Smithe Redwoods State Natural Reserve is a

California state park The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

. In the early 20th century, the site was purchased by Mulford Miller and W. A. S. Foster, before passing into the hands of W. S. Ware and Lester Goble in 1940. Originally a site known as Lane's Redwood Flat, the area contained cabins, a store, a post office, and a bus stop during that incarnation. In 1963, the site was proposed to be sold to a logging company, but instead entered the jurisdiction of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. 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 ...

passes through the park, which contains a waterfall, as well as sites for recreation on the river and picnicking.

History

In 1946, the ''Ukiah Republican Press'' reported that Lane's Redwood Flat had originally been purchased by Mulford Miller and W. A. S. Foster about thirty-years earlier. W. S. Ware and Lester Goble purchased the site in 1940 for $135,000. The site consisted of a grove of 2,000-year-old redwood trees. At that time, it covered and contained a post office, a store, and a bus stop, as well as cabins.

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crews cut down seven redwood trees at the site in 1936 while widening a road. By 1963, the site was threatened with being sold for logging. A legislative bill was created in the California State Legislature to attempt to get the state to purchase the site, as the

Save the Redwoods League Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') and giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees through the preemptive purchase of development rights ...

and

California State Parks The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

had been unable to purchase the site. The owner of Lane's Redwood Flat, Lawrence Hinsom, was asking at least $200,000 for the site. Mrs. W. W. Stout, from Marin County, California, pledged $100,000 to the purchase of the site if the purchase price did not exceed $200,000 and conditional on the removal of the old resort buildings. The site was acquired by the state government in 1963, when the bill to provide funding to save the site was approved as part of the state budget. The bill provided for $500,000 for the purchase of both Lane's Redwood Flat and other redwood groves; Stout did donate the $100,000. The location became known as Smithe Redwoods State Natural Reserve. Access was provided by U.S. Highway 101. While the site was reported to occupy in news reports about the state's attempt to purchase the site, the area acquired by the state for the park was . A 1981 report noted it included of river frontage on the

. Plants at the site included

Coast Redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

s, Douglas fir,

madrone ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...

California laurel ''Umbellularia californica'' is a large hardwood tree native to coastal forests and the Sierra foothills of California, and to coastal forests extending into Oregon. It is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is the sole species in th ...

, yew,

red alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description Red alder is the largest species of alder in Nort ...

black oak Black Oak may refer to: Places in the United States * Black Oak, Arkansas * Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana * Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana * Black Oak, Missouri Other * Black Oak Arkansas Black Oak Ar ...

, Oregon ash,

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

, giant chinquapin, and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

. Chainsaw vandalism to three of the redwood trees in 1978 required the California Department of Parks and Recreation to contract for removal of the trees, as they were close to the highway and presented a risk to traffic if they fell. By the 2016/2017 State of California fiscal year, the park had expanded to of land and of riverfront. At that time, there were no campsites or trails at the site. As of 2021, the Smithe Redwoods park was still operated by the California state government. The site includes a waterfall, picnic area, and recreation on the South Fork Eel River.

References

{{authority control Coast redwood groves Protected areas of Mendocino County, California California State Reserves