Albeeville (also, Albee) is a former settlement in Klamath County, now located in Humboldt County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Albeeville was located on Redwood Creek, within an easy day's travel from

Fort Gaston Fort Gaston was founded on December 4, 1859, in the redwood forests of the Hoopa Valley, in Northern California, on the west bank of the Trinity River, from where the Trinity flows into the Klamath River. It was located in what is now the Hoo ...

."From Northern California", Alta California, November 29, 1862 The post office was named for Joseph Porter Albee, its first postmaster, who was murdered by Indians, and the Albeeville post office burned in November 1863.

Location

The location of Albeeville is described in an 1862 letter "Descending the river toward the ocean from Minor's to

Fort Anderson Fort Anderson can refer to: *Fort Anderson (Kentucky); A Union fort used in the American Civil War and site of the Battle of Paducah, Kentucky *Fort Anderson (North Carolina); A Confederate fort used in the American Civil War *Fort Anderson Located ...

... it is ; thence to Whitney's ranch ; thence to Albee's , and thence to Elk Camp, . Neil's and William's are between Albee's and Elk Camp." Another description of the location is, "... in Humboldt County at the old Albee ranch at the junction of North Fork and Redwood Creek." Albee's ranch was historically, "located about six miles downstream from Tom Bair's Ranch and about eight miles downstream from Fort Anderson".

History

Joseph Porter Albee, born May 28, 1815, in Sandusky, Ohio, was raised by his parents Joseph and Electa (Crippen) Albee on a farm in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

State before moving to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and marrying Caltha ("Calthea") Putnam of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. They moved to

DeKalb County, Illinois DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolit ...

, until he joined the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

and left his wife and children in Illinois. After mining for a short time, he became an ox freighter and a miner on the Trinity River, where he did well. He established a dairy at

Weaverville, California Weaverville ( Chimariko: ) is a census-designated place and the county seat of Trinity County, California, United States. Its population is 3,667 as of the 2020 census, up from 3,600 from the 2010 census. History Founded in 1850, Weaverville i ...

, where his family rejoined him in 1852 via the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

.Irvine, Leigh Hadley
History of Humboldt County, California
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1915, pages 1129-1131 Next, he drove horses and cattle to Humboldt, then brought his family from Weaverville and settled at Table Bluff in 1852, where they lived until 1856 when the family moved to Redwood Creek and started a cattle ranch and orchard. Albee ran a hotel on the trail between

Arcata Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first founded in 1850 as Union, was officially ...

and the Klamath Mines, and operated the post office from March 5, 1862, to April 2, 1863. As a result of the

Bald Hills War The 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 ...

, some soldiers were quartered at Albee in 1862. When they left, he and his family left the ranch and went to Arcata. Albee returned to look after his ranch, believing his good dealings with Indians in the past would protect him, but was ambushed and killed on November 5, 1863; the house and barn were burned and the stock taken or run off. His family was left in difficult circumstances, but Mrs. Albee moved from Arcata to Clark & A Streets in Eureka, raised their eight surviving children, and accumulated property in the region until her own death in 1905 at age 90. Albee Creek, a tributary of the Eel River, is named for their son Joseph Crippen Albee (b. February 19, 1858, Albee Ranch – August 8, 1944, Scotia, California).Joseph Crippen Albee
, Family Search Community Trees, 2013

References

{{authority control Former settlements in Humboldt County, California Former populated places in California 1856 establishments in California