic Prehistoric Both
Riverside Ranch
Ferndale, Ca 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
Roscoe & Associates
3721 Brookwood Dr.
Bayside, CA 95524
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive pedestrian survey
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 4
*Resource Name or #
RA-SR-10
B1. Historic Name:
B2. Common Name:
Barn and Corral
B4. Present Use: Feed platform
B3. Original Use: Barn and Corral
*B5.
Architectural Style: No specific style.
*B6.
*B7.
Moved? No
*B8.
Related Features: Walls/ fences (AH11), Engineering structure (HP11), and Water conveyance system (AH6).
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location:
b. Builder:
Area: Riverside Ranch
*B10. Significance: Theme: Dairy
Property Type: Dairy Ranch
Applicable Criteria_(a)____
Period of Significance: c. 1850 to present
This site is located on the northwest bank of Salt River on Riverside Ranch, and consists of a concrete barn foundation, corral
posts, and a modern corral enclosure. The barn foundation is square; measuring 60’x60’ with two ramps entering from the
northeast side. A cement cistern is also present at the site location. No wood features of the former barn are intact, and the
concrete pad is currently used as a cattle feed platform.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: Foundations/ Structure (AH2),
Walls/ fences (AH11), and Well/ cistern (AH5)
*B12. References:
B13. Remarks: This site contains a cement barn foundation (the
building is no longer present). Modern corrals and cattle chute are
on site, as the location is still in use to feed enclosed dairy cattle.
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-10
*Resource Name or #____________________________
4
3
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (PR 1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-10 Barn
and Corralls Site
TN
MILES
0.5
0
1
mN
18.5o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
0.5
KILOMETERS
1
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
SKETCH MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-10
*Resource Name or #_____________________________
4
4
Page_____of_____
1/25/2008
*Date of Map:_____________
E. Whiteman
*Drawn By:___________________________________________
z
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V
Salt River
z
z
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Legend
-Site Datum - Benchmark
V
V
U
U
z
mN
18.5
U
TN
-Site Boundary
-Modern Trash Scatter
-Ditch
-Brush
-Dike
-Cement Ramp
-Electric Fence
-Fence Posts
-Dirt Road
-Watering Trough
-Concrete Rubble
-Cattle Ramp
-Gate
-Barn Foundation
-Cistern
-Marshy Area
FEET
0
DPR 523K (1/95)
75
-Channel Improvement Logs
150
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 3
*Resource Name or #:
RA-SR-11
P1. Other Identifier: Channel Improvement Features
Unrestricted
*a. County __Humboldt_______________________
and
Date 1959
City
Zip
c. Address
d. UTM: Zone 10 , (NAD 83) 0389400 mE/ 4496325 mN
0389577 mE/ 4496422 mN
0389722 mE/ 4496405 mN
1.4 miles west to Dillon Road. Turn north on Dillon Road and go over the Slat River Bridge to Riverside Road. Turn west and
proceed 1.5 miles to the southern end of the channel improvement features.
*P3a. Description: The channel improvement features consist of logs set vertically into the bank of the Salt River. The logs measure
15’ diameter and are spaced approximately 12 feet apart. The southern logs still retain a horizontally attached 3” x 12” plank.
These planks are nailed to the logs with 6 inch long square galvanized nails. The feature measures approximately 1500 feet
long.
(HP11)Engineering structure- Bulkhead
*P4. Resources Present: Building
Structure Object Site District
Element of District Other (Isolates,
etc.)
P5b. Description of Photo: View to the
South of vertical logs and attached
plank.
Source: Historic Prehistoric
Both
Riverside Ranch
Ferndale, CA 95536
*P8. Recorded by:
Roscoe & Associates
3721 Brookwood Dr.
Bayside, CA 95524
*P10. Survey Type: Intensive pedestrian survey.
Other (List):
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
Page 2 of 3
NRHP Status Code
B1.
B2.
B3.
*B5.
*B6.
Historic Name:
Common Name:
B4. Present Use: Bulkhead
Original Use: Bulkhead
Architectural Style: Rough log pylons with milled lumber
Construction History: unknown
*B7.
*B8.
Moved? No
Yes
Unknown
Date:
Original Location:
Related Features: The bulkhead appears to have been designed to stabilize the northern and eastern banks of the Salt River.
