August 30, 2023 - NoCali Vacation
Ferndale
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Originally, our plan had been to drive up Highway 101 through the Redwood National and State Parks to Crescent City. But there was a wildfire fairly close to Crescent City. Plus we were getting a long way from San Francisco and only had one day -- tomorrow -- to get back. So we decided to start heading back today. We would stop overnight along the way in Willits.
But we had time to do some sightseeing today so we checked out the quaint little town of Ferndale, south of Eureka and about five miles southwest off Highway 101.
This is Main Street, Ferndale.
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Ferndale, population 1,500, contains dozens of well-preserved Victorian storefronts and homes.
Before American settlement, Ferndale was a glade of giant ferns reaching more than six feet, surrounded by alder, willow, Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, coast redwood, swampy land, and windswept prairies. The town was established in 1852 from settlement by Willard Allard, Seth Louis Shaw, and his brother, noted American portrait painter Stephen William Shaw.
Ferndale is also sometimes referred to as "Cream City" since considerable wealth was generated in the dairy industry and used to build some of the Victorian houses and storefronts.
Interestingly, at least to me, there used to be a Naval Facility in nearby Centerville Beach. Established in 1958, the facility was part of the Sound Surveillance System ( SOSUS) which was a submarine detection system using passive sonar arrays to detect Soviet submarines. It was super secret back when I was in the Navy. Now it's on Wikipedia, LOL! The facility closed in 1993. |
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| We had a late breakfast at Poppa Joe's which was really excellent. I felt like this was how it was to eat out back in the early 1900s. |
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| The "Gazebo" built in 1898, a fine example of Victorian architecture. |
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Ferndale was featured in the 1995 medical emergency movie Outbreak. By coincidence, I happened to rewatch the movie a few months ago. I was struck by how many big name artists were in the movie: Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kevin Spacey. Harrison Ford , Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson were all offered the leading role that Hoffman eventually took but turned it down. Despite the cast, I thought the movie was mediocre. The plot was how far military and civilian agencies might go to contain the spread of a deadly, contagious disease. The top Army guy was of course the bad guy; an arrogant pompous ass who just wanted to burn the town down. If you're looking for a Covid-like film, a better choice would be Contagion, filmed in 2011, which is much more realistic.
Many of Ferndale's buildings have been recreated at the Legoland California theme park, as the only American small town to be represented alongside New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas and other nationally known locations. Ferndale was settled by many Danes, and Lego is a Danish company. In 1995, Legoland staff took hundreds of photos in Ferndale, and used over one million Lego bricks to recreate the town in the Miniland section of the park.
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| We toured the town museum which was one of the better ones I've visited. |
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| Aerial view of Ferndale back in the early 1900s. |
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Model of the "Star of Boston", a sailing cargo ship during the Golden Age of Sail. One of the sailors made this model and gave it to the ship's Captain. It has been in the Captain's family ever since and was donated to the museum in 1983. Notice the little steam-powered tugboat in the diorama. Eventually steamships would replace the sailing ships.
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| Coyote and Lynx. And squirrel. |
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The old Humboldt County switchboard, used as late as 1983. How things have changed! Now you use your Smart Phone, a super computer that is also a phone, and phone calls don't cost anything.
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| Before electricity, they used steam and then gas engines to turn drive shafts and belts to the machine devices. |
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| California's first oil well was drilled in 1865, only 35 miles from here. |
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| Cross-section of a 1,237 year old coastal redwood. |
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| A massive redwood board. |
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| The museum had all sorts of interesting collections, including these kerosene lanterns and barbed wire display. |
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| Local boy made good! Although Guy Fieri, chef, restaurateur and Food Network star was born in Columbus, Ohio, he grew up here in Ferndale. Fieri began his association with food in grade school in Ferndale, by selling pretzels from his "Awesome Pretzel" cart and washing dishes to finance his trip to France to study. |
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