Eureka, California
From Freepedia
Eureka is the county seat of Humboldt County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 26,128. Eureka was founded in 1856, and soon became an important port city for northern California's logging and commercial fishing industries.
Eureka is part of the Redwood Empire.
Because of its proximity to Redwood National Park and Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Eureka is a popular tourist stop with many restaurants and motels. Of particular interest in Eureka are its harbor; historic Old Town, with its ornate, Victorian-style architecture; and the Humboldt Botanical Garden.
Eureka was voted as the #1 best small art town in John Villani’s book “The 100 Best Small Art Towns In America”.
Every 1st Saturday night of the month, Eureka Old Town sponsors an “Arts’ Alive!” gala. More than 40 Eureka business as well as local galleries display local art to the public. Drinks and snacks are provided, as well as live music and performance art by musicians, jugglers and poets.
Eureka is the midpoint stop in the three day long kinetic sculpture race, a zany, 42 mile long race of artistic, bicycle powered machines that must prove themselves able to traverse mud, water, sand, gravel, and pavement.
The major newspapers servicing the Eureka area include the Times Standard, the Northcoast Journal, and the Eureka Reporter.
Nearby institutions of higher learning include the College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University.
Bayview, Cutten, Myrtletown, and Pine Hills are all census-designated areas within the Eureka metropolitan area.
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Geography
Eureka is located at 40°47'24" North, 124°9'46" West (40.790022, -124.162752)1. Eureka is located on Humboldt Bay along California's northern coast.
Demographics
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.4 km² (14.4 mi²). 24.50 km² (9.4 mi²) of it is land and 12.9 km² (5.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 34.60% water. As of the census2 of 2000, there are 26,128 people, 10,957 households, and 5,883 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,067.5/km² (2,764.5/mi²). There are 11,637 housing units at an average density of 475.5/km² (1,231.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 82.46% White, 1.63% Black or African American, 4.21% Native American, 3.55% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 2.71% from other races, and 5.10% from two or more races. 7.77% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 10,957 households out of which 25.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% are married couples living together, 14.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% are non-families. 35.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 2.93.
In the city the population is spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $25,849, and the median income for a family is $33,438. Males have a median income of $28,706 versus $22,038 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,174. 23.7% of the population and 15.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 29.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
The Wiyot and Yurok are the farthest-southwest people whose language has Algonquian roots. Their traditional homeland ranged from Mad River through Humboldt Bay (including the present cities of Eureka and Arcata) to the lower Eel river basin. Inland, their territory was heavily forested in ancient redwood. Their stretch of shoreland was mostly sandy, dunes and tidal marsh, not rocky cliffs, such as begin a bit further south.
Indian Island, formerly called Duluwat Island, was and is the center of Wiyot world. On the island a ceremonial dance was held to start the new year. The ceremony was called the World Renewal ceremony. All people were welcomed, no one was turned away. The ceremony lasted seven to ten days. It was held at the village site of Tutulwat on the northern part of the island. Traditionally the men would leave the island and return the next day with the day's supplies. The elders, women and children were left to rest on the island along with a few men.
They ate mostly clams and acorns and made long carved log canoes. Healers and ceremonial leaders were mostly women, who got their powers on mountain tops at night.
The tribe had been comparatively little affected by the Spanish, whose string of missions extended only as far north as San Francisco Bay. The Russian fur traders, whose 18th-century invasion in search of the sea otter devastated the Pomo, were unintersted in their sandy shorelands, not a sea-otter habitat. Destruction came to them mainly with the invasion of Americans following their victory in the Mexican war. Miners, farmers, ranchers poured into California, and many settled at what's now Eureka.
On February 25, 1860, the Wiyot experienced a tragic massacre which not only devastated their numbers, but has remained a pervasive part of their cultural heritage and identity. World Renewal ceremonies were being held at the village of Tutulwat, on "Indian Island" about a mile and a half offshore from Eureka in Humboldt Bay. The leader of the Humboldt Bay Wiyots was Captain Jim. He organized and led the ceremony to start a new year.
