William Wetherbee Gibbs, whose nickname was “Sam Slick,” operated a saloon out of the front of his Main Street home in the 1870s. Originally, built about 1866, Sam Slick’s Saloon was located just west of the Mendocino Hotel, in the space now occupied by its restaurant. The Buffalo Saloon, c. 1886. Note the buffalo head over the door. Standing (L - R): Ed Hatch, Billy [...]
Logger with pack mule, hauling a load of tanbark, 1880-1920. (Perley Maxwell (photographer), Gift of Emery Escola, Emery Escola Collection, Kelley House Photographs) September 8, 1921 - Ed Rasmussen and James Bowman, the local garage owner and Ford dealer, went out to Mettick Creek on the Southfork of Big River to get Rasmussen’s truck. Rasmussen had bought the Ford truck from the Caspar Lumber [...]
On this day in Mendocino history… The Steamer Fort Bragg Loading Lumber at Big River, Mendocino, c. 1920. At this time, the Fort Bragg was operated by Charles Higgins of the Higgins Steamship Company in San Francisco. Note the letter "H" on the smokestack. (Perley Maxwell (photographer), Gift of Emery Escola, Emery Escola Collection, Kelley House Photographs) September 7, 1932 - The wooden steam [...]
In 1850, the Baltimore-built Clipper Frolic, en-route to Gold-Rush San Francisco from China, wrecked on a reef just north of today’s Point Cabrillo Light Station. Her story has been called “the most significant shipwreck on the west coast” by historians. Artifacts and interpretive materials from the shipwreck of the Frolic are on permanent exhibit.
“Then and Now” exhibit portrays the town of Mendocino and its surroundings by comparing scenes photographed approximately 100 years apart. The original photographs, taken by local, amateur photographer Perley Maxwell, were printed by the 2002 Mendocino High School photography class. The students then took modern day digital images of the same location. These revealing images show how things have changed and how some things may never [...]
Pomos lived along the Mendocino Coast for thousands of years prior to European settlement in 1850. Pomo simply means “the people.” In 1855, the federal government established the Mendocino Indian Reservation on 25,000 acres between the Noyo and Ten Mile Rivers, with its military headquarters located in what is now the business center of the town of Fort Bragg, ten miles north of Mendocino. It is [...]
Labor Day advertisement for Safeway in the Mendocino Beacon, 1943. Note the Red Stamp and Blue Stamp Values in the ad and the Red Points mentioned in the cartoon at the bottom. Color-coded stamps and points were part of the food rationing system put in place during World War II. Food rationing began in the spring of 1942, when government-issued food coupons were required to purchase [...]
The distinctive round Remedy Store sign outside the store’s second location at 45094 Main Street in Mendocino. The Bank of America building and Chet Bishop’s General Merchandise Store can be seen in the background. (Gift of Carl A. Moore, Lee Burleson Collection, Kelley House Photographs) In 1928, Dr. Russell Preston, beloved Mendocino physician, purchased the town’s only pharmacy, Pioneer Drug Store. There had been [...]
The British tramp steamer, Oswestry, anchored in Mendocino Bay, 1909. The Mendocino Mill can be seen in the background on Big River. (Perley Maxwell (photographer), Gift of Emery Escola, Emery Escola Collection, Kelley House Photographs) September 4, 1909 - The Mendocino Beacon reported that five sailors had deserted the big British tramp steamer Oswestry. While the ship was anchored in Mendocino Bay, the sailors [...]
The house built by Michael Byrnes in 1884 on Little Lake Road in Mendocino. Mary Byrnes is on the left flanked by her daughters, Grace and Dorothy. Michael J. Byrnes is holding the colt. Ralph Byrnes, son of Michael and Mary, is standing by the dog, and Philip Hite is behind the fence. The house still stands at 44600 Little Lake Road. Note the "Mendocino [...]