Info on Humboldt County

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History

The original inhabitants of the area now known as Humboldt County include the Wiyot, Yurok, Hupa, Karuk, Chilula, Whilkut, and the southern Athabascans, including the Mattole and Nongatl.Humboldt County was formed in 1853 from parts of Trinity County. The first recorded entry by people of European origin was a landing by the Spanish in 1775.

The county derived its name from Humboldt Bay. The first recorded entry of Humboldt Bay by non-natives was an 1806 visit from a sea otter hunting party from Sitka employed by the Russian American Company. The hunting party included Captain Jonathan Winship, an American, and some Aleut hunters. The bay was not visited again by people of European origin until 1849 when Josiah Gregg's party visited. In 1850, Douglas Ottinger and Hans Buhne entered the bay, naming it Humboldt in honor of the great naturalist and world explorer, Baron Alexander von Humboldt.

The area around Humboldt Bay was once solely inhabited by the Wiyot Indian tribe. One of the largest Wiyot villages, Tolowot, was located on Gunther Island (AKA Indian Island and AKA Bloody Island) in Humboldt Bay. Founded circa 900, it contains a shell midden 6 acres (24,000 m²) in size and 14 feet (4 m) deep. It was the site of the February 26, 1860 massacre of the Wiyot people that was recorded by Bret Harte, then living in Union, now called Arcata. Between 60 and 200 Wiyot men, women, and children were murdered that night. In 1998, musician Frank Black wrote and recorded a song about this event, called "Humboldt County Massacre." Tolowot is now an archaeological site, designated "Gunther Island Site 67", and is a National Historic Landmark.

State historic landmarks in Humboldt County include Trinidad Head, Fort Humboldt, The Old Arrow Tree, Centerville Beach Cross, Camp Curtis, the Town of Trinidad, the City of Eureka, California's first drilled oil wells in Petrolia, the Jacoby Building, the Old Indian Village of Tsurai in Trinidad, the Arcata and Mad River Railroad Company, the Humboldt Harbor Historical District, and the town of Ferndale.

On February 5 and 6, 1885, Eureka's entire Chinese population of 300 men and 20 women were expelled after a gunfight between rival Chinese gangs (tongs) resulted in the wounding of a 12 year old boy and the death of 56 year old David Kendall, a Eureka City Councilman. After the shooting, an angry mob of 600 Eurekans met and then informed the Chinese that they were no longer wanted in Eureka and would be hanged if they were to stay in town longer than 3 p.m. the next day. They were put on two steamships and shipped to San Francisco. No Chinese were killed in the expulsion. Another Chinese expulsion occurred during 1906 in a cannery on the Eel River, which expelled 23 Chinese cannery workers after local loggers objected to their presence. However, A few Chinese remained in the Orleans area, where some white landowners sheltered and purchased food for Chinese mineworkers until after racial tension passed. The Chinese did not return to the coastal cities until the 1950s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 10,495 km² (4,052 mi²). 9,253 km² (3,572 mi²) of it is land and 1,243 km² (480 mi²) of it (11.84%) is water.

Located in Humboldt County is Cape Mendocino, the westernmost point in California, with a longitude of 124 degrees, 24 minutes and 30 seconds.

Cities and Towns

Alderpoint
Arcata
Bayview
Blue Lake
Briceland
Bridgeville, (the town sold on eBay)
Carlotta
Cutten
Eureka
Ferndale
Fieldbrook
Fortuna
Garberville
Harris
Honeydew
Humboldt Hill
Hydesville
Loleta
Manilla

McKinleyville
Miranda
Myrtletown
Myers Flat
Orleans
Petrolia
Phillipsville
Pine Hills
Redway
Rio Dell
Scotia
Samoa
Shelter Cove
Trinidad
Westhaven-Moonstone
Weott
Whitethorn
Willow Creek

Adjacent Counties

Mendocino County, California - south
Trinity County, California - east
Siskiyou County, California - northeast
Del Norte County, California - north

Transportation Infrastructure

Major Highways
U.S. Route 101
California State Route 36
California State Route 96
California State Route 169
California State Route 299

Government
County of Humboldt
City of Arcata
City of Blue Lake
City of Eureka
City of Ferndale
City of Fortuna
City of Garberville & Redway
City of Rio Dell
City of Trinidad

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 126,518 people, 51,238 households, and 30,640 families residing in the county. It is estimated that by 2003, the population in Humboldt County will increase only to 127,915. The population density was 14/km² (35/mi²). There were 55,912 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (16/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.71% White, 0.88% Black or African American, 5.72% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 2.45% from other races, and 4.39% from two or more races. 6.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 51,238 households out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.10% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.20% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.20% under the age of 18, 12.40% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,226, and the median income for a family was $39,370. Males had a median income of $32,210 versus $23,942 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,203. About 12.90% of families and 19.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.50% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over.

