Ferndale: Historic Town Trapped in Time!

Sarah and I recently decided to spend a few days in the remote area of Humboldt County in Northern California to enjoy some beautiful Coastal and Redwood scenery we stayed at this remote cabin situated in a quiet Forest which I found on Airbnb on our last full day we've rolled into Ferndale and both fell in love with this charming Community with this well-kept Victorian homes on this episode of History Hunters we'll show you what we found in Ferndale and take you into the fascinating cemetery on the side of the Hill overlooking the town we'll also tell you about the Hollywood movies filmed here and of course we'll throw in some history here and there [Music] thank you [Music] so let's start out at the beautiful Hadley Garden where we were greeted by this amazing tree in the front the garden is a recent addition to town and also features a miniature Fern Canyon thank you clovers you're giant see how big they are [Music] and did you see look at this there's this interesting flower over there this one here I took a picture of that one the garden also features a hobbit cabin seen here are you a hobbit [Music] oh my gosh there's also this Victorian dollhouse detailed with elaborate scrolling and scallop sighting accents and put that Moonlight right in your ride like a June 9th Fiora Heavenly thing and a peek on the inside revealed that there's two stuffed bears who are enjoying the company of each other one thing that's noticeable about the Lost Coast are various sections that are prone to Tsunami flooding and they are plainly marked so when we heard the warning go off in Ferndale we were a bit alarmed [Music] told us that it goes off every time there's an emergency in town there are quite a few grand churches in Ferndale including the Church of assumption which dates back to 1896. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Sarah and I are enjoying this town of Ferndale this town this town a Ferndale [Music] oh right here at this beautiful Victorian house it's amazing it's built in 1882 which was the same year that Jesse James was shot with its three floors and 32 rooms the gingerbread Mansion has continued to be the largest residence in Ferndale since its construction in 1894 was built by Dr Hogan ring and was later converted into a hospital in 1920. the building was also used as a first American Legion Hall and later a rest home and Noah bed and breakfast Inn the Ferndale Cemetery which was established in 1868 is one of the most photographed of historic cemeteries in California it's located behind the historic Methodist Church which today is used as the old steeple and Ferndale Music Company like this town huh yeah I like the feel as soon as we drove in so right now we're walking up to the Ferndale Cemetery apparently it was used in a 1979 TV mini-series called Salem's Lot and that movie brought David Soul and James Mason Lance Kerwin and Jeffrey Lewis to town in fact I think Jeffrey Lewis did a scene in the cemetery there's something with that name around here one of the prominent mausoleums is occupied by the Shaws Seth Lewis Shaw and his brother Stephen are the first to settle this town at 1852. it was a superb flat area for farming with dense thickets of Alders scattered forests of spruce and redwoods and Savannah's choked with six foot ferns when Seth Shaw built his large house he called it Ferndale and the name was adopted for the town the dairy farming Danes arriving in the 1870s brought practices from their Homeland each small neighborhood of derryman formed its own Cooperative Creamery by 1890 there were 11 separate creameries operating in the immediate Ferndale area this this Cemetery goes straight up the hill over here George W Dean born March 27 1827. died 1887. Henry Dean born August 23 1799 and then Sarah E is the wife of George Dean wow that's the second Sarah I've already seen in here okay Sarah and I got it with the church in the background I'm proud of you you're proud of me yeah what your artistic talents with video and photography no I have an eye for what I like but I have no ability to work a camera except for to push go that's it this marker kind of caught my ice Ezra Mead born in Cambridge Vermont 1840 died in Sacramento and they misspelled Sacramento 1889 strange that he got buried over here this is Emmy byard Mead born Rome Ohio 1859 to 1901. women of Woodcraft seems like they always put these cemeteries on hillsides and uh I wondered why one time and then I found out that it's because some people like to have bodies closer to God I don't know how true that is but obviously the more money that you had the more elaborative marker you could afford I'm sure a lot of these people here in this fancy section are where the movers and shakers of this community a long time ago now here are some newer cremation niches there's definitely a growing Acceptance in this country of cremation probably because it's a lot cheaper and takes up less room foreign idea to come up to the cemetery Crawford [Music] Williams a Walter Ida and latita latish oh Leticia Leticia latita here's a Vietnam veteran that has some special treatment here looks like people have left a lot of money for Robert Charles Master Sergeant U.S army Vietnam looks like he died less than 40 years of age somebody's left a coffee mug there too there's also a U.S congressman Don Claussen who's buried here we're gonna try to find his grave but uh his name is on the sectional Highway 101 for memorial to him Sarah actually found the congressman's grave Donald Claussen and his wife's Jesse Jesse look at that flying Congressman Congressman Don Claussen who was born in Ferndale was a World War II aviator who served in Congress for two decades from 1963 to 1983. he was an aviator who owned his own air ambulance service and also an insurance agency Clawson was a starch supporting Congress of Aviation education in airport projects He said his proudest accomplishment was helping to establish a Grove in the Redwood National Park in honor former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson at the dedication ceremony on August 27 1969 attendees included Congressman Claussen then Governor Ronald Reagan Evangelist Billy Graham president Richard Nixon and first lady Pat Nixon and former president Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson in 1973 representative Claussen dedicated The Drury Visitor Center in Redwood National Park here's his wife Jesse Oliva Claussen 1918-2012 [Music] can you make it yeah oh it's getting hot kidding [Music] foreign [Music] plot for Annie B Peterson born in 1869 died in 1913 is marked with a bunch of little small markers not sure if those are children or what I think one of the coolest things about this cemetery is that they've placed these wood markers indicating where the veterans are buried well this gentleman here really served his country Ronald L ring Colonel infantry World War one and two 1894 to 1955. Pete schoonover native of