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!

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!

We do have a selection of used books which are not included on the website. If you’re looking for a particular book, please give us a call. We’ll be happy to check the shelves for you! We mail books out on the Friday following your order.

Members receive a 10% discount on all regularly priced books.
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Book of the Month - November 2024
Two Peoples, One Place
$23.95 - 20% off the regular price of $29.95
One of the best overall histories of Humboldt County, with a significant emphasis on local indigenous peoples.

 

Southwest Humboldt Hinterlands

Southwest Humboldt Hinterlands

from $53.95

PLEASE NOTE: Jerry has been having a lot of trouble with the publisher, and it may be mid-to-late February before we have copies available. We can place you on a waiting list if you still wish to order.

By Jerry Rohde. One of three follow-up volumes to Jerry’s book, “Both Sides of the Bluff.” He found so much information that the second volume turned into three! It covers the years from 1850 to 1964 and is illustrated with over 200 full-color historical photographs and maps. It covers Petrolia, Bull Creek, Capetown, Dyerville, Briceland and many other places in this corner of Humboldt County.

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       When looking at the books for sale at the Historical Society bookstore, there is one author's name appearing again and again -- Jerry Rhode.  Not only is he a prolific and entertaining writer, he is a dedicated historian whose perception is broader and deeper than that of many. His two most recent books are prime examples of this. "Southwest Humboldt Hinterlands" and  "Southeast Humboldt Hinterlands"  take us into less known and less written about parts of our county. Reading them takes us on a road trip to more obscure parts of our past.  And like most road trips, they open our eyes to new places and viewpoints,  We return from such trips refreshed and glad that we went. It's the same with these "Rhode trips."

        Both books follow the format of going to many individual places and dwelling on historically interesting events and people. In the "Southwest Hinterlands, we begin with accounts of the Bear River area: conflicts between the early settlers and the native people, the establishment of ranching, the immigrants of various nationalities, and families, such as Russ, that left big marks on Humboldt history. 

       In recounting other communities -- such as Whitethorn, Briceland, Garberville, Sproul Creek, Phillipsville and Redway, similar topics are covered but with local variants.   More coastal communities like Shelter Cove, Cape Mendocino and Capetown add maritime subjects like shipping and shipwrecks. With some communities, light is shed on specialties such as Petrolia for oil, Ettersberg for apples, and the Mattole area for tanbark. Dyerville,  Miranda, Richardsons Grove and Garberville additionally reveal the growth of tourism, transportation and environmentalism.

       All of the communities touched on in this book are given unique attention enhanced by the liberal use of historic accounts and sidebars highlighting several communities' role in special topics such as Asian exclusion. The book is filled with useful and very readable maps and numerous historic photographs.  Many earlier photos have been skillfully colorized, and although some people may argue with the academic validity of the process, these do lend a colorful vivacity to this large enthralling book.

       As for historic credibility, the extensive end notes and listed sources at the end certainly provide that. Being curled up with one of these books, with their touches of warmth and humor, is certainly a pleasant way to learn about the hinterlands of our diverse county.

 

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William G. Meadows: A New River Miner, and Other Stories of New River, Trinity County, California, It's History and the People Who Made It

from $26.50
The Tanoak Tree: An Environmental History of a Pacific Coast Hardwood

The Tanoak Tree: An Environmental History of a Pacific Coast Hardwood

from $27.00
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Little White Father: Redick McKee on the California Frontier

from $14.35
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The Once and Future Forest: California's Iconic Redwoods

from $23.40
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Falk's Claim

from $13.45