Please note that this lecture is
ONLINE ONLY.

Zoom link: https://forms.gle/qWQWqZHYYPsZGevk6

Using about 40 color images and maps, historian Jerry Rohde will take you on a tour of his “Southern Humboldt Trilogy,” which covers the six indigenous tribes of southern Humboldt County and its five major watersheds: the Bear, Mattole, South Fork Eel, main Eel, and Van Duzen. The books cover 52 specific locations such as Shelter Cove, Blocksburg, Phillipsville, and Carlotta, as well as over 50 distinct tribal groups. Scores of historical black and white photographs were colorized to provide a vivid and accurate visual sense of the area’s past. The books draw on dozens of personal interviews and site observations, along with numerous newspaper and journal articles that often provided on-site, contemporaneous reports. The program will take about 60 minutes to cover the 900-plus pages of the three books.

Members of the Eureka Chinatown Project will share perspectives and updates on current research into Humboldt County’s Chinese history, as well as the ongoing work of the ECP.

Panelists are Daryl Chinn, Katie Buesch, Yolanda Latham, Alex Service and Rob Cliver.

YouTube Link: https://youtube.com/live/FM6xCCfTQAU

Sign up for the Zoom link at https://forms.gle/qXQWqZHYYPsZGevk6

Saturday, January 14, 2023 at 2:30pm the Humboldt County Historical Society in a new partnership with the Clarke Historical Museum will present a lecture via Zoom “Stories from Eureka’s Early Red-light District.” The presentation is by independent historian, writer, and project manager, Lynette Mullen.

 While researching the history of Scandia Hotel in Eureka, Mullen uncovered the story of Virginia Jeffray, who had been abandoned by her husband in 1914, and was struggling to raise her seven children alone when narrowly escaped “a life of shame” in one of Eureka’s many brothels. Jeffray’s plight inspired Mullen’s research and this presentation on Eureka’s Early Red-Light District. She is also writing a book on the subject. 

 The lecture will be hosted via Zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5:00pm on Friday, January 13, 2023. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password.  Those interested in this lecture and others, can find information at the library website www.humlib.org by clicking on the calendar of events and finding the event listed on Saturday, January 13, 2023. Assistance in signing up is available by phone at Humboldt County Library (707) 269-1915. Links to instructional YouTube videos for guidance in understanding how to access the Zoom lecture are also available through the Humboldt County Library website.

the Humboldt County Historical Society’s 75 Anniversary lecture series via Zoom presents “A Short History of the Buildings of Old Town Eureka, Then and Now.” The presentation is by HCHS vice president and historic preservationist, Chuck Petty.

 Born and raised in Eureka and a Humboldt State University graduate, Chuck is a retired St. Joseph Hospital pathology manager and has restored three historic homes in Eureka. He serves on the boards of: the Humboldt County Historical Society, the Eureka Heritage Society, Eureka’s Preservation Commission, the Clarke Historical Museum and the Eureka Theater.

The lecture will be hosted via Zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5 PM on the Friday before the lecture. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password. Click here to register!

Jamie Roscoe is an HCHS past president, archaeologist and lecturer at Cal Poly Humboldt and College of the Redwoods. He founded the Cultural Resources Facility at Cal Poly, which provides assistance to state, federal and local agencies, tribes and private entities on a variety of cultural resource investigations. Working closely with representatives of the local tribes, he has completed CRM investigations on over 600 project areas in Northern California.

The lecture will be hosted via Zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5 PM on the Friday before the lecture. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password. Click here to register!

The September 10th lecture has been cancelled. Check back here for information on the October 2022 lecture!

The Humboldt County Historical Society is pleased to present a lecture in honor of its 75th anniversary with its continuing lecture series. The lecture  subject is the development of Humboldt County’s baseball teams and leagues in their earliest years (1874-1944) and will be presented by Jack Nash, 5th generation Humboldt County native. Nash attended Marshall and Eureka Junior High, graduating from Eureka High School in 1962.  Nash saw service in the US military from 1967-1970 and later became a partner in the family clothing business, Arthur Johnson’s from 1970-1995. He also worked at Living Styles Furniture from 1997-2014. Nash is a past President of the Humboldt County Historical Society and has written on a variety of subjects for the Humboldt Historian.

 The lecture will be hosted via Zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5:00pm on Friday, June 3, 2022. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password.  Those interested in this lecture and others, can find information at the library website www.humlib.org by clicking on the calendar of events and finding the event listed on Saturday, June 4, 2022. Assistance in signing up is available by phone at Humboldt County Library (707) 269-1915. Links to instructional YouTube videos for guidance in understanding how to access the zoom lecture are also available through the Humboldt County Library website.

