Fields Landing (formerly, South Bay,
South Bay Station,
and Adele
) is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
in
Humboldt County,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
It is located on
Humboldt Bay south-southwest of downtown
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 ...
,
at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m).
The
ZIP Code is 95537. The population was 276 at the 2010 census.
History
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area now known as Humboldt County was occupied by a number of indigenous peoples, including the
Wiyot
The Wiyot ( Wiyot: Wíyot, Chetco-Tolowa: Wee-’at xee-she or Wee-yan’ Xee-she’, Euchre Creek Tututni: Wii-yat-dv-ne - "Mad River People“, Yurok: Weyet) are an indigenous people of California living near Humboldt Bay, California and a s ...
,
Yurok
The Yurok (Karuk language: Yurúkvaarar / Yuru Kyara - "downriver Indian; i.e. Yurok Indian") are an Indigenous people from along the Klamath River and Pacific coast, whose homelands are located in present-day California stretching from Trinidad ...
,
Hupa
Hupa (Yurok language term: Huep'oola' / Huep'oolaa = "Hupa people") are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinook-wa, meaning "Peopl ...
,
Karuk
The Karuk people are an indigenous people of California, and the Karuk Tribe is one of the largest tribes in California. Karuks are also enrolled in two other federally recognized tribes, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Ran ...
,
Chilula,
Whilkut
The Whilkut (variants: ''Whiylqit, Hwil'-kut, Hoilkut, Hoilkut-hoi'') also known as "(Upper) Redwood Creek Indians" or "Mad River Indians" were a Pacific Coast Athabaskan tribe speaking a dialect similar to the Hupa to the northeast and Chilula ...
, and the southern
Athabascans. Fields Landing is located within the original territory of the Wiyot tribe.
[Northwestern Fisheries Service of the NOAA]
/ref>
The first recorded entrance into Humboldt Bay occurred in 1806 by members of a Russian-American company from Sitka. 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 ...
party arrived by land in December 1849, and by 1850 the first ships came to the bay bringing men seeking gold. As the Gold Rush subsided, the economy shifted to the use of the surrounding natural resources, mainly timber, salmon, and agricultural land. The area was a prime exporter of agricultural products from 1857 to 1900.
Fields Landing was named for Waterman Field, a resident of Humboldt County since 1861. He established the town in 1862. Field owned 160 acres in what is currently known as Fields Landing. Waterman Field built a dock there to ship his farm products and the name "Fields Landing" was derived from this landing place for ships.
Fort Humboldt, built in 1853 to protect settlers from retaliatory attacks and keep peace between the settlers and the natives, was a failure, as the garrison did neither successfully. Indians were enslaved under the terms of the 1850 "Act for the Government and Protection of Indians" that provided legal basis for the continued Californio
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
practice of capturing and using Native people as forced workers, particularly that of young women and children, which was carried on as a legal business enterprise. Intrusion of professional hunters and settlers and their herds of cattle and pigs into the hunting and gathering areas of the natives in the interior led the reduction of their food supplies and native resistance to this began 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 ...
. Development around the bay, disease, and the February 26, 1860 Indian Island Massacre
The Wiyot massacre refers to the incidents on February 26, 1860, at Tuluwat (on what is also known as Indian Island), near Eureka in Humboldt County, California. In coordinated attacks beginning at about 6 am, White settlers murdered 80 to 250 ...
, and consequences of the Bald Hills War, led to decimation of the peaceful Wiyot reducing their numbers from 3,000 to less than 100 survivors by 1865.
In the 1880s, docks were built in Fields Landing for shipping redwood and other timber. When 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 ...
was extended into the Humboldt Bay area in 1914, it functioned as a dike, and allowed the tidal marshes to be converted into agricultural lands. The construction of U.S. Route 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 ...
in 1927 also created more fill, allowing most of the marshes to be drained and diked.
After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, a new Douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
and plywood industry brought in many out-of-state loggers and mill workers. From 1940 to 1951, a whaling station operated in Fields Landing. However, the timber industry continued to dominate life in the community into the 1970s. The demise of the timber industry in the 1980s forced a fresh perspective on resource use. New groups of people began to arrive, namely Hispanic workers and families, and refugees from the Vietnam War.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that Fields Landing had a population of 276. The population density was . The racial makeup of Fields Landing was 210 (76.1%) White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 6 (2.2%) African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 13 (4.7%) Native American, 21 (7.6%) Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 1 (0.4%) Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 6 (2.2%) from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 19 (6.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 18 persons (6.5%).
The Census reported that 276 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 136 households, out of which 27 (19.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 28 (20.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 13 (9.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 8 (5.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 27 (19.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (1.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 59 households (43.4%) were made up of individuals, and 5 (3.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03. There were 49 families
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...
