Humboldt County Historical Society
Little Grains of Sand
by Eleanor McCormick
Little Grains of Sand touches on some subjects not often found in Humboldt County history journals such as the history of how the European beach grass and lupine was brought to Humboldt County. There is an account of the coastal hurricanes of 1885, and the record-high tide that flooded Front, Second, Third and Fourth streets in Eureka and entirely inundated Indian Island. One of the more unusual stories tells of the crippled Japanese junk that washed ashore in 1913 on Samoa beach after a 90-day journey from Japan with nine Japanese men, all of whom survived.
Included is an overview of the history of the area including such topics as the Wiyot Indians, otter hunters, the Gregg-Wood expedition, the Laura Virginia Association, early shipbuilders and the lumber industry and the Humboldt Bar and jetties.
Considerable attention is given to the North Peninsula and the towns of Fairhaven, Samoa and Manila and the role they had in the early development of the area. Old-time family names from these areas are listed, including McCormick, the family of the author.
The book ends with several pages of "Historical Notes," a collection of interesting short items dealing mostly with the North Peninsula.