Fort HumboldtBrochure and Map |
Brochure and Map of Fort Humboldt State Historic Park (SHP) in California. Published by California Department of Parks and Recreation.
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Fort
Humboldt
State Historic Park
Our Mission
The mission of California State Parks is
to provide for the health, inspiration and
education of the people of California by helping
to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological
diversity, protecting its most valued natural and
cultural resources, and creating opportunities
for high-quality outdoor recreation.
Living History
events reenact
the daily lives
of officers and
their families
at Fort Humboldt.
California State Parks supports equal access.
Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities who
need assistance should contact the park
at (707) 488-2041. This publication can be
made available in alternate formats. Contact
interp@parks.ca.gov or call (916) 654-2249.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS
P.O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001
For information call: (800) 777-0369
(916) 653-6995, outside the U.S.
711, TTY relay service
www.parks.ca.gov
Discover the many states of California.™
SaveTheRedwoods.org/csp
Fort Humboldt State Historic Park
3431 Fort Avenue
Eureka, CA 95503
(707) 488-2041
© 2009 California State Parks (Rev. 2012)
F
ort Humboldt
State Historic Park
is built on the edge
of Humboldt Bay
near Eureka in
scenic northwest
California. The
fort gives visitors a
glimpse of pioneerera military life in the
mid-19th century.
County. Archaeological
and historical
evidence points to
a flourishing Wiyot
culture thousands
of years old.
Primarily hunters
and gatherers, they
dwelled in an area
rich in edible resources.
The village of Tuluwat,
Fort Humboldt taken from
on nearby Indian Island in
Humboldt Bay, 1860s
NATuRAL HISTORy
Arcata Bay, was the Wiyot physical
The bluff where Fort Humboldt sits is
and spiritual center. They held annual
composed of alluvial and marine deposits,
world-renewal ceremonies at Tuluwat to
sand, and sedimentary clay. Loamy topsoil
bring the world back into balance and heal
covers these layers.
its social discord.
The deer and bear that once inhabited
Worlds in Conflict
the redwoods surrounding Fort Humboldt
After Major Pierson B. Reading discovered
are now gone—along with the redwoods.
gold at the Trinity River in May 1849, the
Spruce and alder trees grow on the west
ensuing gold fever brought the traditional
shoulder of the bluff; willows and berries
Wiyot way of life to an end. Fortune-seekers
have filled in the freshwater pond south of
were lured to the state. Uniontown (later
the bluff.
renamed Arcata, its original native name),
Typical of coastal redwood regions,
Bucksport and Eureka sprang up around
Eureka is foggy year-round, with average
Humboldt Bay, and newcomers sought
temperatures in the 50s and 60s.
the native peoples’ territory. Rather than
clearing the redwoods from
PARK HISTORy
unoccupied land, settlers
Native People
took over Indian villages
California Indians have lived in the
and traditional hunting
northwestern area for several thousand
and fishing sites; many
years. About 14 tribes lived in the
Wiyot died defending
redwood forest region later served by Fort
themselves and their
Humboldt, including the Wiyot, Yurok,
homes. Violence
Whilkut, Nongatl, Mattole, Sinkyone,
escalated; bloody battles
Hupa, Karuk and Yurok people. The Wiyot
ensued as vigilantes attacked
occupied the area now known as Humboldt
the native people. Desperate settlers also
appealed for help from the government.
Fort Humboldt Established
In January 1853, Fourth Infantry U.S. Army
soldiers, led by Brevet Lt. Colonel Robert
C. Buchanan, arrived at Humboldt Bay to
broker peace. Buchanan selected a fort site
on a high, barren bluff overlooking the bay
above Bucksport. By 1857, 14 redwood and
plaster structures had been built in a “U”
shape around a parade ground. Due to its
strategic location high on the bluff, no outer
walls or palisades were built to protect the
company of soldiers.