(36.0% of all households); the average family size was 2.84.
The population was spread out, with 43 people (15.6%) under the age of 18, 35 people (12.7%) aged 18 to 24, 91 people (33.0%) aged 25 to 44, 76 people (27.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 31 people (11.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 133.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.7 males.
There were 143 housing units at an average density of , of which 136 were occupied, of which 43 (31.6%) were owner-occupied, and 93 (68.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%. 95 people (34.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 181 people (65.6%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Fields Landing had a total population of 213 people. About 83.1% of the inhabitants were White, 1% African American, 4.2% Native American, 2.3% Asian, and 0.5% Pacific Islander. A total of 4.7% identified with some other race and 4.2% with two or more races. Another 15% of the population identified themselves as having Hispanic or Latino origins. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, zero Fields Landing residents were foreign-born.
In 2000, Fields Landing was composed of 53.1% males and 46.9% females. The median age of the community was 29.8 years in 2000 as compared to the national average of 35.3 for the same year. The 2000 U.S. Census reports that 16.9% of the population was between the ages of 18 and 24, compared to the national average of 9.6%. The 55 and older age group represented 14.6% of the total population in 2000, while the national average for this age group was 21.1% for the same year.
The 2000 U.S. Census stated that 50% of the population 18 years and older received a high school degree as their highest educational attainment compared to the national average of 28.6%. In the community, 78% received a high school degree or higher, while 10% received a bachelor's degree or higher. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, zero residents of Fields Landing had received a graduate degree or higher compared to the national average of 7.8% for the same year.
Economy
The economic base of Fields Landing was founded on fishing and timber. The commercial fishing industry experienced a steep decline in recent years, and in 2013 the major industries are tourism and timber.
Fields Landing is located within the Port of Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District and the Port of Humboldt. Two shipping terminals are based in Fields Landing. Humboldt Bay Forest Products docks include one berth with a wooden dock with two approach ramps. Fields Landing Terminal includes one berth with a dock. A public boat ramp provides boating access for smaller craft.
Commercial fishing
In 2000, of the 42 vessels that delivered to Fields Landing all were commercially registered. There was at least one seafood processing plant located here in 2000, whose shipments included $182,000 worth of crab and over $1.5 million worth of groundfish.
Fields Landing residents owned eight vessels in 2000, all of which participated in the federally managed groundfish fishery. Seven federally managed groundfish fishery permits were held by three Fields Landing residents in 2000.
Statistics
The 2000 U.S. Census indicates that 0% of the employed civilian population 16 years and over worked in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries. This percentage may not be indicative of the actual number of people in these professions as many are self-employed, especially in the fishing industry. A total of 7% worked in arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services. Additionally, 8% worked in educational, health, and social services, while 9.9% were employed by the government. The 2000 U.S. Census states that the unemployment rate in 2000 was 22.6% (calculated by dividing the unemployed population by the labor force). For the population 16 years and older, 41.9% were not in the labor force, while 45% were employed.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, in 1999 the median household income was $35,313 and the per capita income was $14,198. About 24.5% of the population was living below poverty level in 1999. Of the 95 housing units in 2000, 89.5% were occupied and 10.5% were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, 40% were owner occupied, while 60% were renter occupied.
Government
In the state legislature, Field's Landing is in , and .
Federally, Field's Landing is in .
Infrastructure
Fields Landing is accessible by a number of transportation options. Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, Redwood Transit
The Redwood Transit System is a commuter transit service that operates Monday-Saturday on the Highway 101 corridor between Trinidad and Garberville in Humboldt County, California, and also serves Westhaven, McKinleyville, Arcata, Eureka, Fields ...
, and Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...
provide rail and bus service respectively from nearby communities to greater metropolitan areas throughout the country. The major highway that intersects Fields Landing is 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 ...
. Despite common misconceptions to the contrary, it is the only roadway into Fields Landing.
Education
Students attend local elementary, middle, and high schools in the nearby community of Eureka. Although the College of the Redwoods
College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus in Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties and has two branch campuses, as well as three additional sit ...
main campus is technically inside Eureka City Limits, Fields Landing is the nearest community to the college by road. Electricity is provided to community residents by Pacific Gas and Electric
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...
. Water and sewer services are supplied by Humboldt Community Services District. The Humboldt County Sheriff Department provides local law enforcement. The closest healthcare facility, St. Joseph Hospital, is located nearby in Eureka. Fields Landing accommodations include one motel. However, additional lodging is available in nearby communities.
See also
* 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 ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Humboldt County, California
Census-designated places in California
1862 establishments in California
Populated coastal places in California