Humboldt Bay Woolen Mill

Last updated
Humboldt Bay Woolen Mill
Eureka CA HumboldtBayWoolenMills.jpg
The mill was one year old when it was included on the Illustrated Map issued in 1902.
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in California
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in United States
Location1400 Broadway, Eureka, California
Coordinates 40°47′38″N124°10′35″W / 40.79389°N 124.17639°W / 40.79389; -124.17639 Coordinates: 40°47′38″N124°10′35″W / 40.79389°N 124.17639°W / 40.79389; -124.17639
Area1.3 acres (0.53 ha)
Built1920
Built byW. J. Little
Architectural styleGreek Revival
NRHP reference No. 82002182 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 25, 1982

Humboldt Bay Woolen Mill manufactured woolen cloth from 1901 to after World War II. The mill was listed as a National Historic Monument but demolished by the City of Eureka in 1987.

History

When the Humboldt Bay Woolen Mill was built in 1901, the company was capitalized to $100,000 [2] by several local businessmen including timber mill owner, William Carson, [3] sheep rancher Hugh Webster McClellan, [4] and rancher Robert Porter who continued as vice-president of the newly formed company. [2] According to the 1902 Illustrated Map of Eureka, the other officers included J.W. Henderson, President and N. McMillan, Secretary.

The Mill manufactured woolen fabrics from 1901 until it closed after World War II. [5] After sitting empty for many years, it was listed on the National Register on 25 June 1982, [1] but it only survived five more years. [6] After the city designated it a dangerous building in 1987, local preservationists and the Eureka Heritage Society tried to get funding to rehabilitate it, but it was torn down in the same year. [5]

The Mill was described as an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture [6] and one of the few industrial buildings historically not associated with timber or fishing. [5] Some architectural features of the Mill were saved by historians before the demolition. [5] The site is currently a chain pharmacy, a grocery store and parking. [5] The destruction of this building rallied community activists to save other historically significant structures in Eureka. [5]

Related Research Articles

Eureka, California City in California in the United States

Eureka is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt Bay, 270 miles (435 km) north of San Francisco and 100 miles (161 km) south of the Oregon border. At the 2010 census, the population of the city was 27,191, and the population of Greater Eureka was 45,034.

Peace Dale, Rhode Island United States historic place

Peace Dale is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Together with the village of Wakefield, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census-designated place identified as Wakefield-Peacedale, Rhode Island.

Fort Humboldt State Historic Park

Fort Humboldt State Historic Park is a California state park, located in Eureka, California, United States. Displays interpret the former U.S. Army fort, which was staffed from 1853–1870, the interactions between European Americans and Native Americans in roughly the same period, and both logging equipment and local narrow gauge railroad history of the region. Within the collection, there are trains, logging equipment, including a fully functional Steam Donkey engine, and an authentic Native American dug-out canoe. The Fort overlooks Humboldt Bay from a commanding position atop a bluff. The North Coast regional headquarters of the California State Parks system is located onsite.

Bayside, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Bayside is an unincorporated community 2.25 miles (3.6 km) south-southeast of Arcata, at an elevation of 33 feet in Humboldt County, California. The ZIP Code is 95524, the area code is 707. The relatively large area was originally covered by large, ancient Coast Redwood trees down to what was the edge of a significantly larger Humboldt Bay at high tide. Later, the mammoth redwoods made it the natural placement of some of the area's earliest redwood lumber operations. A rock quarry was located in the area's hills, which form the beginning of the Coast Ranges, the source of water for an early public water system for the City of Arcata. Today, Bayside provides Arcata a buffer from Eureka's northward expansion along US Route 101 and the area, with the exception of some business and public buildings, is largely rural, with homes and small ranches dotting the landscape. Second growth forests exist mostly apart from cleared lands, which show some evidence of the extensive redwood forest that once existed in the form of large stumps. Some of the area's older Victorian era houses, are still present on the Old Arcata Road, the original main road connecting Arcata to Eureka. Jacoby Creek runs alongside a road of the same name from the hills in the direction of the Bay.

Carlotta, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Carlotta is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located 6.5 miles (10.5 km) southeast of Fortuna, at an elevation of 131 feet (40 m), about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of US Route 101 on California State Route 36.

The Humboldt Arts Council (HAC) is the official Humboldt County, California, USA arts council, and is located in the Morris Graves Museum of Art (MGMA).

Old Town Eureka United States historic place

Old Town Eureka in Eureka, California, is a historic district listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. It is an 350-acre (1.4 km2) area containing 154 buildings mostly from the Victorian era. The core of the district runs the length of First, Second, and Third Streets, between "C" and "M" Streets, and includes many types of architecture from the 1850s to the present. Though not officially within the district, the Carson Mansion commands the highest elevation at the eastern edge of the district.

