David Murphy Family
Contributed by June Reger of Blocksburg
It was April 1880 when the Murphy family arrived in Blocksburg. Springtime in Humboldt County, California, is one of the prettiest times of the year. The hills are various shades of green. The air is fragrant with the scent of wildflowers, trees, and shrubbery in bloom. Everything seems fresh and clean.
 They bought a ranch just south of town up on the hillside with a wonderful view of the surrounding hills. As serene as it is, it could not have been an easy journey. Depending on the weather, the road would have been dusty or muddy, and filled with ruts. It would have been a long way in or out of Blocksburg no matter which way you traveled.
Dave and Polly Ann Murphy arrived 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.
Dave was originally from Ohio and Polly Ann was from Missouri. The lure of gold probably brought them to California. Before settling in Blocksburg, the family lived for a while at Carlotta on Yeager Creek on the big flat across from Pacific Lumber Company. They also lived at Eel Rock on the Eel River. While there, they built their own school house. Dave also had 360 acres in Trinity County where he spent much of his time.
 The land they bought in Blocksburg had two log cabins on it. The cabins are gone now, but you can still see where they were. Their neighbors, the Crabtrees, had a small sawmill, and they soon began building their home. It was a comfortable two-story house of single-wall construction. In later years another building was torn down and used to put double walls in the entire house. It is still in use today.
Dave's great granddaughter, June Reger, described him as "a little Irishman who was struck by the gold fever. He loved to mine." Because of his passion for mining, Dave Murphy was gone much of the time. His sons took on the work of ranching. For the most part it was a cattle ranch but for a few years they did have sheep. Then it went back to cattle.
According to June, one subject that was not open for discussion was the Civil War. There was some hint of why in the names of two of his sons, Jefferson Davis and Robert Lee, and his horse Traveler. Consequently, their early history is unknown.
Dave died at the site of his mining claim in Trinity County at about age 62. He was buried there. Polly Ann was buried at Blocksburg.
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