Indians with stories to tell

Indians of Northern California (Ericson)

I don’t know that we’d want to hear them (because they’re likely heartbreaking), but it is clear to me that these people have many stories to tell.

Mix of traditional indian and more “modern” homes

Early Hoopa (Ericson)

 

Please, please click to keep zooming on this one to view an amazing mix off traditional indian homes and early settler structures.

Shelter Cove, 1909

Click on this photo to go to the HSU website.  Keep clicking on it to enlarge.

Shelter Cove, 1909

Eureka and the crab man, c. 1905

Eureka, 5th & F Streets, c. 1905

Korbel Hotel

Korbel Hotel

Korbel is just a few miles from Blue Lake and is still home to an old Simpson Mill (now California Redwood Company) and a few homes.

Unfortunately,  this grand old hotel no longer exists.

Interior of the Korbel Hotel

Raising long lost cousins

In December of 2007, we drove to Oregon to pick up my husband’s 10 year old half-brother.  He’d been living in Washington with his dad (also my husband’s father), but that wasn’t going to work anymore.  Jay  was coming home to live with us.

To be honest, I had the hardest time adjusting.  My kids were older and pretty independent, but Jay was only ten.  He was amazingly resilient and bright and adaptable but still needed to be reminded to wash his hands before he ate and couldn’t be left home alone.  He was a great kid, though.   He adjusted well to our family, and (after a few grumpy days) I adjusted as well.

Jay is Hupa and when he came to live with us I was already familiar with the historic practice of kidnapping and indenturing Native American children.  Painfully aware.  Yet I distinctly remember looking at him one night as he stood in a doorway in his little boxer shorts looking cute and vulnerable,  and thinking  that I could see why someone would steal such a child.  I am embarrassed to admit it, but I could.   He was a beautiful Indian child and 150 years ago, people killed to possess them.

Oh, what to do with that?  To know that.  It hurts me to know and yet here I sit.  And share.

And move on to the point of my story which is, weirdly enough, about genealogy.

Building an early bridge at Fort Seward, c. 1920

Fort Seward, c. 1920 [Logan)

Fort Seward, c. 1920

 

Fort Seward, view west (Stine)

 

While I think the photos are amazing, those familiar with this blog will understand that I can’t resist referring folks to the early history of Fort Seward.

For a location description and more, see wikipedia.

Englewood Schoolhouse

Englewood School

 

I’ve only been able to find one mention of the Englewood School–on Facebook, no less.  “…Photographs of one [schoolhouse]  built of redwood logs still standing in Humboldt County, The Englewood School, 1870-1907″

If anyone has any other info, it would  be most welcome.

Bayside Quarry, c. 1888

Bayside, probably rocks for Jetty, c.1888 (McFarland)

 

A friend of mine has discovered a passion for local history and recently gave a speech in Toastmasters about Flanigan Bros., a company formed in the late 1800s to mine rocks in Bayside for use in constructing the first jetty. Apparently it took about 10 years to build and didn’t even last that long.

I’ll see if he has a copy of his speech and if so I’ll post it here.

Metropole Hotel, c. 1895 (& still standing today)

Metropole, 2nd & C Streets, Eka, c. 1895 (Woods)

 

This grand old place still stands in Old Town, Eureka, across the street from Roy’s Club.