The Humboldt County Historical Society’s First Saturday Lecture Series presents “Preservation of Family Artifacts” with HCHS’s Archivist, Pam Service.  Pam is a UC Berkeley graduate with Master’s degree from the University of London in Archaeology with a concentration in African Studies. Pam worked for almost twenty years in museum management in the Midwest, including Indiana’s Art Museum and the Monroe County Historical Museum. After returning to the west coast, she took the director/curator position at the Clarke Museum where she worked for a dozen years, before taking a job as HCHS Archivist for the past seven. Pam is the author of over 30 books for young adults.

The lecture will be hosted via zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5:00pm on Friday, February 4th, 2022. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password.  Those interested in this lecture and others, can find information at the library website www.humlib.org by clicking on the calendar of events and finding the event listed on Saturday, February 5th 2022. Assistance in signing up is available by phone at Humboldt County Library (707) 269-1915. Links to instructional YouTube videos for guidance in understanding how to access the zoom lecture are also available through the Humboldt County Library website.

Saturday, December 4th at 2:30pm the Humboldt County Historical Society’s library lecture series via Zoom presents “Lighthouses of Humboldt County” with Julie Clark.  Julie is a Park Ranger for the Bureau of Land Management and has been in her current position since 1999.

Clark completed her Masters degree at Humboldt State University in Teaching American History in 2006 and her latest completed project is the book Lighthouses of Humboldt County printed by Arcadia Publishing. Julie is the unofficial historian for the Arcata Field Office and works primarily as the Headwaters Forest Reserve Park Ranger.

The lecture will be hosted via Zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5:00pm on Friday, December 3rd, 2021. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password.  Those interested in this lecture and others, can find information at the library website www.humlib.org by clicking on the calendar of events and finding the event listed on Saturday, December 4, 2021. Assistance in signing up is available by phone at Humboldt County Library (707) 269-1915. Links to instructional YouTube videos for guidance in understanding how to access the zoom lecture are also available through the Humboldt County Library website.

Saturday, November 6th at 2:30pm, the Humboldt County Historical Society’s library lecture series via Zoom presents “A Life in History” with noted local author and historian Ray Raphael. Half-a-century past, Ray Raphael’s first book—An Everyday History of Somewhere—featured interviews with old-timers in the backwoods of Northwest California. In works that followed—Edges, Tree Talk, and Cash Crop—he examined themes of regional interest around the stories of first-person informants. Years later, when turning his attention to the Founding Era, he continued this approach with such books as A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common Peopled Shaped the Fight for Independence and Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation. 

Now, a certified old-timer at age 78, Raphael reverses his lens and interviews himself. How has history shaped him, and how has he helped shape history? He reflects on his work in the peace and civil rights movements in the 1960s, his experience as a back-to-land settler in the 1970s and 1980s, and his effort, along with other teachers and historians, to make our national origin stories more inclusive.

 History/herstory is an interconnected montage of individual experiences, each life part of the whole. By placing his own story in historical context, Ray Raphael offers a template for all of us to reflect on our life stories and place them in historical context   A list of his 20 books can be found on the booklist page of rayraphael.com.

The lecture will be hosted via zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5:00pm on Friday, November 5th, 2021. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password.  Those interested in this lecture and others, can find information at the library website www.humlib.org by clicking on the calendar of events and finding the event listed on Saturday, November 6th, 2021. Assistance in signing up is available by phone at Humboldt County Library (707) 269-1915. Links to instructional YouTube videos for guidance in understanding how to access the zoom lecture are also available through the Humboldt County Library website.

2021 Election!

The November meetings usually include an in-person vote for the 2022 Board of Directors. Because we are not meeting personally, the slate of candidates and their statements are shown below. It is a straight vote - there is no one competing for any position. If you would like to let us know your opinion of the slate as published, or if you have a write-in candidate, please send an email to info@humboldthistory.org.