John Dolbeer

John Dolbeer was a partner in the Dolbeer & Carson Lumber Co., one of the early major Humboldt County, California lumber operations based in Eureka. While in that business, he invented the logging engine, more commonly known as the steam donkey or donkey engine. This invaluable equipment, especially with regard to difficult terrain and very large trees, revolutionized 19th century logging so significantly that variations of the engine were still used well into the 20th Century.

Samoa, California Census-designated place in California, United States

Samoa is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Eureka, at an elevation of 23 feet. Samoa is located in the northern peninsula of Humboldt Bay and is the site of the Samoa Cookhouse, one of the last remaining original, lumber style cookhouses. The name Samoa is used interchangeably with the peninsula it occupies. The population was 258 at the 2010 census.

Clarke Historical Museum United States historic place

The Clarke Historical Museum in Eureka, California contains the area's premier collection of California North Coast regional and cultural history. The facility has an entire Native American wing, Nealis Hall, which features an extensive internationally recognized collection of basketry, regalia, stoneware, implements, and other objects indicative of the culture and creativity of local and regional Native American groups including the Wiyot, Yurok, Karuk and Hupa Tribes. The Eureka Visitors Center is located in the main hall of the museum. The Clarke Museum is a 501 (c)3 non-profit.

Eureka Inn Hotel in Eureka, California

The Eureka Inn in Eureka, California is a four-story, 104-room Elizabethan Tudor Revival architectural style hotel, which opened in 1922. In February 1982, the structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bucksport, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Bucksport was a town in Humboldt County, California. The original location was 2.5 miles (4 km) southwest of downtown Eureka, on Humboldt Bay about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of entrance. at an elevation of 16 feet (4.9 m). Prior to American settlement a Wiyot village named Kucuwalik stood here.

Odd Fellows Hall (Eureka, California) United States historic place

The Odd Fellows Hall in Old Town Eureka, California, also known as the French Empire Mansard Building, is a Second Empire architecture style building built in 1883.

Carnegie Free Library (Eureka, California) United States historic place

The Carnegie Free Library in Eureka, California was built in Classical Revival Style in 1902. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and currently houses the Morris Graves Museum of Art.

Faribault Woolen Mill Company United States historic place

The Faribault Woolen Mill Company is a textile manufacturing company in Faribault, Minnesota, United States, that produces and sells wool blankets and other woolen products. Its products included ingeo, cotton, acrylic and wool bed blankets, pillows, mattresses, pads, and baby blankets, and wool, ingeo and blend throws. The company primarily serves various enterprise sectors. It offers its products through its store in Faribault and nationwide through retailers.

Carson Mansion Historic building in Eureka, California

The Carson Mansion is a large Victorian house located in Old Town, Eureka, California. Regarded as one of the premier examples of Queen Anne style architecture in the United States, the house is "considered the most grand Victorian home in America." It is one of the most written about and photographed Victorian houses in California and possibly also in the United States.

George McFarlan House United States historic place

The George McFarlan House, built around 1857 at 1410 Second Street, is one of the oldest remaining houses in Eureka, California and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station United States historic place

The Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station was originally built in November 1878 on the north side of the entrance to Humboldt Bay in northern California, United States near Eureka, adjacent to the site of the first Humboldt Harbor Light (1856–1892). Rebuilt in 1936 with marine railways to launch rescue surfboats, the historic facility was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 30, 1979. The station continues to function as an important asset of the United States Coast Guard in the Coast Guard Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay.

E. Janssen Building United States historic place

The E. Janssen Building at 422 First Street, Eureka, California, is a two-story Italianate commercial building. It was built in 1875 to be a hardware and general merchandise store. In 1973, it was the first building in Eureka to be placed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and it was listed as a contributing property of the National Register Old Town Eureka Historical District in 1991. From 1998 to 2016, the building housed the HSU First Street Gallery, an art gallery run by Humboldt State University.

Samuel Newsom was a Canadian-born American architect. Together with his brother Joseph Cather Newsom founded the architecture firm Newsom and Newsom, practicing in Northern and Southern California. Their most celebrated house is the Carson Mansion in Eureka, California.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System  (#82002182)". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Robert Porter". Humboldt County, California - Biographies. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  3. McDonald, Jill; Jim Morrison; John Disiere; Linda Disiere (2007). "Carson the Man & Times". Carson Mansion History. The Ingomar Club, Eureka, California.
  4. "Webster McClellan 1836-December 31, 1911". Humboldt County, California - Biographies. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Draft City of Eureka Historic Preservation Plan" (PDF). 10 March 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  6. 1 2 Overhold, Ken, ed. (1987). Eureka: An Architectural Heritage. Eureka, California: Eureka Heritage Society. p. 270. ISBN   0-9615004-0-9.