History Nuggets Blog

Southern Humboldt

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                When most people think about Humboldt County, they often focus on the areas near Humboldt Bay or the Eel River valley. But much has happened around the southern part of the county as well – much centered around Garberville.

                 The first Euro-American reported in the area was a Spaniard named Antone Garcia. In 1845, he built a log cabin in the vicinity of today’s Garberville. From there he operated as a hunter and trapper, taking his furs south to sell in Fort Ross. Then with the influx of gold seekers and their followers into Humboldt, a slow stream of additional settlers came into the area including a Virginian of German descent, Jacob Garber.

                 Garber had prospected for a time in the Trinities, but in 1868 settled in the small community then known as South Fork or Dogtown. Soon he married and opened a general merchandise store which also served as the town’s post office, with Garber as postmaster. He supplied his store by bringing mule trains across the coastal range from the port at Shelter Cove. Although he and most of his family eventually moved back east, the fledgling community was named after him.

                 The history of Garberville continued in the same vein as many towns. Farmers, ranchers, timbermen and merchants began settling in and building a community with schools, shops, hotels, restaurants, saloons and doctors’ offices.

                 When the rough trails and then dirt roads were replaced by The Redwood Highway in the early 20th century, the area was then easily accessible to the rest of the state. With the growing popularity of the automobile and then the completion of the railroad, Garberville became the Gateway to the Redwoods. Tourism and gift sales now enhanced the local economy.

                 One family that took advantage of this opportunity were the Benbows. Residing in northern Humboldt, the family of five brothers and four sisters turned their eyes to the scenic land a couple miles south of Garberville. There they developed residential properties and planned an elegant resort hotel. Designed by a well-known San Francisco architect, Albert Farr, in an elaborate Tudor style, it opened in 1926, three years after the similarly styled Eureka Inn.

                 As well as spacious rooms furnished with quality paintings and antiques, the inn soon boasted a golf course, an air strip, a dammed lake for fishing and swimming, and English afternoon teas. Outdoor festivals, music and theater became part of the picture as well. During its heyday, the inn attracted celebrities from Hollywood, government and the business world, some of the many notable names inscribed in its guest books were John Barrymore, Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Basil Rathbone, Eleanor Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover.

                 There were hard times for the Inn during the Depression and major floods, and the facility has gone through renovations and several owners. But designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Benbow Inn remains a Humboldt County landmark as well.

                 During the later 20th century, southern Humboldt experienced some additional cultural developments. In the 1960s and ‘70s, the back-to-the-land movement brought young urban dwellers to the area seeking a new freer lifestyle. And the increasing popularization of marijuana use made the area’s backwoods a prosperous center for illegal and finally legal cultivation.

                 Then in the 1980s, came another flare of uniquely So Hum culture – Reggae on the River. This several days long festival on the banks of the Eel grew for decades, featuring reggae music, art and swag booths, sunbathing, wild attire (or lack thereof) and various ways of chilling out. Through ups and downs, this festival gave Southern Humboldt another part of its special character.

                All aspects of Humboldt County history, north, central or south, is preserved at the Humboldt County Historical Society. Everyone is invited to come and learn more about what makes our past, present and future so special.

Martha Roscoe