History

Stay Overnight at a Historic Northern California Lighthouse

There are so many great adventures to be had in Northern California, but there may be none as relaxing and…

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The Story Behind the Secret JFK – Marilyn Monroe Rendezvous in Castella, California

You may have passed Castella, California while driving on Interstate 5 just south of Mount Shasta, although it’s difficult to…

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This Man is the Namesake of Lassen Volcanic National Park. His Murder Remains a Mystery.

You’ve surely seen the name Lassen plastered throughout Northern California, but behind the name sits a wild west murder mystery.…

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The Story of the Donner Party: Deadly Mistakes Over the Snowy Sierra

Photo of James F. and Margaret Reed, who were members of the Donner Party I could have died so many…

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The Adventures of Mark Twain in California – Part 4: The Stand Up Comedian

While it might be a stretch to describe Mark Twain’s ascent to literary rock-stardom as luck, he truly did not expect…

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How this Man’s ‘Hell’ Became One of Northern California’s Most Popular Destinations

Bumpass Hell is a popular destination for people traveling through Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen is chock-full of hydrothermal activity,…

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The Adventures of Mark Twain in California – Part 3: Jackass Hill and Jumping Frogs

Who knew that Mark Twain, beloved American author and humorist, creator of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, spent seven wild…

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This Waterfall Was Once the Hideout of NorCal’s Most Notorious Stagecoach Robber

Hedge Creek Falls. Photo: Flickr/Eric Leslie Every bandit needs a hideout, and it just so happens that one of the…

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These Brothers Were Hanged in Redding in 1892. Their Hidden Treasure was Never Found.

On July 24th, 1892, a group of masked men stormed the Redding, California jail and dragged out two men accused…

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Rediscovered Film Takes a Trip Through San Francisco in Ruins Following 1906 Earthquake

On April 18, 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit San Francisco, killing 3,000 people and destroying 80 percent of the…

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This 1952 News Reel Shows Passenger Train Buried in Tahoe’s Worst Blizzard in 50 Years

In January of 1952, the worst blizzard seen in 50 years slammed the Tahoe area, closing the pass over Donner…

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The NorCal Town Named ‘Rough and Ready’ Once Seceded from the United States

The only way you’ve probably heard of Rough and Ready, California is if you’ve driven on Highway 20 between Yuba…

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The Legends and Mysteries of Siskiyou County

It’s well documented that the areas surrounding Mount Shasta are full of legends and mysteries. From paranormal encounters to treasures…

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Remembering the Time it Rained 6,000 Pounds of Marijuana on Yosemite

Photo: Rick Schloss In 1977, Yosemite National Park was a much different place. Rock climbers traveled the world over to…

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The Chronicles of Mark Twain in California – Part 2: Getting Fired in San Francisco

San Francisco’s Cliff House in the 1800’s By the time Mark Twain (formerly Sam Clemens) made it to San Francisco…

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Remembering President JFK’s Trip to Northern California Just Weeks Before His Assassination

On November 22, 1963, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated as his motorcade drove through Dallas, Texas. Less than two…

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Before the Fall: Stories of Conflict and Discovery in Northern California History

Like stepping off a bar stool after swilling shots of whiskey, nudging my canoe into Fall River catches me off-guard.…

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The Chronicles of Mark Twain in California – Part 1: The Stories Behind the Pen Name

People dream of coming to California to become the next Meryl Streep or Tom Hanks, but hardly the “father of…

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The Legend of Old Shavehead – The Lassen Native American Known for Murdering Samuel Burney

As written in the book California’s Best Fly Fishing Old Shavehead. Photo: California State University, Chico While geologists estimate that…

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Take a Walk Through History in this Ghost Town just Outside Redding, California

Brought to you by Visit Redding Shasta State Historic Park. Photo: Visit Redding In the mid-1800’s, the town of Shasta…

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City of Eureka Transfers Indian Island Back to Wiyot Tribe in Historic Ceremony

Facebook/ Wiyot Tribe In December of 2018, the Eureka City Council unanimously voted to return Tuluwat, or Indian Island, back…

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This Popular Northern California Destination was Once the Scene of a Bloody Battle in 1855

We know Castle Crags as the beautiful Northern California wilderness area settled just between Shasta Lake and Mount Shasta, with stunning rock formations and bountiful…

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Video Explores the Human History of Lassen Volcanic National Park

