Nestled along the Eel River in Northern California's Humboldt County, Fortuna has changed and grown according to economic and historical forces. Harvesting, milling, and shipping of redwood lumber provided the economic mainstay for nearly 100 years. The fertile Eel River Valley became known for its apples, potatoes, and a large dairy industry. Relative isolation ended in 1914 with the completion of the railroad from San Francisco, and in the 1920s expanded automobile traffic brought growing numbers of tourists to the redwood forests. "Friendly Fortuna" is a city of celebrations, known for its annual rodeo, first held in 1921....

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This book offers readers an opportunity to ride the historic Humboldt Wagon Road from Chico to Susanville through images that have been collected since the 1860s. Many never-before-published photographs and oral histories tell a story of people who established what has been called this "small corner of the West" In the 1850s, John Bidwell, a California pioneer, agriculturist, businessman, and politician, envisioned a freight and passenger route that would connect San Francisco, the Sacramento River, and his newly established community of Chico. He wanted it to cross the mountains to the gold and silver mines in Idaho and Nevada. Bidwell...

On the banks of the Eel River, amongst Northern Californias towering redwood forests, lie the towns of Scotia and Rio Dell. Their histories inseparably intertwined, these two towns formed a larger community supporting the needs of local settlers and industry. Scotia, constructed by the Pacific Lumber Company in the 1880s, stands as a pristine example of the once-prevalent company town in America. The small farming community of Rio Dell flourished along with its sister city and grew to accommodate the needs of an expanding workforce in Humboldts redwood lumber industry. Where Scotia was orderly and tightly controlled by Pacific Lumber Co....