Bookstore

All profits from bookstore sales support our non-profit organization. Purchasing a book about Humboldt County History, gifts, or ephemeral items from our bookstore is a great way to support the work we do!

Bookstore


Humboldt Historian Back Issues

Back issues of the Humboldt Historian are available in the bookstore or by phone order. Due to the wide variation in shipping and handling costs, issues cannot be purchased online. Please call (707) 445-4342 during open hours to place your order. Bulk discounts are available!


Used Books & Memorabilia

We have added a selection of used books to the website. If you are looking for a particular book and don’t see it, please give us a call at 707-445-4342. We’ll be happy to check the shelves for you!

We have a small selection of vintage memorabilia including booklets from the Ingomar Club (Carson Mansion), the1964-65 Flood, the Humboldt County Centennial, and the dedication of the Humboldt County courthouse. Vintage yearbooks are also available. Please call 707-445-4342 or email bookstore@humboldthistory.org for details and pricing.

Any vintage books that we sell are duplicates and have not been accessioned into the collection. Because we have limited space and other local repositories also have copies, we offer these items for sale in our bookstore. In accordance with ethical standards of the American Association for State and Local History, the Society of American Archivists, and the American Alliance of Museums, HCHS proceeds from such sales are earmarked for acquisitions or direct care of our collections.

If you have used books about Humboldt history that are in good condition and need a new home, please consider donating them to HCHS as an addition to our library, or for resale. This makes history even more available to the public while helping fund an institution that furthers that cause.


Shipping and Pick-Up Information

We generally mail books on the Friday following receipt of your order. If you choose to pick up your book(s), you will receive an emailed notification when your order is ready.


Book Prices

Members receive a 10% discount on all regularly priced books. Please do not use this option if you are not a member.

OR … consider becoming a member!


Book of the Month

Hope For a Free Man
by Ann M. Schoenfeld

20% off during the month of July 2025
$9.60


NEW!

Click on the “gifts” option below and see our fun new tote bag and t-shirts!


 

Trinidad

Trinidad

Sale Price:$17.49 Original Price:$24.95

The Arcadia "Images of America" series has a number of books on Humboldt communities  -- from south to north.   On the north end, is a popular one, "Trinidad" by Dione Armand.  In it, the author shows how Trinidad is a unique combination of many of the elements that make Humboldt County special.

       Like all the books in this series, this one is filled with some 200 informatively captioned photographs. They tell how the area was originally the center of a thriving Yurok population and then how it was touched by Russian, English and Spanish explorers -- the Spanish claiming and naming it.  Then came the flood of Euro-Americans initially seeking gold. 

       The transition to other enterprises and the building of a community is also well covered photographically.  As the Yurok knew, the bays and coastline were prime fishing territory, eventually including processing the biggest catch of all -- whales. We are also shown how, as in much of Humboldt, timber logging and milling came to dominate around Trinidad and in nearby Crannell. And we see how Trinidad's rocky, often fog-shrouded coast necessitated the location of the Trinidad lighthouse -- which still operates today.

       But more than simply dwelling on the historic and economic factors, this book gives us a view of this tight-knit community with its characters, parades and events such as an annual Crab Feed and the Blessing of the Fleet.  And throughout, we learn how the welcoming beauty of the place has long drawn in tourists and vacationers adding to its prosperity.  Read it and see how a book titled "Trinidad" should be on Humboldt bookshelves. No, it is not about a Caribbean island but about a community that epitomizes what is special about our part of California.

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