A Look Back at the Old Stage Line Near Fruitland
[Photo provided by Carl Young. Original publication was between 1907 and 1914.]
In Southern Humboldt, Fruitland, the area formerly known as Elk Prairie, sits east of Weott along the ridge between the main stem and south fork of the Eel River.
A colony of Dutch immigrants were the first settlers of Fruitland in the late 1800s. The immigrants planted orchards of over 4,000 fruit trees and miles of vineyards according to Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
From 1890 until 1934, the settlement had its own post office and was a stop along the Ukiah-Scotia stage line route. The above photo was taken near Fruitland along the stage line as two stagecoaches carrying mail passed each other on the narrow thoroughfare.
According to Wikipedia, the remote location and lack of long-distance transportation led to the dissolution of the Dutch colony’s fruit market.
Earlier: Remembering the Old Stage Line
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The location is still remote…
An Overland Stage coach…
(Looks like a different model…)
Modern day stage coach.
Road looks the same but the grow dozers are a little different ?
Main access was up in higher elevations (Blocksburg etc)… till the route was relocated down near the Eel river. That left the higher villages as pretty much ghost towns.
What an awesome picture! It so effectively captures the essence of what life was like then, in this part of the world. And it was taken practically within living memory, that’s the truly amazing thing. If it was from the period between 1907 and 1914, as the caption states, then my grandparents were already young adults when it was taken, and it wasn’t that much before my parents were born. Preserving history is so vitally important.
There fruit market fell off right after prohibition whole Lotta booze probly came outta those orchards
I love this historical stuff. The picture is a glimpse of the last days before the new railroad (1913) changed the interior of Humboldt forever.
Where we lived when I met my partner, some 52 years ago…