Fort Humboldt State Historic Park - California
Fort Humboldt State Historic Park is located in Eureka, California. Displays interpret the former U.S. Army fort, which was staffed from 1853–1870, the interactions between European Americans and Native Americans in roughly the same period, and both logging equipment and local narrow gauge railroad history of the region. Within the collection, there are trains, logging equipment, including a fully functional Steam Donkey engine, and an authentic Native American dug-out canoe. The Fort overlooks Humboldt Bay from a commanding position atop a bluff. The North Coast regional headquarters of the California State Parks system is located onsite.
brochures Fort Humboldt - Brochure and Map Brochure and Map of Fort Humboldt State Historic Park (SHP) in California. Published by California Department of Parks and Recreation.
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=665
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Humboldt_State_Historic_Park
Fort Humboldt State Historic Park is located in Eureka, California. Displays interpret the former U.S. Army fort, which was staffed from 1853–1870, the interactions between European Americans and Native Americans in roughly the same period, and both logging equipment and local narrow gauge railroad history of the region. Within the collection, there are trains, logging equipment, including a fully functional Steam Donkey engine, and an authentic Native American dug-out canoe. The Fort overlooks Humboldt Bay from a commanding position atop a bluff. The North Coast regional headquarters of the California State Parks system is located onsite.
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 be