Fort Bragg's Library History The Kelley House Museum has been researching the growth and development of library services on the Mendocino Coast. This week the city of Fort Bragg gets the attention. An early view of the 1913 Fort Bragg Library on Main Street near Laurel Avenue. The building to the right was the Fort Bragg Commercial Bank, and is today’s “Town Hall.” (Courtesy Fort Bragg-Mendocino Coast [...]
Libraries Arrive on the Coast Looking at how libraries arrived on the Mendocino Coast is part of an on-going series exploring the growth of libraries. This week’s story is part two and is a peek into the importance of fraternal organizations and a bookmobile. Mendocino County’s popular bookmobile, c. 1950. (Courtesy David Frick) Fraternal organizations gave a sense of “family” to newcomers arriving on the coast. [...]
Today when coastal residents want to read a new best seller, or find a Book-On-CD to listen to while commuting, or search for a good books on bugs for a six year old, they can turn to the libraries in their local communities. (We’re pretending there is not a pandemic going on that limits access to library services and buildings.) Group photograph of the Kalevala Lodge [...]
A recent column explored the sources of names on the land from Needle Rock south to Caspar on the Mendocino Coast. This week’s column tells the story of place names from Pine Grove south to Gualala. Plan a road trip and find these interesting places. Detail from Mendocino County map showing he southern coast and the small towns and landings found there in 1902. (Map by [...]
Maps are a time trap for historians…just ask the folks at the Kelley House Museum. A map inspection can turn from a quick glance to an hour or more of in-depth inspection, often with the assistance of a magnifying lens. And what captures this author is the names on the land. For whom, and what, was a placed named, and what work took place there. Detail [...]