Arcata

Jessie Faulkner

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9780738529066
• eBook ISBN: 9781439614297
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Arcata, a bright jewel surrounded by the redwood forested hills of northern Humboldt Bay, was once the territory of the Wiyot Indians. The tribe only barely survived massacres and relocation after a town was founded there in 1850, a supply point for gold seekers at nearby mines. That town soon evolved into a center for a thriving lumber industry that fed sawmills and a barrel factory, and dairies that prospered on the pastoral Arcata Bottom. Home to Humboldt State University and the much loved Humboldt Crabs baseball team, Arcata is attracting new businesses, industries, and national attention for its innovative Arcata Marsh public works project.

Two

BUSINESS

Customers at Arcata photographer A.W. Ericson’s Ninth and H Streets store stop to visit on July 4, 1877. Ericson offered music and books in his establishment, which was part of the brick structure built that year. Also located here in the 1880s were the Arcata Reading Room, a telegraph office, and post office. (Courtesy of Humboldt County Historical Society, Stine Collection.)

Isaac Minor, a native of Pennsylvania, was just 23 when he arrived in Union. (Courtesy of Humboldt County Historical Society.)

Hannah Nixon Minor, who arrived in Union with her parents in 1853, married Issac in 1855. She had 12 children, six of whom died as children. She was a 45-year member of the Presbyterian Church of Arcata. (Courtesy of Humboldt County Historical Society.)

The 1914 construction of the Minor Theater and adjoining buildings on H Street was just one of businessman Isaac Minor’s many enterprises. Arriving in Union in 1853, he ran pack trains; owned a cattle ranch; cut and hauled timber; built several mills, including Dolly Varden, Mad River, and Glendale; acquired and ran a granite quarry; and gave nearby McKinleyville its start with the construction of a store and creamery. He died in 1915. (Courtesy of Ericson Collection, Humboldt State University Library.)

This is a photo of the Diamond Crystal Creamery. (Courtesy of Ericson Collection, Humboldt State University Library.)

In announcing plans for the California Central Creameries Arcata Plant on Ninth Street, the Humboldt Times enticed its readers to apply for jobs with headlines such as the one from August 30, 1917, declaring, “Pay Roll Will be Large—Many Skilled Hands Will be Employed.” The operation covered two city blocks and was estimated to cost $100,000 to construct. The business became part of Golden State Creameries in 1923. The creamery has, over the years, been reinvented as a theater, art gallery, roller skating rink, ballet school, martial arts studio, and more. (Courtesy of Humboldt County Historical Society.)

These unidentified United Creamery workers take a break from their work. (Courtesy of Humboldt County Historical Society, Chaffey Collection.)

Joseph Waivado (foreground), a native of Lithuania, ran Joe’s Barber Shop in the first floor of Hotel Arcata in the late 1920s and early 1930s, until his death in Trinity Hospital in 1933. Paul Cates (rear) subsequently purchased the business and ran it for 40 years. Cates also served as the fire chief in 1928 and 1929. (Courtesy of Humboldt County Historical Society, Cates Collection.)

The Varsity Cafe on the plaza’s east side enjoyed a long life and went through many transformations. It first emerged as the Varsity...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• One - PLAZA
• Two - BUSINESS
• Three - EDUCATION
• Four - IN OUR SERVICE
• Five - LEISURE AND HOMES