In an installment of Lassen NPS’s video newsletter, Lassen Peek, they give a brief introduction to the human history of the…

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This Beautiful Northern California Site was Once a Brutal World War II Internment Camp

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, it started World War II, sending the United…

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The History of the McCloud River and its World-Famous Fish

Photo: California Trout It’s the strangest feeling. I can be standing for hours in a rushing trout stream totally absorbed…

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Remembering the Deadly 75-Foot Tidal Wave that Leveled Crescent City in 1964

Beginning in Northern California and running all the way up to Alaska in the Pacific Ocean sits multiple fault lines…

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Take a Historical Audio Tour Through the Modoc War

In the 1870’s, the national headlines set there eyes on the Modoc War, a bloody battle between the army and…

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Eat a Historic Burger and Fries at Redding’s Damburger

In 1938, 18-year-old Bud Pennington had the idea to sell hamburgers to the thousands of construction workers building Shasta Dam.…

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A Piece of NorCal History: Redding’s Diestelhorst Bridge

Considering its place adjacent to the recently added Lake Redding Bridge, you might overlook Redding’s storied Diestelhorst Bridge. Without scanning…

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NorCal History will Come Alive at Lava Beds’ Living History Event

Photo: NPS/Angela Sutton Press release provided from Lava Beds National Monument: History will come alive on Saturday, May 11th, during…

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The Legend of Snowshoe Thompson: The Founder of California Skiing

Animated depiction of John Albert Thompson, also known as Snowshoe Thompson In the 1800’s, traveling across the Sierra Nevada in…

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Remembering the Deadly Flood of 1955 that Put a NorCal Town Under 20 Feet of Water

Overhead view of Yuba City. Photo: Sacramento Bee It was just minutes past midnight of Christmas Eve 1955 when the…

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Wiyot Tribe Reclaims “Sacred” Indian Island in Humboldt Bay

Located off the shore of Eureka in Humboldt Bay sits an island called Duluwat, better know as Indian Island, which…

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The Fascinating History of Redding Rancheria

The Wintu Tribe of Northern California When I am outdoors visiting our beautiful NorCal landmarks, curiosity always slips into my head…

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Did the Real-Life Tarzan Dive Off Burney Falls?

BThe story was well known to me, but we at Active NorCal always check our sources. If you Google “Tarzan,…

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Remembering Babe Ruth’s 1924 Exhibition Game in Dunsmuir, California

Photo by Paul J. Standar The Babe. The Sultan of Swat. The Great Bambino. The legend of Babe Ruth has…

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The Conflicted History of the Lava Beds National Monument

By Ryan Loughrey This past summer, we visited the desolate and beautiful Lava Beds National Monument to try to escape…

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This Northern California Town is Responsible for America’s First Bike Lane

The ever-popular bike lanes you see all around the country are a pretty new phenomenon. San Francisco received its first…

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History Reduced to Rubble: Remembering the Honey Run Covered Bridge

The Camp Fire took many victims as it spread through Butte County on November 8th, the most significant being lost…

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Digging for Answers-Where Did The 60-Foot Hole in the Side of Mt. Shasta Come From?

Around 10 years ago, a 60-foot hole mysteriously appeared in the side of Mount Shasta. Even with its incredible size,…

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A History of Yosemite Park in Photos

Yosemite National Park, filled with flush meadows, epic rock faces and mesmerizing waterfalls, is one of the most popular parks…

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Bulls vs. Bears: Northern California’s Bloody Spectator Sport of the 19th Century

In the 1800’s, when Spanish conquistadors and early gold rush optimists flocked to the newly settled areas of Northern California,…

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The Lockhart Ferry Massacre: Northern California’s Bloody War of the 1850’s

Peering into the lives of the first non-Native people in Northern California, dreams, imaginings and real history clash in a…

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Rare Collection of Ansel Adams Photography Donated to the Yosemite Museum in Yosemite National Park

A rare collection of 45 photographs by acclaimed 20th century photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984) has been donated to the Yosemite Museum in Yosemite National…

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A Beacon Of Northern California History: The Battery Point Lighthouse

A D.C. socialite, the Gold Rush, shipping lines, San Francisco, Crescent City and Battery Point Lighthouse intertwine in history to…

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A History Behind Shasta Dam’s Essential Role in California Water

In 1938, thousands of hardworking people arrived in rural Shasta County to build a dam and a dream. Shasta Dam…

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Explorers Study Ancient Underwater Forests with a Submarine at Fallen Leaf Lake

