Blocksburg: History

The cemetery records came to us via Bonnie Grant, who has worked for many years to document all the gravesites in our cemetery. They are a work in progress. If you can't find your loved one or can offer additional information, please contact us

These newspaper articles from Humboldt County papers span from 1860 to 1920.

The Blocksburg Church was built in 1901. We currently have a brief history of our church and a few photos. We are working to add records of weddings, funerals, and other important events in our community that have taken place there.

The post office opened in 1877 in the corner of a general store. We have a brief history of the office, a list of all the postmasters and their appointment dates, and a history of mail carriers in the Blocksburg area.

The 1889 Teachers Exam was printed in The Humboldt Standard after the test was given. Could you pass it?

Class photos and other memorabilia in our image library are indexed on this page.

The Librarian's Record Book is from the 1890s and early 1900s. It came to us in the form of a bound book. We are carefully scanning each page. There are currently 16 pages available online.

The Blocksburg Town Hall Association was formed November 30, 1956 when 40 industrious and interested people decided to buy the abandoned schoolhouse for a local meeting place. We have a brief history of the organization as well as information about the Town Hall's yearly events.

Vern Brightman's father bought the Brightman Ranch between Bridgeville and Blocksburg around 1920. Vern, a one-time state horseshoe champion and the founder of the Blocksburg Quartet, lived in the area for 80 years.

George Washington Burgess was nearly killed by a log rolling down a steep mountainside before he ever got to Blocksburg. He, however, succeeded in outliving the doctor who pronounced him fatally injured.

When Barbara Burgess and her husband, Pete, bought the old Overland Hotel in 1944, the post office came with it. Ruth Hofer was the postmaster at the time, and when her husband died she sold the hotel and moved away. She talked Barbara into taking on the postmaster's job.

Mrs. Rosa Langin was in her seventies when this story of her early years in Blocksburg was presented during two Fortuna school assemblies in 1948. She was born in Blocksburg in 1870. Her parents, Biar and Lovina Curless, were early settlers to the area.

Jack Fingal was a well-known bachelor who settled on Grizzly Mountain in 1908. This account of his life was written by Lawrence Harvey, who knew Fingal.

Frederick Georgeson came to Humboldt County to work as a clerk in Mr. Helmke's Blocksburg store, but he would go on to be the mayor of Eureka and the president of the Humboldt County Bank. He is also credited with bringing the Northwestern Pacific Railroad from San Francisco to Eureka.

Peter Hamann came to Blocksburg in 1880. He owned a butcher shop, saddle shop, and in 1889, leased the Palace Hotel from Mr. Tichnor for three years. He served as postmaster from 1903 until 1907. He died December l, 1907, at the age of 67 and is buried in the Blocksburg cemetery.

Herb Kay became a Blocksburg resident when he was about a year old. His parents, Everett and Dora (Smith) Kay, moved into the Dana Schlicting house (now part of the Lewis Ranch) in 1919.

Maple Dale Farm was given its name by Jacob Kees, an early Blocksburg settler who came to the area in 1898 from Oregon. This history of Maple Dale Farm follows the property from its original owners to the present ones.

Henry P. Larrabee gave his name to several landmarks in our area, and many believe he was involved in the Indian Island massacres in 1860, but not much else is known about him. His great granddaughter, Joetta Russell-Wilson, reveals where he went after he left Humboldt County.

Dave and Polly Ann Murphy arrived in Blocksburg in 1880 with 10 children. Dave was 53 and Polly Ann was 44. Two of their children were married and had families of their own. Some of their children were older than the senior Murphys' youngest child.

Tom Murphy was seven years old when he arrived with his family in Blocksburg in April of 1880. He was the youngest son of Dave and Polly Ann Murphy and grew up to be one of the finest bear hunters in California.

Dr. Saxton Pope wrote of his adventures hunting bear in Blocksburg with Tom Murphy in his 1928 book Hunting with the Bow and Arrow. This is an excerpt from that book.

"Pete Bluford and the Grizzly Bear" is a story retold by Dr. Saxton Pope in his 1928 book Hunting with the Bow and Arrow. It was told to him by Tom Murphy.

Irene Stapp allowed us to interview her in October, 2002. This article includes a partial transcript of the interview as well as video clips of Irene talking about her Wailaki and European ancestors.

Georgette Ripple was a little nervous when she had to go to Eureka to take a postal test in 1960. Her sister-in-law was resigning after 15 years, and the Blocksburg postmaster position was open. The post office was located in the corner of the general store owned by her brother, Pete Burgess.

Fuzzy Ed hired Rufe and Frank Stansberry, who were around 12 or 14, to work for him for a summer. When it came time to pay them he claimed they hadn't earned much and gave them an old lame racehorse named Nell instead of money.

Rafaella Hoaglin Wantt of Alderpoint was a descendant of Silas and Sue Hoaglin, a white settler and a Wailaki woman who owned land in Bridgeville, Blocksburg, and Trinity County.

Irene Stapp allowed us to interview her in October, 2002. This article includes a partial transcript of the interview as well as video clips of Irene talking about her Wailaki and European ancestors.

Charles Wilkinson earned his living as a stage driver and teamster in his early years. Then he became the postmaster at Bridgeville in 1909. He also worked at the Alderpoint and Fort Seward post offices before becoming Blocksburg's postmaster in 1925.

This biography covers some of the same information as the interview above and is from research conducted by Frank Essene.

Lucy's father was born near the present town of Alderpoint. The exact date of his birth is unknown but was probably about 1810. This story comes from information gathered by Frank Essene in Round Valley.

These myths were told to Frank Essene by Lucy Young and Mary Major.

The Salt Journey is retold by Edith Van Allen Murphey, a friend of Lucy Young's. Lucy gave this account of the annual journey by Indians to procure salt as they traveled horseback through the Wilderness Area of Mendocino National Forest.

This story of Seven Cedars, an early settlement near present-day Kettenpom, covers the original inhabitants all of the way up to the present owners.