Tioga County New York born 1800 died in 1888. now right over here is one of those ink markers Charles K son of O and E Dudley he was only four months old dying in 1875. WoW arrest assured these markers I've seen a million of them they always look like they're brand new they never do great over time here's Ellen Dudley 1848-1932 and here's Oren Dudley he died in 1889 55 years old native of Redfield Maine or Reedville Maine any of my viewers ever heard of that town it's a name that stands the test of time you're sweaty yeah I know I know believe it or not the gumdrop trees seen here are a coastal Cypress variety planted in 1865. they are located in front of a home built in 1875 by German immigrant Arnold birding who opened ferndale's first General Store Mr birding arrived in Humboldt County to set up a store Hotel Livery and post office and the now abandoned Village of Centerville President Abraham Lincoln appointed him as centerville's first and only postmaster the Ferndale Bank building built in 1891 is now the Victorian Inn it was designed for Ira Ross and this style described as East Lake stick the building is famous for its elaborate gingerbread and ornate Windows especially the Tourette style bay windows of the IRA rust room the Inn also features a restaurant and Tavern downtown Ferndale has appeared in various movies and TV shows and commercials if you're old enough you may remember the 1977 commercial I'm a pepper featuring David Naughton one of those commercials was shot right here on Main Street I drink Dr Pepper and I'm proud I'm part of an original crowd and if you look around these days it seems to be a Dr Pepper cray I'm a pepper Pepper for cheese and pepper we're a bathroom [Music] she's a pepper if you drink Dr Pepper you're a pepper to be a pepper drink Dr Pepper be a pepper so apparently the graves that we visited earlier of the Ring family they own this drugstore and their sign still hangs up there I don't know about you but I just love such nostalgic size like that so I just spoke to the gentleman here at the Ferndale Emporium and he told me exactly where they filmed the movie The Majestic the film crew took over the entire town and paid the business owners for their inconvenience but I remember watching the film and being totally awestruck by the old theater in the movie and always wanted to come by and see it but guess what it was a fake building totally manufactured right there across the street in the city parking lot they worked for Hollywood Magic so disappointing apparently some in the town wanted them to leave it up but apparently it was falling apart and I'm probably a big liability so it came down I understand that the inside of the movie theater was actually shot in a sound stage somewhere in Hollywood [Music] thank you [Music] thank you this stuff is definitely old [Music] you don't see those anymore it's the old bank and turn it into a gift shop [Music] the former Bank building is now home to the hometown store which we were told is owned by TV Food Network Channel host Guy Fieri who grew up in Ferndale Fieri is the host of the popular TV show Diners Drive-Ins and Dives this has to be the original floor of the bank too and Sarah just pointed off how they use the teller cages the windows here still are here we go here's a poster from the movie The Majestic shot right outside [Music] right out there for those of you who are fans of Guy Fieri this is a corner that has a bunch of his stuff he actually grew up in Ferndale you can actually be him for Halloween with this mask and here are some autographed knives and I'm pretty sure those are original signatures it also looks like he personally signed these boxes of funko pop icons speaking of signatures Sarah left a message on the store's guestbook register here's the Vault to the bank no longer used of course maybe it is but right up here is a poster for Joe Dirt 2001. apparently this fictional silver Town Scenic beauty is established with a shot above ferndale's birding Street Joe exclaims whoa look at that town it's pretty whoa look at that town meteor that's pretty I met people in a town like that'll be nice to us David Spade and also the movie outbreak was filmed here with Dustin Hoffman Renee Russo and Morgan Freeman I've never seen the movie might have to now the 1994 filming at the Warner Brothers film outbreaks saw Ferndale invaded by the military helicopters landed on Ocean Avenue and Main Street it seems that every town across the country has an international order of Odd Fellows Hall the red building and next to it building dating back to 1893. oh when I spotted the Ferndale Repertory Theater down there here's the Reel Theater and look you don't see these box offices hardly anymore it's not used in a movie but that's pretty cool two tickets to Majestic place it's really hard to Fathom the detail that they put into these buildings and these facades so long ago you just don't see that today that's what sets them apart we jumped in Sarah's Subaru and made our way past Farms West on Centerville Road to the Pacific Ocean Sarah was thrilled to take in the sight of several Cows as well as some deer that were munching in the field this one it's a mom that's the baby that you're pointed at that's the mom and then keep going to the right here comes the other baby the road took us directly to Centerville Beach County Park where a large cross and Memorial pays homage to 17 passengers and 21 crew members who perished on January 6 1860 when the SS Northern Shipwrecked owned by the Pacific Mills steamship company The Vessel launched from San Francisco intending to carry mail and 128 persons as far north as British Columbia but near Cape Mendocino the ship was dashed against the rocks and wrecked near Cedarville Beach where bodies washed upon this same Shore in 1921 the Ferndale parlor of the Native sons of the Golden West placed a cross and marker on a hill overlooking Centerville Beach buried nearby with the victims of that shipwreck that first marker was toppled in the 1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes so a new marker was placed on the beach and rededicated in 1995. foreign here's the Ferndale Elementary School I just thought this was pretty cool because it looks like it dates back to the 40s maybe the 30s and uh who knows maybe Guy Fieri went to school here so this is going to wrap up our visit here to Ferndale I hope that you enjoyed what we had to show you if you could leave us a comment that would be greatly appreciated it always helps with the algorithm give us a thumbs up and subscribe to history Hunters thank you so much [Music] thank you [Music] foreign

Channel: History Hunters

Views: 60,365

Keywords: Ferndale California, Humboldt County, History Hunters, jbenziggy, Charming California towns, Historic cemeteries, Guy Fieri, The Majestic movie, Victorian homes, California tourist locations

Id: xKX0HLEUFPI

Length: 21min 37sec (1297 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 01 2023