City of Eureka

Humboldt County · Eureka · location approximate

In 1806 Captain Jonathan Winship of the ship O'Cain dropped anchor opposite where Eureka now stands. Captain Douglass Ottinger of the Laura Virginia discovered the entrance to the bay in 1850, and on April 9 a small party landed and decided to locate a city. This settlement was called "Humboldt City." The same year the City of Eureka was founded on Humboldt Bay about three miles from the entrance of the bay. In 1856 Eureka was made the county seat.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document.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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