By Julie Clark. Foreword by Jon Humboldt Gates. Between the years 1884 and 1937, the company mill and lumber town of Falk thrived in what is now the Headwaters Forest Reserve. During a transitional time in logging history, Noah Falk was able to capitalize on the relatively inexpensive price of land, cheap labor, and inexpensive logging technologies, such as the band saw and the Dolbeer steam donkey. Between the 1940s and 1970s, Falk became a ghost town until the vacant buildings eventually became part of the soil that now supports the Headwaters Forest Reserve.

Julie Clark works for the Bureau of Land Management and is currently the Headwaters Forest Reserve ranger. She holds a master of arts in social sciences from Humboldt State University.