Humboldt Shows Off at 1894 SF Mid-Winter Fair

Daily Humboldt Standard, March 5, 1894

This was just a fun accidental find. Not long ago I wrote a story for the SF Gate about criminals that invaded San Francisco’s 1894 Mid-Winter Fair. It offers some background on the event- and is posted HERE.

Humboldt at the Sunset City.

The Chronicle pays the following flattering compliment to Humboldt county in the issue of Thursday:

In more aspects than one the county exhibits are extraordinary, and the term will very well fit those of that county buildings which was finished yesterday. It is just of Humboldt. The carpenters finished their labors yesterday, and when they retired they left the largest single exhibit on the exposition grounds. It is a great building, made of the single product in which Humboldt is without a peer in the state. Every foot of lumber in the big building is of redwood. The structure is one of the most substantial on the exposition grounds, and is itself an exhibit.

Humboldt county wants the people of the East to know this. Its people wish to enlarge their markets in certain parts of the East and create them in others. To do that she has sent to the fair an exhibit which will interest all. Lumber is shown in every stage, from trees sixteen feet in diameter to model houses of almost every description. One will see it as it leaves the saw in great planks, six feet wide and six inches thick. There are boards there eight feet long and three and one-half feet wide. The saws themselves, some of them sixteen feet long, are shown.

Among the marvels is a plank four feet long and twelve feet wide. There are redwood planks sixteen feet long and seven feet wide. There is a section of a redwood tree fourteen feet in diameter. The door to the building is made of a redwood plank eight feet high and five feet wide. It is set in a redwood log twenty seven feet high and eight feet in diameter.

The reception room, it is said, will be the handsomest room in the state when it is finished. It will be made entirely of redwood, polished very highly. The panels are two feet wide. It will be artistically furnished and will be well worth a visit by all who go to the exposition.

The display of lumber is made by the Humboldt Lumber Manufacturers’ Association, which includes thirteen mills in the county. Every product of the mills; mantels, doors, moldings and countless other things will be shown. There will be a shingle machine in full operation. Plain and ribbed shingles, the only ones produced anywhere in the world will be on exhibition.

C A Hooper will build a number of miniature houses showing all modern styles and the uses which may be made of redwood lumber. High in the gallery are two immense tanks, one eighteen feet high and the other eighteen feet wide. When one sees all of these varied displays of lumber he is willing to believe the statement that Humboldt county with its thirteen mills turns out 200,000,000 feet of lumber every year.

Redwood lumber is not by any means all that Humboldt has to show. As a county she produces perhaps more butter than any other county in the state. She has nineteen creameries and every one of them will make a display in the county building. This display will occupy the central part of the main floor. There will also be an exhibit of mineral waters, which are among the best to be found anywhere in the state.

The entire gallery of the building has been reserved for the horticultural and agricultural products of the county. Apples, pears, dried fruits of various kinds, prunes, peaches, jellies, grains, sugar beets and mammoth vegetables are shown in profusion. There are more than twenty-three varieties of grains, and it may perhaps be interesting to know that a bushel of oats averages forty-eight pounds. It is no unusual thing to take fifteen tons of potatoes from a single acre. In the gallery there are ciders, wines and vinegars. Two great granneries are represented by their products.

In one part of the building a large room has been set aside for minerals, fancy work and paintings. The building is in the charge of J G Loveren, who has managed the display since the collection of exhibits began. It is expected that the building and its exhibits will be ready for inspection in three weeks, when the official opening day will give all an opportunity to see what the county has to show.

Posted: Mar 01, 1894, page 3 – Weekly Humboldt Times at Newspapers.com™ – Newspapers.com™

Monument to Honor the Women of Eureka’s Early Red-Light District

I am happy to share that I am working with a volunteer committee and artist Crystal “Charli” Perez to create a permanent monument designed to honor women from Eureka’s Early Red-Light District. These women were members of our community and forced to contribute money to the city. They were also expected to remain hidden from “polite society” while remaining available for customers.  Their presence and contributions have been ignored for too long—and we’re going to change that.  

Location

The monument will be located in front of/mounted to the north/east exterior brick wall of the Clarke Museum, 240 E Street, Eureka.

Project committee

• Me, Lynette Mullen—Project Lead, Historian

• Kim Bergel—Project Co-Lead, Mayor of Eureka

• Robert Maxon—Commercial Real Estate Developer

• Susan Doniger—Retired California State Parks Interpreter, Facilitator, Historian

Historic Background

Though prostitution was illegal by state and local statutes, Eureka maintained a designated red-light district until 1913. Officials used the threat of arrest to confine sex workers within its bounds, bordered by the waterfront and Fifth Street, A and E Streets.

The city also systematically “arrested” and fined the district’s madams, allowing those who paid to continue operating. Between 1900 and 1914, this system funneled roughly $14,000 into the city’s general fund—worth nearly half a million in today’s dollars. This revenue helped pull Eureka back from the brink of bankruptcy in 1903. Over the years it provided critical support for city services and infrastructure.

Despite their significant contributions, the women of the red-light district were denied dignity, basic civil and human rights, and a place within the broader community. This monument seeks to acknowledge that injustice and restore the women’s rightful place in our history.

