History

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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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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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 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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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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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,…

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