Larabee (formerly, Larrabee and Laribee) is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in Humboldt County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is located on 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 reg ...

east-northeast of Redcrest, at an elevation of . Larabee only has seasonal access across the Eel River; alternatively there is a former lumber road through Larabee Ranch, and on through

Pacific Lumber Company The Pacific Lumber Company, officially abbreviated PALCO, and also commonly known as PL, was one of California's major logging and sawmill operations, located 28 miles (45 km) south of Eureka and 244 miles (393 km) north of San Francisc ...

property, that connects to Shively Road approximately five miles northwest. This road is only open during the winter when the temporary summer bridge is washed away by the rain-engorged Eel River.

History

Larabee, a historic settlement and community from the 1800s through today, is named after an early pioneer rancher of the area, Henry P. Larrabee (1830-1906). Also known as Hank Larrabee, he was a 49er and a local rancher, and a

militiaman A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

in the Bald Hills War, believed to have been among the perpetrators in the

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 ...

. The settlement that later developed near his ranch at its peak had a blacksmith shop, stable, general store, school house, and productive farms and orchards. When the Northwestern Pacific Railroad was constructed residents had more ready access to the rest of the county and points south. All of the considerable low-lying community that was within reach of the river was swept away by the great floods of 1955 and 1964; the buildings that remain today were left untouched by the waters given their elevation just out of reach of the Eel River. Today Larabee is a quiet settlement with a handful of residents, well bypassed by Highway

U.S. 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 on the abandoned Northwestern Pacific Railroad. The Laribee post office operated from 1888 to 1891, and from 1892 to 1899. The Larabee post office operated from 1921 (having been transferred from Dinty) to 1943. Larabee has regular mail delivery but is within the

Redcrest, California Redcrest is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located north of Weott, at an elevation of 377 feet (115 m). The population was 89 at the 2010 census. The Redcrest post office was established in 1965. The greater R ...

postal zip code.

References

Former settlements in Humboldt County, California {{HumboldtCountyCA-geo-stub

History

See also

References