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.

 

Fortuna & the Eel River Valley

Fortuna & the Eel River Valley

from $22.49

By Alex Service & Susan O’Hara. “Nestled along the Eel River in Northern California’s Humboldt County, Fortuna has changed and grown according to economic and historical forces. Harvesting, milling, and shipping of redwood lumber provided the economic mainstay for nearly 100 years. The fertile Eel River Valley became known for its apples, potatoes, and a large dairy industry.” As with all books in this series, Fortuna & the Eel River Valley is illustrated with many vintage photos. Member Price: $19.79

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      In some ways, Fortuna is the archetypal American small town - in a Humboldt sort of way.  The Arcadia "Images of America" series book that is for sale at the Historical Society bookstore certainly shows that.  "Fortuna and the Eel River Valley" was written by Alex Service and Susan O'Hara on behalf of the Fortuna Depot Museum.

       With some 200 well-captioned historic photographs, we are shown the area from the 1850s and the first Euro-American settlers, up to the lively close-knit community it is today.  Though it went through several name changes, the town of Fortuna (now the third largest city in the county) was all about farming in the lush Eel River Valley and lumber in the surrounding hills.  And although some of the earliest to this area originally came to find gold, many of them actually made their fortunes supplying commercial goods to the inland miners.

       In this book, transportation to and through Fortuna is well covered with the dirt wagon roads, the paved auto roads, and the Northwestern Pacific Railroad connecting Humboldt to the outside world, as well as the ferries and bridges that allowed crossing the Eel.  The massive floods of that river left many photographic and living memories.

       Almost more powerful than economy, transportation and floods, what this book shows is the area's human history from the earliest settlers, to the schools, businesses, social clubs, timber workers, sports teams, fire fighters and bands -- all the things that make a community. Perhaps the most quintessential is the annual rodeo.  Running for over a century now, as the event's organizers are quoted as saying "the good old days are still happening every day at the Fortuna Rodeo". A glimpse of all of this is captured in this book.

The Diaries of Joseph Prince Tracy, Eureka, California, 1893-1898

The Diaries of Joseph Prince Tracy, Eureka, California, 1893-1898

from $9.00
Bellboy: A Mule Train Journey

Bellboy: A Mule Train Journey

from $16.20
An Everyday History of Somewhere by Ray Raphael Everyday History Back.jpg

An Everyday History of Somewhere by Ray Raphael

from $22.49
1964 Flood of Humboldt & Del Norte 1964 Flood Back.jpg

1964 Flood of Humboldt & Del Norte

from $22.49
California: A Slave State 20230607_151724 (002).jpg

California: A Slave State

from $31.50