History of Eureka, California
Eureka's Pacific coastal location on Humboldt Bay adjacent to abundant Redwood forests provided a rich environment for the birth of this 19th century seaport town. Beginning more than 150 years ago, miners, loggers, and fishermen began making their mark in this pristine wilderness of the California North Coast. But the area was already occupied by small groups of indigenous peoples, whose lives were changed forever, if not lost completely, after thousands of years of relative stability in bountiful surroundings.
Indigenous Cultures
The Wiyot people, are the indigenous people of this area. They are the farthest-southwest people whose language has Algonquian roots. Their traditional coastal homeland ranged from the lower Mad River through Humboldt Bay and south along the lower basin of the Eel River. The Wiyot are particularly known for their basketry and fishery management. An extensive collection of highly evolved basketry of the areas indigenous groups exists in the Clarke Historical Museum in Old Town Eureka.
European Arrival and Conflict
Humboldt Bay was rediscovered by Europeans after going missing since the first documented European discovery in 1806. The mystery was due to the treacherous waters of the Pacific Ocean and the unusually narrow harbor entrance, which is often cloaked in fog. Despite these and other challenges which were to come, Eureka was founded on May 13, 1850 by the Union and Mendocino Exploring (development) companies.
The first Europeans venturing into Humboldt Bay encountered the indigenous Wiyot. Records of early forays into the bay reported that the violence of the local indigenous people made it nearly impossible for landing parties to survey the area. After 1850, Europeans ultimately overwhelmed the Wiyot, whose maximum population before the Europeans was in the hundreds and not the thousands. Settlers unconsciously and then deliberately cut off access to ancestral sources of food in addition to the outright taking of the land despite efforts of some US Government and military officials to assist the native peoples or at least maintain peace. A tragic slaughter committed by a group of locals in the spring of 1860 is detailed in the Wiyot article. The chronicle of the behavior of European settlers toward the indigenous cultures locally and throughout America is present in surprising detail in the Fort Humboldt State Historic Park museum, on the southern edge of the city.
Gold Rush Era
Secondarily to the California Gold Rush in the Sierras, prospectors discovered gold in the nearby Trinity region (along the Trinity, Klamath, and Salmon Rivers). Because miners needed a convenient alternate to the tedious overland route from Sacramento, schooners and other vessels soon arrived on recently discovered Humboldt Bay. Though the ideal location on Humboldt Bay adjacent to naturally deeper shipping channels ultimately guaranteed Eureka's development as the primary city on the bay, Arcata's proximity to developing supply lines to inland gold mines ensured supremacy over Eureka through 1856. "Eureka" is a Greek word meaning "I have found it!" This exuberant statement of successful (or hopeful) California Gold Rush miners is also the official Motto of the State of California.
Lumber and Developing Economy
Many of the first arrivals who arrived as prospectors were also lumbermen, and the vast potential for industry on the bay was soon realized, especially as many hopeful miners realized the difficulty and infrequency of striking it rich in the mines. By 1854, after only four years since the founding, seven of nine mills processing timber into marketable lumber on Humboldt Bay were within Eureka. A year later 140 lumber schooners operated in Humboldt Bay, supplying lumber to other booming cities along the Pacific coast. Rapid growth of the lumber industry, depletion of forests located in close proximity to Humboldt Bay and technological advances led to the development of dozens of local, narrow gauge railroads to move the giant trees to dozens of lumber mills on Humboldt Bay.
A bustling commercial district and ornate Victorians rose in proximity to the waterfront, reflecting the great prosperity experienced during this era. Many hundreds of these charming Victorian homes remain today in their original elegance and splendor, including those examples in nearby Arcata and the Victorian village of Ferndale. The magnificent Carson Mansion on 2nd and M Streets, is perhaps the most spectacular Victorian in the nation. The home was built between 1884-1886 by renowned 19th Century architects Newsom and Newsom for lumber baron William M. Carson. This project was designed to keep mill workers and expert craftsman busy during a slow period in the industry. Old Town Eureka, the original downtown center of this busy city in the 19th Century, has been restored and has become a lively arts center. The Old Town area has been declared a Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. This nexus of culture behind the redwood curtain still contains many of its Victorian architecture, buildings, which are now transformed into scores of unique lodgings, small shops, and restaurants.
Fishing, Shipping, and Boating
Eureka's founding and livelihood was and remains linked to Humboldt Bay and its related fishing industry. Salmon fisheries sprang up along the Eel River as early as 1851, and within seven years, 2,000 barrels of cured fish and 50,000 pounds of smoked salmon were processed and shipped out of Humboldt Bay annually, primarily from processing plants on Eureka's waterfront, which exist to this day. By 1858 the first of many ships built in Eureka was launched, beginning an industry that spanned scores of years. The bay is also the site of one of the west coast's largest Oyster farming operations, which began its commercial status in the nineteenth century. The Bay remains the home port to more than 200 fishing boats in two modern marinas which can berth at least 400 boats within the city limits of Eureka.
Chinese Expulsion
In addition to ethnic conflict with the native and Wiyot peoples, some Eurekans joined the statewide response to the increasing Chinese presence in the 1880s. Californians led the nation in the xenophobic response to the perceived large numbers of Chinese immigrants, which ultimately led to the US Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (forms of this law remained in the US Code until 1943). Economic downturns and resulting competition for jobs especially led some citizens of European descent to commit sometimes violent racist actions, especially on the Pacific coast. In February 1885, the racial tension in Eureka broke when a member of two rival Chinese gangs (tongs) accidentally shot and killed a Eureka City Councilman in the crossfire between the two opposing gangs. This led to the convening of an angry mob of 600 Eurekans and resulted in the forcible, permanent expulsion of all 300 Chinese residents of Eureka's Chinatown (a one block area). The Chinese did not return to Eureka until the 1950s.
Queen City of the Ultimate West
In 1914 the first major, reliable land route was established between San Francisco and Eureka with the opening of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, connecting Eureka through Willits, California to the northern shore of San Francisco Bay. With passenger rail service from San Francisco to the bustling Redwood Empire, Eureka's population of 7,300 swelled to 15,000 within ten years. By 1922 the Redwood Highway was completed, providing for the first reliable, direct overland route for automobiles from San Francisco. Eureka's transportation connection to the "outside" world had changed dramatically after more than half a century of uncomfortable stage rides (which could take weeks in winter) or treacherous steamship passage through the infamous Humboldt Bar and on the rarely pacified Pacific Ocean to San Francisco. The greatest symbol of this advance was the opening of the Eureka Inn (see photo, right), which coincided with the opening of the new road to "Frisco" (a favorite local nickname for San Francisco). The hotel, still one of the largest lodging properties in the region, provided quality accommodations and amenities for travelers in a style unsurpassed for its day and for the decades to come. As a result of immense civic pride during this era of expansion, Eureka officially named itself "Queen City of the Ultimate West." The tourism industry, lodging to support it, and the marketing that supports it had been born.
Post World War II era
The timber industry declined along with Pacific Northwest fisheries steadily since the 1950s. Overcutting and overfishing, increased regulation, and the creation of more parkland to preserve the remnants of once extensive virgin forests, rivers, and fisheries led to diminished profits and massive layoffs of blue collared mill workers and fisherman, beginning in earnest by the 1970s. Automation of remaining consolidated milling operations and competition from other timber markets outside the nation only hastened the process of decline in the number of jobs available in logging and related industries. The challenges resulting from this economic and resulting social upheaval were significant in the lives of many Eureka and North Coast residents. However, both the local fishing industry and the timber industry still figure large in the local and state economy, though in diminished form from the past.
For the region, Eureka remains the center for commerce and healthcare.