Truckee is an adorable little town nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains just over the border into California from Nevada. Originally Paiute Indian land, Truckee gets its name from Chief Truckee who welcomed early settlers and helped them traverse the pass through the Sierras. Among the earliest American emigrant parties to pass through the area was the ill-fated Donner Party who only made it a little ways further up the mountain before getting snowed in by early winter weather in 1846. As more emigrants arrived, a roadhouse sprang up to supply them. Later, the Truckee River gorge would be the route chosen for the transcontinental railroad with Truckee named as a station location, and the town would grow up around it. Truckee was the site of one of the country’s first ski lifts, and skiing is one of the area’s major tourism draws. In the summertime, there are plenty of trails to keep people coming and, with Lake Tahoe just a 25 minute drive away, the town keeps pretty busy year-round. Truckee is a great place to visit with lots of character and some great old buildings. If you’re ever in the area, pop on in for a visit. You may find yourself staying longer than you thought you would. I hope you enjoy these photos from wonderful Truckee, California.
I have really been looking forward to visiting Ferndale, the Victorian village in Humboldt County, and it was so much more than I ever imagined it would be. This charming town is over the river and down the road from the main highway and while it’s definitely not a secret it still kind of feels like it is.
Ferndale got its start back in 1852 when brothers Stephen and Seth Shaw came to the area to claim a homestead and begin farming. They found that the land was particularly suitable to raising cattle and a small dairy community would begin to grow. William would eventually leave the area, but Seth remained and built a beautiful Gothic home, which he called Fern Dale. When a post office opened in the area, the name was adopted for the town. That house is now called Shaw House and is still there to see in all its Gothic glory.
Dairy, and especially butter, would be the main industry of the town for quite some time, and a process of cutting and wrapping butter in paper for transport was pioneered in Ferndale. Once this process had been developed, butter was shipped down the Eel River and sent south to San Francisco and the town would grow. Butter brought wealth to the area and many fine homes and buildings were constructed in the Victorian style of the time, often called “Butterfat Palaces”. I’m thrilled that so many of these buildings have survived and dairy continues to be the main industry driving the local economy.
I spent a couple of days in Ferndale, taking these photos. I found the locals to be friendly and welcoming as one would expect in Northern California. I particularly enjoyed a conversation about the upcoming Humboldt County Fair one night in the Palace Saloon and also attending an Old Timers’ baseball game at the local ballfield. Breakfast at Joe’s Place was top notch and I loved being able to enjoy a glass of local wine above the bar in the Gazebo. Taking these photos was a joy, especially of the Gingerbread House, Gazebo, the Victorian Inn and the beautiful lamp posts around town. I hope you enjoy these photos of fabulous Ferndale, a town full of Victorian charm in the heart of Humboldt County…
