Centerville Beach Cross

Humboldt County · 5 miles west of Ferndale · location approximate

The Steamer Northerner on January 6, 1860, northward bound from San Francisco, struck a hidden rock two miles off Cape Mendocino, and from there drifted to the Centerville Beach. Seventeen passengers and 21 crew members lost their lives. Thirty-three passengers and 32 crew members were saved. The cross was erected by the Ferndale Parlor No. 93, N.D.G.W., in memory of the people who lost their lives in this disaster.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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