As I was strolling through Hillcrest Cemetery the other day, I counted up all the languages spoken by the people buried there. In the early days, immigrants came to the Mendocino Coast from nearly every corner of the world, leaving behind their mother lands, but bringing with them their mother tongues. Judging from the birthplaces inscribed in the tombstones in Hillcrest, you could have heard snatches [...]
Big River Mill Crew, 1910. Cropped from a framed panoramic photograph of the Mendocino Lumber Company employees at Big River. The cookhouse is the building on the far right. Left to Right: Russell Anderson, John Larson, unidentified, unidentified, Ted Hanson, Frank Pacheco, Joe Brown, Charlie Escola, Louie Larsen, Joe Caroll, Frank Corria, Joe King Sr., Tony Fraga, John Silveria, Arthur Mathews Silva, Sam Bever, Frank [...]
Schooners in Mendocino Harbor, 1865. Two sailing ships at the Mendocino shipping point are being loading with lumber. A lighter, or loading boat, is in the water near the apron chutes on the right. Kent's Point (later Chapman's Point) is visible in the background. (Kelley House Collection, Kelley House Photographs) In the Spring of 1884, the Mendocino Lumber Company hired Captain J. Palmer, an [...]
Two women and a man, holding on to each other, as they cross over Jughandle trestle above Jughandle Creek, c. 1890. There was no roadway on top, only rails and ties, so it was scary business walking out on it. Nonetheless, people did, as this photograph shows. (Gift of Verda Wakerley Winney, Harry J. Wakerley Collection, Kelley House Photographs) The Jughandle Creek trestle was [...]
BIG RIVER BRIDGE – built in 1861 as a toll bridge, this span replaced the ferry operated by P. S. Palmstream. It became a free bridge in 1878 when the people voted to raise their taxes and buy it so they did not have to pay to cross it. Tolls at that time: Wagon and six animals, 50 cents; with four, 30 cents; with two, 25 [...]
Intersection of Main and Lansing Streets, 1957. Traffic signs at the intersection of Main and Lansing Streets in Mendocino, looking eastward. At the time this photo was taken, Lansing Street was Highway 1 through town. The pine tree visible on the right side in this intersection was planted by Dr. Russell Preston (1878-1954), and in 1965 it became the community Christmas tree with lights and ornaments. [...]
Westward view of Main Street in Mendocino, February 1883. A pair of mules pulls a wagon down the graded dirt street lined with wooden sidewalks. On the right is a two-story building occupied by Walker's Saloon and Restaurant. Farther down the street beyond the small tree is Central House, which eventually became the Mendocino Hotel. April 26, 1883 - Duncan Walker, owner of Walker’s [...]
View looking northwest of cultivated fields and rural houses south of Big River, taken c. 1900 by A. O. Carpenter, according to a note on the back of the photo. The town of Mendocino is in the background. In the foreground a pile of sawn boards lies on the ground. Fields are enclosed with a variety of fencing materials, including vertical split pickets, horizontal split rails, [...]
Archaeology Specialist, Emily Carleton (right), at the Evergreen Cemetery gravesite. April 23, 2013 - The remains of a 19th-century “Unknown Sailor” were re-interred in Evergreen Cemetery, approximately 150 years after his death. His skeleton had been discovered buried in a redwood coffin on the bluff at the edge of the Mendocino headlands. Katy Tahja reported for the Beacon, “On April 21, 1986, a hiker [...]
Wagon at the Occidental Hotel, 1892-1893. The hotel's livery stable is on the left, and its water tower and windmill are behind the structures. The steeple of the Mendocino Presbyterian church is visible on the far left. April 22, 1899 - The Occidental Hotel’s livery stable was destroyed by fire. Shortly after 5 am, heavy smoke was discovered coming from the roof of the [...]