Humboldt's Gold Rush: Natural Resource Extraction

Humboldt County’s origins are closely tied to the same factors that created the State of California in the middle of the 19th century: Gold. San Francisco was booming from the rush of settlers headed for the Sacramento mines, and the area was quickly running out of the supplies needed to expand the city to accommodate new residents. Exploration was a major part of the American ethos as westward settlement was alive and well- should an area be logged clean and all its resources depleted, one could simply move to another area and begin anew. Pair the fervor for western settlement fueled by US homesteading policies like the Homestead and Timber and Stone Act and individuals who were looking not only to make a living, but to make a lot of money in a short amount of time, and you can get a good understanding of the motivations behind the people who settled Humboldt Bay in 1850. Rapid resource extraction fueled by continuing technological advancement was commonplace in the later half of the 19th century in Humboldt County to accommodate demands initially of those who came looking for gold, however the demand expanded outside of the area. It was seen as a land of plenty, with so much of a bounty that it could never be exhausted, and to leave the resources in their place would be considered a waste. Rapid, wanton resource extraction left its mark on the landscape in diminished fish numbers and habitat, logged over forests, old mines, and old names for locations such as Gold Bluffs Beach and Petrolia.

Cat #: 2004.41.6A

Gold Mining

Cat # 2004.41.7A

In California, gold mining was marketed as the go-to get rich quick method. When gold was discovered in the Trinity mountains, advertisements in San Francisco implored down on their luck miners to head north and try their hands at panning the Trinity River. Migration increased and established towns like Trinidad as boom towns due to their proximity to trails leading to the Trinity mines. Eureka and Union (later Arcata) also served as supply points for mining operations happening in the mountains. Mining also pulled workers from local industries like logging, jarring the local economy. Miners came from across the country and around the world, and many of these miners, including the likes of William Carson, ended up staying in the area to establish many of the other early industries in the area. Gold mining busted relatively quickly in Humboldt County as Redwood started becoming a dominant part of the economy in the mid 1850’s.

Early Logging

Early settlers to the area did log the area immediately adjacent to Humboldt Bay in order to build their homes, however, early logging efforts focused on smaller trees, as tools brought from the East were built to handle smaller trees. Tanoak was popular in many areas, with the bark being used to tan livestock hides. Advancements came quickly though, with innovations, management expertise and luck under the guidance of John Dolbeer, William Carson, and other enterprising men who constructed mills around Humboldt Bay. New inventions and technologies invented in Humboldt County like the double band saw, Steam Donkey, Bull Donkey allowed logging companies to speed up all parts of logging and milling, allowing more trees to be processed at lower costs. With the addition of railroads locally and railroads later connecting Humboldt County to markets in San Francisco, the markets boomed with redwood.  

Cat # D87.26.3

Man with a load of railroad ties, most likely redwood. Cat #: D81.4.42

Fishing

Salmon fishing was incredibly lucrative and began commercially occurring in 1853 on the Eel River (known as the “Weeott River” at the time). In the first commercial fishing year, 250,000 pounds of fish were taken from the rivers for export across the country and around the world. Regulation on the industry to protect the fish was nonexistent, and light regulations placed served only to protect the fishing rights of those who lived on the rivers. Like the other early industries, this one was subject to booming and busting based on environmental conditions, market prices, and later, fish population.

Oil

Oil in Petrolia (which was known as New Jerusalem before oil was drilled) was found as early as 1857 but was overshadowed by the rush to the gold mines. It wasn’t until the 1860s that oil was becoming nationally valuable, warranting the drilling for oil in the area. However, the industry hit many roadblocks along the way. Oil drilling requires a large investment to purchase supplies and construct the infrastructure needed to drill and Humboldt County may have been rich in resources, but not money-or wealthy investors. Additionally, access to coastal, southern Humboldt County was difficult at best and impossible at worst, making it nearly impossible for the industrial supplies needed to construct and maintain the oil drills to get to Humboldt County and for the small amounts of oil drilled to get to market, especially once steamer ships started refusing to ship oil due to its flammability. Drilling season was also limited as well due to rainfall flooding the oil wells. Other regions that drilled for oil were able to out-compete Humboldt County oil, bringing the short-lived oil industry in Humboldt County to an end in 1866. Later attempts were made to revive the industry, but none succeeded due to similar issues, especially cost and transportation.