The Military Dilemma
The military troops found themselves acting
as mediators between settlers and Indians
to resolve conflicts and avoid violence. Many
newcomers wanted the indigenous people
moved to reservations out of the area.
In an effort to bring about a sustainable
peace, seven agreements were signed with
California Indians living between Clear Lake
and the Klamath River. These treaties were
Surgeon’s quarters
never ratified by the government, and the
tribes never received the land that they had
been promised.
When most federal troops departed for the
Civil War, prominent local citizens formed
a self-proclaimed militia. On February 26,
1860, the militia attacked five separate Wiyot
villages over a 30-hour period, massacring
several hundred unarmed Indians.
The village of Kutuswalik, within sight of
Fort Humboldt, was burned completely. The
Army built an 80-foot open corral near the
fort to hold both captive Indian prisoners
and those who sought refuge at the fort from
vigilantes. Fed an unfamiliar diet of hardtack
and beans, some native Californians died of
dysentery; others were killed in continuing
violent outbursts. More than 200 Wiyot
people died before the remainder could be
forcibly resettled on reservations.
Today, the surviving descendants of the
Wiyot have established federal recognition.
They have regained portions of Indian Island
and are restoring its plundered sacred sites.
Life at the Fort
A bugle call or drum beat regulated the
routine of fort life. Fort Humboldt’s supplies,
mail, and even soldiers’ pay were often
delayed for months. Away from family and
friends, isolated and lonely, soldiers found
that time passed slowly; many deserted.
One unhappy young captain, Ulysses S.
Grant, was stationed at Fort Humboldt in
1854. He was a loner, preferring to spend his
leisure time at a nearby tavern or riding in
the countryside near the fort.
After five months, Captain Grant resigned
his commission and went home to farm. He
later rejoined the Army
during the Civil War,
soon promoted to
colonel and rose to
lead the Union troops
as general. In 1869,
Grant became the 18th
president of the United
Ulysses S. Grant States, serving
two terms.
Seth Kinman was a hunter
who supplied elk meat to
troops at Fort Humboldt
and entertained the
soldiers with tales of
his exploits with grizzly
bears. Kinman played
music for the soldiers
on his fiddle, made from
the skull of his favorite
Seth Kinman
mule, “Dave.”
Harriet St. John Simpson, her husband
Assistant Surgeon Josiah Simpson, and
their children enjoyed their post in the
surgeon’s quarters from 1854
to 1857. Mrs. Simpson
chronicled life at the
fort in lively letters
to her family back
East. Her letters and
sketches provide a
clear historical record
of daily fort life. She
often threw parties
Harriet Simpson for the fort’s officers
and their families,
detailing both her menus and her servants’
cooking methods.
Fort Humboldt Today
The fort was abandoned as a military post
in 1870. The W. S. Cooper family bought
the land with its remaining hospital in
1893. In the early 1920s, Mrs. Laura Cooper
donated the property to the City of Eureka
to commemorate U. S. Grant’s service as the
fort’s Quartermaster. The City tranferred title
to the State; Fort Humboldt became a state
historic park in 1963.
The period house museum in the
reconstructed surgeon’s quarters is open
for viewing. The herb and flower garden is
filled with authentic period plantings. Along
the parade grounds, a gravel path connects
Native American exhibits with threedimensional fort-era exhibits and an openair logging display.
ACCESSIBLE FEATuRES
Parking, restrooms, trails and exhibits
are generally accessible. The museum is
accessible from mostly level paths.
PLEASE REMEMBER
• The park is open for day use only.
• Except for leashed service animals, pets
are not allowed in park buildings.
NEARBy STATE PARKS OFF HWy. 101
• Azalea State Natural Reserve, Hwy. 200,
McKinleyville 95519 (707) 488-2041
• Little River State Beach, Crannell Rd.
Trinidad 95570 (707) 488-2041
This park receives support in part from
a nonprofit organization.
Redwood Parks Association
1111 Second St., Crescent City, CA 95531
(707) 464-9150
www.redwoodparksassociation.org