Educational and cultural institutions

Humboldt State University
College of the Redwoods
Heartwood Institute
Dell'Arte School
The County is served by many school districts and a wide variety of schools. Most schools are under the direction of the |Humboldt County Office of Education, but a few are not. The independent, private schools include St. Mary's Catholic School in Arcata and | Salmon Creek Community School in rural southern Humboldt County. A complete list of Humboldt County Schools under the Humboldt County Office of Education includes charter schools and adult education.

Media

Humboldt County has one of the more competitive media environments to be found in such a rural area, with standards ranging from Associated Press style to lackadaisical to tabloid.

The longest-running paper is the Eureka Times-Standard, owned now by Media News Group, which has been in daily publication since 1854. Regional weekly and bi-weekly publications include the North Coast Journal, the Humboldt Sentinel, The Independent (primarily Southern Humboldt County coverage), the McKinleyville Press, the Arcata Eye and the Humboldt Beacon. Joining them in 2006 are the daily Eureka Reporter owned by local developer and Republican activist Rob Arkley Jr., Humboldt County Lines Magazine and Bigfoot Valley News (primarily Willow Creek coverage).

There are also a number of tabloid circulars both on-line and in print which have a narrower focus than traditional print media. One of these was the ill-fated semi-weekly newspaper produced by Shawn Warford, the Humboldt Advocate, which went out of business in September 2006, less than two years after it was founded. Humboldt County also has numerous zines and on-line blogs.

All of Humboldt County's television stations (KIEM, KVIQ, KAEF, KEET) are based in Eureka, although only KIEM continues to produce nightly news broadcasts originating locally.

Commercial, community and public radio continues to thrive in Humboldt County, with some stations bucking the national trend to produce local content and program a smattering of local music. For-profit stations include (KFMI, KRED, KXGO, KHUM, KSLG, KWPT and KATA). Non-profit stations Eureka feature the Hoopa Tribe's KIDE, Redway's KMUD and Humboldt State University-based KHSU and KRFH. On August 26, 2006 the Blue Ox Millworks and School of the Traditional Arts launched KKDS, a low power FM station focused on youth and community issues. There have also been a number of pirate radio stations such as Free Arcata Radio and Humboldt Free Radio, although none of these have broadcasted on a consistent basis or frequency for many years.

Humboldt Law Enforcement vs. The Courts

There have been several incidents where law enforcement have been accused of using excessive force, including one incident where non-violent demonstrators were chained to trees when the Court said that the Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff were found to be using excessive force when they swabbed demonstrators eyes with pepper spray by The US District Court.
The Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff were found guilty by unanimous verdict.

Points of Interest

Humboldt Botanical Garden
Redwood Park
Arcata Community Forest
Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
Lanphere Dunes
Humboldt County Parks and beaches
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Samoa Dunes
Headwaters Forest
Shelter Cove
Lost Coast Trail
Moonstone Beach

Avenue of the Giants off of Hwy 101 (Home of Tallest Tree, Drive-thru tree, and oldest tree)
Although the Avenue of the Giants is home to many giant Redwoods, it is not the home of the tallest tree. This distinction goes to the Grandfather Tree in Cooks Valley, about 1 mile north of the Mendocino county line. Also, what was the worlds largest Madrone Tree is located about 40 minutes west of Redway on the way to Honeydew and Petrolia. It was knocked over in a windstorm sometime around 1999/2000, it is still protected by the forestry service and the U.S. Goverment.

Events

Roll on the Mattole at the Mattole Grange in Southern Humboldt (Summer)
Reggae on The River in Piercy in Southern Humboldt (1st weekend in August)
The Oyster Festival on the Arcata Plaza (June)