Camp Grant is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

in Humboldt County located on the

South Fork Eel River The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders' Grove where it joins the Eel River. The South Fork drains a long ...

northeast of Weott and east of Dyerville. It was originally settled by Northern

Sinkyone The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or nea ...

people, followed by a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

camp and later a logging and railroad support settlement for the construction of the

Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a regi ...

History

The area was formerly inhabited by Northern

people whose main village, named ''IlhtcuntaHduñ'' (also ''Ltcuntdun'') was downstream at the confluence of Bull Creek, later named Dyerville. In early 1850, half of the

Josiah Gregg Josiah Gregg (19 July 1806 – 25 February 1850) was an American merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author of '' Commerce of the Prairies'', about the American Southwest and parts of northern Mexico. He collected many previously undescribed pla ...

expedition, including Lewis K. Wood who would later found

Arcata, California Arcata (; Wiyot language, Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok language, Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, Humboldt County, Californ ...

, passed through on local trails seeking their way back to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. The other half, including the dying Gregg, had tried to follow the coast road and failed. They left the

Lost Coast The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and undeveloped area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In add ...

along Bull Creek from about the present day location of

Honeydew, California Honeydew (formerly, Honey Dew) is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located south of Scotia, at an elevation of 322 feet (98 m), from the Pacific Ocean in the Lost Coast, near the King Range. It has a general ...

and passed this area on trails on their way to Clearlake although their exact route after leaving this area is unknown. The rush of Euro-American settlers followed immediately north on the traditional, strenuous trails over Island Mountain, now Bell Springs Road. Settlers bound for

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

passed Camp Grant on their way north from the intersection of present-day

U.S. Highway 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

and Cummings Creek, south of Leggett. This migration of Euro/Americans through an area without the resources to support the increase in population led to disease, conflict and starvation for the Sinkyone. Indian Agent Redick McKee's 1851 expedition brought a rush of homestead filings. Native groups militated against this. The resulting conflicts led to the establishment of organized vigilante committees such as the Volunteer Company of Dragoons and continued through at least the 1870s.

Bald Hills War

The

Bald Hills War Bald Hills War (1858–1864) was a war fought by the forces of the California Militia, California Volunteers and soldiers of the U.S. Army against the Chilula, Lassik, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Tsnungwe, Wailaki, Whilkut and Wi ...

against the local Indians was waged during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Camp Grant was established on the Eel River, east of the confluence of the South Fork of the Eel with Bull Creek, in October 1863. Camp Grant was commanded by Captain John Y. Simpson with Company E, 1st Battalion of Mountaineers, California Volunteers as its garrison. Simpson and Company E were involved in several skirmishes: Skirmish at Grouse Creek May 23, 1864; a Skirmish at Matole May 26, 1864; Skirmish at Big Flat May 28, 1864; Expedition to North Fork Eel River September 1–29, 1864. During these operations they captured 166 Native Americans (referred to as "hostiles") and sent them to the

Round Valley Reservation The Round Valley Indian Reservation is a federally recognized Indian reservation lying primarily in northern Mendocino County, California, United States. A small part of it extends northward into southern Trinity County. The total land area, incl ...

in 1864. In August 1864 the Bald Hills War ended and Company E was mustered out at

Fort Humboldt A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

on June 14, 1865. Camp Grant was abandoned shortly thereafter.

Settlement

The location remained as a settlement; a post office operated at Camp Grant from 1868 to 1895. In the 20th century, many private owners in the area sold their land to the

Humboldt Redwoods State Park Humboldt Redwoods State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing Rockefeller Forest, the world's largest remaining contiguous old-growth forest of Sequoia sempervirens, coast redwoods. It is located south of Eureka, Califor ...

. The area is now considered a part of Weott.

References

{{authority control Former settlements in Humboldt County, California Former populated places in California American Civil War army posts 1863 establishments in California Ghost towns in California