Mapping out the history of our the outdoors can be a difficult task, one that requires time, money, and maybe…

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This Northern California Ghost Town is Cursed, According to its Visitors

The workers at the Bodie State Historic Park are used to receiving letters in the mail talking about the “Bodie…

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How Redding Got its Name – A Tale of Two Men With Nearly the Same Name

Redding, California sits center stage in Northern California, nestled comfortably in the middle of the beautifully distinct areas all across…

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Exploring the Car Graveyard of Mt. Shasta

By Ryan Loughrey Walking through the car graveyard felt like walking through an ancient time. Even though the cars couldn’t…

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The Turbulent History of Mt. Shasta’s Old Ski Bowl

It was in 1959 when ambitious developers leased land from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and opened a two-person chairlift on the…

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Watch President JFK Dedicate the Whiskeytown Bridge Weeks Before his Assassination

We know that our area holds significant landmarks for the state as well as the country, and no event signifies…

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Remembering the Devastating Chemical Spill that Killed All the Wildlife on the Upper Sacramento River

It was July 14th, 1991 when a Southern Pacific tank car spilled 19,000 gallons of the soil fumigant metam sodium…

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How Did Weed, CA Get It’s Name? A Story of Achieving the American Dream in the Wild West

You see many people snicker when you bring up Weed, California. After all, it seems to be named after Cheech and Chong’s…

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Capturing History: 10 Mind-Blowing Photos from the Lassen Peak Eruption

When Lassen Peak Erupted in 1914, there were no advanced photographical instruments. There were no DSLR’s or drones or GoPro’s,…

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What’s in a Name? The Story Behind Hat Creek

Names almost always make for a good story, and Hat Creek is no exception. Of course, not everyone may agree that…

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A History of Lassen Park in Photos

Lassen Volcanic National Park’s history is fascinating, from the eruption of Lassen Peak to the naming of Hat Creek to…

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The Story of Lassen’s Ishi – The Last “Wild” Native American

It was August 19, 1911, when an unknown, “wild’ man emerged from the wilderness near Lassen Peak and into the…

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A History of Bigfoot Sightings in Northern California

Stories and legends of Bigfoot and similar creatures pervade the history of the Pacific Northwest. In Teddy Roosevelt’s book, The…

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How Did Whiskeytown Get Its Name?

Whiskeytown began much like most other 1849 Gold Rush mining communities – as a modest collection of shabby tents. Young…

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The Heartwarming Story of President JFK Feeding Deer in Lassen Volcanic National Park in his Pajamas

When President John F. Kennedy visited Northern California in 1963, just months before his assassination, he made the rounds to…

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Remembering the Great Flood that Put Northern California Under 30 Feet of Water

If you take a look at Northern California on a map, it will show a large valley right down the…

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Beauty Meets History – Hiking Tahoe’s Rubicon Trail

Tahoe’s Rubicon Trail might sound familiar to you as it has become a very popular destination for hikers in NorCal.…

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What’s a Lemurian and Why Do People Believe They Live in Mount Shasta?

By Zach O’Brien We like to hypothesize about the paranormal activity surrounding Mt. Shasta. From Bigfoot sightings to alien activity,…

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Photos of NorCal Waterways During the Last Two Droughts are Astonishing

During the drought of 2014, photos emerged of Northern California waterways that showed just how desperate we were for water.…

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Humboldt’s Lyons Ranches Finally Listed on National Register of Historic Places

Redwood National Park Superintendent Steve Mietz is proud to announce the listing of Lyons Ranches Historic District on the National…

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Mark Twain’s Account of the Naming of Yreka, California

The small town of Yreka, California, sitting just to the north of the mighty Mount Shasta, has a prominent history…

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Take this Hike to see Ancient Northern California Petroglyphs

In the Lava Beds National Monument sits a wall of stone with petroglyphs that are dated as far back as 6,000 years…

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Watch this Incredible Video of the Lassen Peak Eruption in 1914

My interest with our surrounding volcanic activity has turned from curiosity to obsession. The last eruption of Mount Shasta occurred in 1786,…

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Once a Northern California Boomtown, Now a Sunken City at the Bottom of a Lake

Kennett, California was once a boomtown in Northern California, prospering in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, with numerous stores, saloons,…

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The Historic Castle on the McCloud River

You’ve probably heard of the Hearst Castle, the magnificent residence of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, but have you heard…

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