History of the women

Link to Part 1 – The Red-Light Women

Link to Part 2- The Red-Light Women

Ladies’ Monument info

Local Redwood News (3 minutes)

JPR Interview (15 minutes)

This is an Ink People DreamMaker Project

Click HERE to contribute your tax-deductible donation

1849 Pre-Fab Buildings

For various reasons, my research into the Ladies has taken me into Gold Rush San Francisco – focusing specifically (lately) on early Chinese immigrants. Before gold miners became threatened by their work ethic and well-earned success, these newcomers to California were well respected by many. And their ingenuity couldn’t be beat…

Expanding “NorCal”

So I’ve had this blog a long time–a LONG time, and love that folks (sometimes just a few, sometimes hundreds) still visit every day looking for old photos and local history. That is VERY cool, but…

As some may know, I’m writing a book about the women of Eureka, California’s early redlight district. My research on the ladies has taken much of my time, focus and energy over the last few years – and I’ve neglected this blog.

Lately, though, I’ve been running across random but fascinating info that involves the greater Northern California region (beyond the one we Humboldters call the REAL Northern California).

So I’m going to start sharing some of that here. Don’t worry Humboldt- I won’t forget you. But some of this new stuff is seriously fascinating. I hope you enjoy…

Arcata Fire of 1889

I’ve posted some of these photos before, but give the recent, devastating fire in Arcata– and an uptick in searches for the Seely & Titlow Co. Building , I thought I’d share again (all photos curtesy of Cal Poly’s Special Collection and Archives).

BTW, Susie Van Kirk’s detailed report on the history of the Seeley & Titlow Building is posted HERE .

As many have noted, Arcata has suffered a number of truly horrific fires over the years. These photos provide a reminder of one – but also show how Arcata rebuilt and recovered, as it always does…

The photo below is Arcata before the fire of 1889- you’re looking at the corner of the Arcata Plaza at 8th & G – (there’s an article about the fire HERE). That’s the Brio Cafe location on the corner. Note the row of buildings on the left/ north block.

Below you see the same location, after the fire of 1889

This one shows some reconstruction

And the buildings below should look pretty familiar- the “Garage” is now Plaza, formerly Plaza Design, on the corner.

Eureka’s lower G Street, then and now

Sari Baker posted this cool photo of Eureka’s Scandia Hotel (on FB). I’ve posted about the Scandia before. Sari’s post got me hunting the Library of Congress site for other old Eureka buildings.

Look what I found: the east side of G Street, between 2nd and 3rd–and huh- I already have a category for “buildings we’ve lost to parking lots.” Sigh… This is apparently the Lindsay House.

Red-Light Women, Part 2

The hidden funders of early Eureka

Part 2 of my story on the early Red-Light Women of Eureka, is now posted on the North Coast Journal’s website. It is not an easy story to read- but I believe it IS an important story to read…

Gold eagle coins worth $10, double eagles worth $20 and various paper bills piled so high on the courtroom table that an officer was assigned to guard them. The fortune was the result of another Tithing Day held on Jan. 6, 1909, Eureka’s Daily Humboldt Standard explained, describing how one by one, 30 women had risen as the judge called their names, pleaded guilty to selling liquor without a license, and laid down $50, worth about $1,750 today. The windfall, the reporter observed, would allow the city to “buy more crushed rock for the streets.”

Read more HERE

Red-Light Women

My thanks to the North Coast Journal for giving me an opportunity to share these stories. More coming next week ! Link to Part 1 HERE

Birdseye View of Eureka, 1889

Stanford University has shared an absolutely fantastic “Birdseye View” of Eureka. You can enlarge and easily find your neighborhood or take a look at the busy wharf. You’ll also find detailed illustrations of homes and commercial buildings like the one below, which was at the corner of 1st and E Streets (the current home of Dick Taylor Chocolates).

About the map, per Stanford:

Large birdseye view of Eureka, California, published for the Humboldt Times. Includes a large panoramic view of Eureka and Humboldt Bay, with a key locating 79 locations. and text describing the virtues of Eureka and Humboldt County. The surrounding vignettes show a mixture of important commercial buildings, stately residences, manufacturing and Riverfront Commerce. The view is extremely rare, with only 1 example identified by OCLC (Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley). Reps locates a copy at the Society for California Pioneers and the California Historical Society. Eureka, California, located on Humboldt Bay, the second largest bay in California, was largely unknown to European explorers. With the exception of a description of the Bay by Russian Explorers in 1806, the Bay was largely overlooked until its “discovery” in 1849. Shortly thereafter, Eureka was founded on its shore by the Union and Mendocino Exploring Companies. The city and the bay grew quickly during the gold rush era, as the town’s proximity to the mines in the Trinity region and as an alternate route to the diggings to the south made the City and Harbor an attractive option to the San Francisco Delta. Many of the first immigrants 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 in Eureka. A year later 140 lumber schooners operated in Humboldt Bay, supplying lumber to other booming cities along the Pacific Coast. Eureka soon also developed a thriving fishing industry. Salmon fisheries sprang up along the Eel River as early as 1851, and within 7 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 many of years.

The Lower Levels- Stories of the Rogues

I have a new blog. Yes, another one. *

About five years ago I ran across the story of Virginia Jeffrey (posted here) and it sparked a journey into the history of what I’m calling “the lower levels”, where pimps and gamblers, con men and prostitutes, thieves and other criminals dwelled. My research has been fascinating (seriously) and I realized it is finally time to share what I’ve learned. The stories come from Northern California and beyond.

Please visit The Lower Levels Blog (Stories of the Rogues) to check it out and if you like what you read, subscribe !

~Lynette

* I started a blog Same Damn Story a while ago and will still post when I find those same damn stories that were true a hundred years ago and still resonate today.