Volunteers and staff continue to make progress digitizing our collections. Some newly cataloged content will be offered free to the public on a rotating basis. Check back for featured content, supplemental information, and other resources.
Additional content is made available to members through our digital archive, as well as full back issues of the Humboldt Historian through 2006. Find free content below, or become a member to access more historical treasures.
Library Lecture Series (Video)
Please see the Humboldt County Library’s YouTube page for Zoom lectures recorded during 2020-2022.
”Fire in the Mountain: The Beginning of the End of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad,” presented by Sean Mitchell
”A Bear, 50 Mules and a Moon,” presented by Jerry Rohde, September 2019
“Sarah Johnson: Humboldt’s First Lighthouse Keeper,” presented by Peggy Wheeler, December 2018
“Chasing Down the Moon: Chinese Expulsion through Historical Fiction,” presented by Carla Baku, November 2018
“Sex, Drunks, and Alleged Insanity: Interpreting Historical Criminal Records,” presented by Morgan Harvey, September 2018
“Lore of the Land: Myths, Folktales, and Legends from the Redwood Coast,” presented by Paul Woodland, June 2018
“A Photographic History of Arcata’s Creamery District,” presented by Fran Beatty, May 2018
“The Friendship of Bodega y Quadra & Vancouver,” presented by Pattie Fleschner, March 2018
“The Cost of Contempt: Loss of the USS Milwaukee,” presented by Savannah Smith, October 2015
Other Programs (Video)
”Raise the Roof: Tales of Old Town,” June 10, 2016
Annual Luncheon Programs (Video)
“Falk: Company Lumber Town of the American West,” presented by Julie Clark, February 2019
“Trees & Grass: Boom, Bust, and the American Dream,” presented by Ray Raphael, February 2018
“A History of Prostitution in Eureka,” presented by retired Eureka Police Chief Murl Harpham, February 2014
Jack London in Humboldt
A YouTube episode of the program, “Humboldt Outdoors” that re-traces Jack London's 1911 travels through Humboldt County. With historical commentary from the Fortuna Depot Museum, Humboldt County Historical Society and Oberon Grill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4yZwg0OV_0
Bertrand A. Gates of Rohnerville, California. We have a copy of a diary that he kept during an 1896 gold mining expedition in the Trinities. His story is in the Winter 2017 Humboldt Historian.
Unidentified woman from the Mary and Leroy Watkins Collection. The Watkins were the first Black family in Eureka. Mary lived to be over 100 years old.
Manuscripts
Hydesville As It Was in 1910 - L. Rocha Memories from a man who lived his entire life in this small town.
Dairies and Milk Delivery by Harold White. How many of us remember door-to-door milk deliveries? Did you know that the Hunt Dairy outside of Fortuna had a drive-through dairy? Read a history about Humboldt County moo juice!
An Early History of Humboldt County, by the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce, 1961. A short (1½ page) history of the county.
Imogene Lockwood’s Diary - Nursing in the 1918 Pandemic An extract from a Eureka nursing student’s diary.
Edna Thompson’s Diary - A Eureka Family’s Experience During the Great Depression, Edna kept a diary of the years 1933-1936 that is filled with day to day life, national events, and local events and people. See below for an index of names mentioned in the diary.
Family Name Index to Edna Thompson’s Diary - This is a beginning resource for Eureka families. The names within are only lightly researched, but this index may give helpful genealogical information contained within Edna’s diary (above).
Some Interesting Articles, Volume I, abridged. This is a limited selection of articles from Marilyn Milota’s book, Some Interesting Articles From Humboldt County Newspapers of Early Days, Volume IV. A note as to the subject matter of these articles: History is not always pretty, and the “good old days” were not any better than today. Should you wish to read about perfidies of all kinds, rest assured that Marilyn’s collections have it all. You will, however, have to read it directly from the printed book at HCHS, as this particular selection is meant to be light-hearted and entertaining, as well as interesting.
Some Interesting Articles, Volume II, abridged. See description under Volume I.