Town's History

In 1855 an exploration party from the Bureau of Indian Affairs visited the area looking for a site on which to establish a reservation and, in the spring of 1856, the 25,000 Mendocino Indian Reservation was established at Noyo.

In the summer of 1857, First Lieutenant Horatio G. Gibson, then serving at the Presidio in San Francisco, established a military post on the Mendocino Indian Reservation approximately one and one-half miles north of the Noyo River. He named the camp for his former commanding officer Captain Braxton Bragg, who later became a General in the Army of the Confederacy. The official date of the establishment of the fort was June 11, 1857. Its purpose was to maintain order on the reservation.

Gibson and Company M, Third artillery left Fort Bragg in January 1859 to be replaced by Company D, 6th Infantry. They stayed for two years and continued to build up the post.
In 1862 a company from the 2nd California Infantry assumed command and remained until 1864. In October of that year the Fort Bragg garrison was loaded aboard the steamer "Panama" and completed the evacuation and abandonment of Mendocino County's first military post

The Mendocino Indian reservation was discontinued in March 1886 and the land opened for settlement several years later.

Soon after the fort was abandoned, the land of the reservation was offered for sale at $1.25 per acre to settlers.
Ranches were settled. By 1873 Fort Bragg had an established lumber port at Noyo.

Commercial fishing has also played an important role in formation of the economic base of the community. Once a major commercial fishing port, Fort Bragg was well known for producing quality fish products that were distributed to major metropolitan markets.

Attractions:

California Redwoods

The Coastal redwood favors moderate temperature with lots of moisture.
They fare especially well in areas of heavy fog, where the soil rarely dries completely.
The coastal redwood is the tallest tree on earth, measuring up to 370 feet in height. The Coast Redwood grows best on river flats and stream junctions, where they receive a rich supply of alluvial soil, or silt, deposited there by flood waters.
The Sierra Redwood (Sequoia giganteum) also called Big Tree, is both older and more massive but rarely attains the heights of its coastal relative. The Sierra redwood grows at higher elevations, which is why it can be found in the Sierra mountain ranges.

Coastline

You will find mile after mile of uinque coastline here.
Breathtaking sunsets and the smell of the fresh salty ocean air do something for the soul that really makes you stop and realise how blessed we are.

Glass Beach

Glass Beach is one of the most unique beaches in the world, not because nature created it that way, but because time and the pounding surf have corrected one of man's mistakes.

Beginning in 1949 untill 1967 the area around Glass Beach became a public dump. It is hard to believe these days, but back then people dumped all kinds of refuse straight into the ocean, including old cars, and their household garbage, which of course included lots of glass as shown in this picture.

Skunk Steam Train

Built as a logging railroad, the Skunk line began that year as a logical vehicle for moving massive redwood logs to Mendocino Coast sawmills from the rugged back country.
Steam passenger service was started in 1904, extended to the town of Willits in 1911and discontinued in 1925 when the self-powered, yellow "Skunk" rail cars were inaugurated. The little trains were quickly nicknamed for their original gas engines, which prompted folks to say, "You can smell 'em before you can see 'em."

I hope you enjoyed learning more about Northern California in the Fort Bragg area.
Its no wonder my family decided to settel here more then 100 years ago.
Ill be honest, looking at all these pictures is making me homesick!

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