Humboldt County Historical Society

Board of Directors Election 2021

The 2021 Humboldt County Historical Society Nominating Committee consists of Nick Angeloff and Alex Service (board members) and Rusty Goodlive, Jamie Roscoe and Pam Zana (HCHS members). The Nominating Committee respectfully proposes the following slate of candidates for the 2021 HCHS Board election:

 Alex Service (running for HCHS board president)

I have served on the HCHS board since 2013, and as board secretary since 2016. Although I have only lived in Humboldt County since 2009, I have become deeply involved in exploring Humboldt County’s history through my work as curator at the Fortuna Depot Museum and as co-author of five local history books. My educational background includes my BA in East Asian studies from UCLA and my MA and Ph.D. in medieval studies from the University of York in England. I would be honored to serve as president during the Historical Society’s 75th anniversary year. I feel that the experience I have gained in my years on the board will enable me to help the society as we navigate our way through these strange and challenging times.

 Chuck Petty (incumbent, running for re-election as vice-president)

I was born and raised in Eureka, am a Humboldt State University graduate and have been a member of the HCHS for most of the last 50 years. I am Pathology manager at St. Joseph Hospital. I have restored three historic homes in Eureka, am vice-chair of the City of Eureka’s Historic Preservation Commission, treasurer of the Clarke Historical Museum board, and serve as vice-president on the boards of the Eureka Heritage Society and the Eureka Theater.

 Jack Irvine (incumbent, running for re-election as treasurer)

I am a retired physician and book store owner with an abiding interest in our local history and promoting the goals of preserving and understanding that history for future generations.

 Jim Garrison (running for secretary)

I am a Humboldt County native with deep ties to the community. After graduating from Fortuna High in 1988, I served in the US Air Force, then worked in a lot of different industries, including sawmills, naval shipyards, and even cranberry farms all over the West Coast, including Alaska, Oregon, and Washington before finally coming home to Humboldt County. Fulfilling a life-long desire, I earned a BA in history from Humboldt State in 2014, the first person in my family to go to college. That same year I accepted the position as Collections Archivist for the Humboldt County Historical Society, where I remained until the Summer of 2021. I learned a lot working for HCHS, and met a lot of fantastic people and some good friends. I am now teaching 4th grade at Redway Elementary School, but my thoughts are never far from the Society. I have a passion for Humboldt County's history and I truly care about the mission of the HCHS. More than this, however, I care about the continued existence and success of this organization, and I am willing to serve on the HCHS Board of Directors. I believe that the Board has the ability to make a difference for the HCHS, and I would love to be a part of it.

Sile Bauriedel (running for first term as board member at-large)

I was born and educated in Ireland and obtained a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from University College Dublin. In my professional career I worked as a librarian at several university libraries in Ireland and Wales, was awarded a fellowship by the USA Medical Library Association, and worked in a US medical library for a year, during which time I met my husband, Dr. Kim Bauriedel. I relocated to the US and came to live in Eureka in 1980. Here I worked part-time as a reference librarian at HSU and the Humboldt County Library. My volunteer activities include Humboldt Sponsors, KEET TV and St. Joseph Hospital Foundation.

My husband Kim's great grandfather Patrick Quinn came to Humboldt County about 1854. He ranched on Table Bluff with his wife Mary. Quinn Road is named for the family. The Quinns have a long history in this area and are interrelated with the McNultys, the Cloneys and the Buxtons. Sadly, very few members of the family still reside in Humboldt County, having dispersed to other areas of California and beyond.

 Mark Castro (running for first term as board member at-large)

Mark Castro, M.A.

I am a Research Associate with Cultural Resources Facility at Humboldt State University where I cultivated a love for the history of California’s North Coast volunteering at places like the Falk town site. I took this love with me over my 10-year career in California Archaeology and heritage management. As a board member, I would bring my years of experience and knowledge to the Society by assisting in the many great projects and services already established like the digitization of the Society’s collections, as well as work to develop new and innovative ways to interface and engage with the local community, HSU students, and the larger community of researchers that access the Society’s archives. I look forward to serving as one of your new board members and working with members to further the goals of the Society.

Susan Doniger (incumbent, running for re-election as board member at-large)

I have served one term on the HCHS Board and it has been a privilege to get to know and help support this unique nonprofit organization. I would be honored to continue my work on behalf of the Society, which consists currently of serving on the Collections Committee and coordinating the Society's monthly library lecture series. I have recently retired as an educator/historian/interpreter from the North Coast's California State Parks, and am presently working on several independent projects both in Humboldt County and in the Bay Area.

 Deborah Storre (running for first term as board member at-large)

I grew up in Eureka in the 1950’s when it was a much different place.  It was a thriving community with both lumber and fishing supplying good jobs and a vibrant community.  After marrying an Englishman, I lived in Canada for 30 years, returning frequently to visit my parents.  I returned to Eureka when I married Richard Storre whose first wife was Joann Barnum, Helen Barnum’s daughter: thus my connection with the Barnum House.  Eureka had not physically changed a great deal in the intervening years.  It looked pretty much the same.  However, the economy was much changed with the demise of the timber and fishing industries.

