History
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Jan- 2021 -19 January
Potter Creek Cave: the Coolest Northern California Cave You Can’t Visit
It’s larger than Shasta Caverns. Extinct ground sloths were found there, the first ever in California. Sharp-faced bears, the most…
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Dec- 2020 -4 December
Ski A Volcano: The History of the Lassen Ski Area
Large groups of skier in Lassen – 1936. PHOTO BY JERVIE HENRY EASTMAN, COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, GENERALLIBRARY, UNIVERSITY…
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Aug- 2020 -12 August
8 Must-See Historic Gems Near Redding, California
Brought to you by Choose Redding While Redding, California is known to be the home of the some of the…
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May- 2020 -2 May
A Northern California Couple Found Historic Coins Buried in their Backyard. The Discovery Landed Them $10 Million.
In 2013, a couple was walking their dog on their rural Northern California property when they discovered an unusual scene.…
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Feb- 2020 -6 February
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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Dec- 2019 -28 December
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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27 December
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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23 December
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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13 December
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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3 December
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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Nov- 2019 -26 November
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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22 November
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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18 November
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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Oct- 2019 -28 October
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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Sep- 2019 -4 September
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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3 September
This Beautiful Northern California Site was Once a 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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Aug- 2019 -7 August
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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Jul- 2019 -23 July
Eat a Historic Burger and Fries at Redding’s Damburger
https://www.facebook.com/EatingNorCal/videos/327242764799898/ In 1938, 18-year-old Bud Pennington had the idea to sell hamburgers to the thousands of construction workers building Shasta…
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Apr- 2019 -11 April
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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5 April
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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Jan- 2019 -26 January
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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Dec- 2018 -8 December
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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Nov- 2018 -17 November
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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Oct- 2018 -17 October
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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15 October
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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9 October
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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9 October
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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Sep- 2018 -24 September
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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12 September
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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Aug- 2018 -8 August
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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Jul- 2018 -9 July
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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9 July
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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Jun- 2018 -26 June
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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22 June
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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19 June
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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11 June
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…
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2 June
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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2 June
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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1 June
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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May- 2018 -9 May
What’s a Lemurian and Why Do People Believe They Live in Mount Shasta?
We like to hypothesize about the paranormal activity surrounding Mt. Shasta. From Bigfoot sightings to alien activity, there is no…
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Apr- 2018 -25 April
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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23 April
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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