b. Builder: Unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme: Navigation / Shipping
Property Type: Bulkhead
Applicable Criteria: (a)
Period of Significance: c. 1850 -0 c. 1908
The river improvement features consists of 15” diameter log pylons located along the banks of the Slat River. Some horizontally
nailed planks are still evident in the southern portions of the feature. The features length is approximately 1500 feet.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes:
*B12. References:
B13. Remarks:
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-11
*Resource Name or #____________________________
3
3
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (PR 1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-11 Channel
Improvement Features
TN
MILES
0.5
0
1
mN
18.5o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
0.5
KILOMETERS
1
Primary #
HRI #
PRIMARY RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Other Listings
Review Code
Reviewer
Date
Page 1 of 4
P1. Other Identifier: Port Kenyon Cement Feature
*a. County ___Humboldt______________________
and
Date 1959 (PR 1972)
City
Zip
c. Address
1.6 miles west to the site.
*P3a. Description: At this location is a cement feature that once served as the foundation to machinery at Port Kenyon. The feature
is nearly square, measuring 73 inches (south elevation) by 79 inches (West Elevation) and 48 inches tall. The feature was
constructed of multiple cement pours. Course aggregate cement forms the lower layer, extending 12 inches below ground
surface. The upper layer is composed of finer cement and holds 14, 5/8 inch diameter by 6 inch long screws for mounting
machinery or similar equipment. A hollow channel was formed through the feature at the present ground surface. This
channel measures 10.5 inches wide and 14 inches tall. The upper layer of cement was formed with a trough, 16 inches wide
and 17 inches deep. The feature appears isolated along the banks of Salt River within a pasture used for hay production and
grazing.
Foundations/ Structure (AH2),
P5b. Description of Photo: View to the north of south
elevation of cement feature.
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Source:
Historic Prehistoric Both
Michael Toste
*P8. Recorded by:
Roscoe & Associates
3721 Brookwood Dr.
Bayside, CA 95524
*P10. Survey Type: This field survey employed the use
of intensive pedestrian survey.
DPR 523A (1/95)
Primary #
HRI #
AND OBJECT RECORD
Trinomial
NRHP Status Code
Page 2 of 4
B1. Historic Name: Port Kenyon
B2. Common Name:
B3. Original Use: Cement foundation for machinery
B4. Present Use:
*B5.
Architectural Style: Poured concrete with 6’ screws on the top surface
*B6.
*B7.
Moved? No
*B8.
Related Features: None identified
Yes
Unknown
Date:
None
Original Location:
b. Builder:
Area: Salt River at Port Kenyon
*B10. Significance: Theme: Port Kenyon shipping
Property Type: Shipping Port
Applicable Criteria: (d) ___
Period of Significance: c. 1850 – c. 1908
The cement feature is located on the south bank of Salt River at the former site of Port Kenyon. The feature was likely the foundation
for machinery or equipment in the Enterprise Mill or --- Cannery.
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: Foundations/ Structure (AH2)
*B12. References:
B13. Remarks: The cement feature is at the location of the Port Kenyon
shipping point. The enterprise mill, a cannery, a warehouse and several
docks were situated at this location.
DPR 523B (1/95)
Primary #:_____________________________
HRI #:_____________________________
LOCATION MAP
Trinomial:_____________________________
RA-SR-12
*Resource Name or #____________________________________
4
3
Page_____of_____
1:24,000
*Map Name:___________________________________________
*Scale:________________
1959 (PR 1972)
*Date of Map:______________
RA-SR-12
Port Kenyon
Cement Feature
TN
MILES
0.5
0
1
mN
18.5o
CALIF
0
QUADRANGLE LOCATION
DPR 523J (1/95)
0.5
KILOMETERS
1
Primary#
HRI#
CONTINUATION SHEET
Trinomial
Page 4 of 4
DPR 523L (1/95)
*Date 1/8/2008
Continuation Update
APPENDIX B
NATIVE AMERICAN CONSULTATION
March, 2008
86
APPENXIX C
Historic Photos of Port Kenyon in “Culturally Sensitive Area”.
March, 2008
87
Images of the Historic Town of Port Kenyon (Edeline 1983).
Images of the Historic Town of Port Kenyon (Edeline 1983:35).

Cultural Resources Investigation

Transcription

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