I have not served on very many boards, as I usually prefer a more hands-on approach to volunteer work.  However, I have served on the St. Joseph Foundation Board and the Humboldt Arts Council Board and enjoyed both the work and the people I worked with.  Currently I am active with the Area 1 Agency on Aging doing Medicare Counseling and volunteering at St. Joseph Hospital.

I have a great deal of respect for the Historical Society and what it has done in the community.  Through my reading of the Humboldt Historian, I have realized that I didn’t learn very much Humboldt County history growing up. I have enjoyed filling that void.

The Humboldt County Historical Society is proud to offer its continuing Saturday lecture series on Saturday, October 2nd at 2:30pm.

The lecture, “Bridgeville Then and Now,” given by long time local resident Jessie Wheeler, will explore the history of Bridgeville through the lives of her family members, who were important residents, dating back to the early 1900s. Wheeler, who was born during WWII and raised in Bridgeville will talk about daily life in this small, but geographically significant town in Humboldt County.

The lecture will be hosted via zoom by the Humboldt County Library and can be viewed from the safety and comfort of home on a personal computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. The deadline to sign up for access to the lecture is 5:00pm on Friday, October 1st, 2021. Upon registration, participants will receive the meeting ID and password.

Those interested in this lecture and others, can find information at the library website www.humlib.org by clicking on the calendar of events and finding the event listed on Saturday, October 2nd 2021. Assistance in signing up is available by phone at Humboldt County Library (707) 269-1915. Links to instructional YouTube videos for guidance in understanding how to access the zoom lecture are also available through the Humboldt County Library website.

Join speaker Tom Hart, co-owner of the Humboldt County Cider Company, to learn about Albert Etter, one of the most talented plant breeders of the early 20th century. The program will focus on Etter’s apple breeding program, headquartered out of his Lost Coast homestead, and his legacy as it pertains to apples and the cider world.

This Humboldt County Historical Society lecture will be hosted by the Humboldt County Library via Zoom and is free to the public. The deadline for registration is 5:00 pm on Friday, September 10, 2021. Participants will receive the meeting ID and password upon registration at https://forms.gle/NLCKpwFLTJTC1PjD7

Assistance in signing up is available by phone at (707) 269-1915.

The lecture is based on highlights from the 100-year history of the Fortuna Rodeo which held its first-ever event on August 27, 1921. For this presentation, O’Hara and Service will focus on a selection of “Fortuna Rodeo Firsts,” including the rodeo, the rodeo parade and rodeo queen contest, the first time the rodeo was cancelled (during the Great Depression), and later highlights such as the first "kidnapped tourists" event, the first Rodeo Week chili cook-off, the first time an original painting was commissioned to illustrate the rodeo poster, and the first time a woman won the Local All-Around Champion saddle. The presentation will be illustrated with numerous historic photographs of the Fortuna Rodeo. O'Hara and Service are the authors of a forthcoming book, In and Around the Arena: The 100 Year History of the Fortuna Rodeo, to be published later in 2021. O'Hara is a historian and educator who teaches at Casterlin School in southern Humboldt, and Service is curator of the Fortuna Depot Museum and a member of the Humboldt County Historical Society board. In and Around the Arena is O'Hara and Service's fifth published collaboration in the field of Humboldt County history.

The lecture is free and will be hosted via Zoom by the Humboldt County Library. To sign up, go to https://forms.gle/NLCKpwFLTJTC1PjD7.

Join Michael Berry as he quenches your thirst for everything you wanted to know about the Humboldt County breweries, Anton to Zickgraff, starting in 1854 and tippling to the present!

This event is hosted by the Humboldt County Library via Zoom and is free to all. To register, go to https://humboldtgov.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=6588&month=4&year=2021&day=3&calType=0 and sign up before Friday, April 2, 2021 at 5:00 PM.

Can’t make it at that time? Have you missed past lectures that you’d like to see? They’re all available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP97O9LCSpqxBhabzsgonw

All Good Buckaroos Come to Die in Humboldt

Presented by Karen Hendricks

Join Karen as she tells us about the 125-year-old murder of a Humboldt man that caught the attention of folks as far away as Kansas. Find out why!

Presented via Zoom. As always, admission is free!

To register: https://forms.gle/NLCKpwFLTJTC1PjD7