Humboldt County Historical Society

Garrison’s lively and informative history of Rio Dell and Scotia offers a rare pictorial glimpse into some of the more out-of-the-way parts of Humboldt County, and features images from private collections never before seen in print. Scotia and Rio Dell developed side by side, forming a larger community to support the needs of local settlers and industry. Yet while their histories are inseparably intertwined, each town developed its own distinct character. Scotia, constructed by the Pacific Lumber Company in the 1880s, stands as a pristine example of the once-prevalent company town in America. The small farming community of Rio Dell flourished along with its sister city and grew to accommodate the needs of an expanding workforce in Humboldt’s redwood lumber industry. Where Scotia was orderly and tightly controlled by Pacific Lumber Co. management, Rio Dell developed a reputation for its remote setting, rowdy lumbermen, and bootlegged whiskey. Garrison, a native of Humboldt County with a BA in history focusing on the settlement era from HSU, is convinced that he lives in the most beautiful place on Earth. He has written this book as a way to share and heighten the awareness of the history of these small towns, and hopes to bring back fond memories of a bygone era. Join James Garrison at the Eureka Library on December 5. Attendees are sure to discover information that they may not have been aware of in this lively program. For more information please contact the Humboldt County Historical Society at 445-4342, or visit http://www.humboldthistory.org/