A group of Eureka men came to the island in the early morning after the ceremony was completed for the evening. They were armed with hatchets, clubs and knives. They left their guns behind so the noise of the slaughter would be only screams -- which don't carry far -- rather than gunshots. This was not the only massacre that took place that night. Two other village sites were raided, on the Eel River and on the South Spit. More than one hundred people were slain that night.
Eureka newspapers of the time exulted at the night massacres conducted by the "good citizens of the area". Good haul of Diggers and Tribe Exterminated! were 2 headlines from the Humboldt Times. Those who thought differently about it were shut up by force. Newspaper publisher and short story writer Bret Harte called it "cowardly butchery of sleeping women and children" -- then had to flee ahead of a lynch mob that smashed his printing presses.
The Wiyot people were decimated. They were corralled at Fort Humboldt. This was another California case of the Army protecting Indians from their own violent citizens. Survivors were herded mostly to Round Valley, establishd as an Indian ("reservation") within California.They kept escaping and returning to their homeland.
By 1850, there were about 2000 Wiyot and Karok people living within this area. After 1860 there was an estimated 200 people left. By 1910 there were less than 100 full blood Wiyot people living within Wiyot territory. This rapid decline in population was due to disease, slavery, target practice, protection, being herded from place to place (survivors' descendants describe this as "death marches") , and massacres.
In February 1886 around 300 Chinese were driven out of Eureka's now destroyed Chinatown when given 24 hours to leave town. Chinese were banned from Eureka and eventually purged from Humboldt county when racist fervor spread. In 1906 there were no Chinese in Humboldt County.[1]
In a step towards making amends, in June of 2004 the Eureka City Council transferred 67 acres of Indian Island back to the Wiyot tribe. Tuluwat, the sacred Wiyot village of Indian Island, is currently being restored by the Wiyot tribe. Eureka businesses have stepped forward to donate supplies and trash barges, and the citizens of Eureka have donated to a Tuluwat restoration fund. It is hoped that soon the Wiyot will be able to once again perform their traditional world renewal ceremony upon the island, perhaps by 2007.[2]
Architecture
Because of its northern isolation, much of the post-war redevelopment and urban renewal that other cities experienced bypassed Eureka. As a result, Eureka is resplendent with examples of 19th and early 20th century architecture and historic districts. David Gebhard, Professor of architectural history of Santa Barbara has remarked that Eureka is a west coast Williamsburg, Virginia, preserving extensive Victorian, Colonial Revival and Greek Revival neighborhoods.
Approximately 16% of the city contains significant historical structures. 13 distinct districts have been identified which meet the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places. Among them are the 2nd Street District (10 buildings), 15th Street district (13 buildings) and the O Street district (43 buildings). Hillsdale Street, a popular and well-preserved district, contains 17 buildings of historic interest. In all, some 1,500 buildings have been recognized as qualifying for the National Register. The Eureka Heritage Society, a local architectural preservation group founded in 1973, has been instrumental in protecting and preserving many of Eureka’s fine Victorians.
Points of Interest
References
- "The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America", by John Villani; ISBN 1562614053
- "Eureka: An Architectural Veiw", by The Eureka Heritage Society, Inc; ISBN 0-9615004-0-9
External links
- The City of Eureka — City Hall
- Tuluwat Restoration Fund
- Sequoia Park and Zoo
- Fort Humboldt State Park
- Humboldt Arts Council and Morris Graves Museum Website
- Arts Alive! Weblink and list of art galleries
- Redwood Jazz Festival
- Blues By The Bay Concerts
- Old Town Eureka
- Virtual tour of Old Town Eureka
- Eureka Times Standard newspaper
- North Coast Journal weekly paper
- The Eureka Reporter newspaper
- List of Eureka radio stations zip 95501
- Now Playing at local movie theaters
- Humboldt Transit Authority bus routes
- Blue Ox Millworks
- Humboldt County Historical Society
- Humboldt County Visitor’s Bureau
- Eureka Heritage Society
- Eureka City Schools
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth
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Links to research about Eureka
