Name: Los Angeles's Boyle Heights
Brand: Japanese American National Museum
SKU: 9780738530154
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Los Angeles's Boyle Heights

9780738530154

$24.99

Boyle Heights was one of the earliest residential areas outside of Los Angeles's original pueblo. From the 1920s through the 1950s, it was the city's most ethnically heterogeneous neighborhood with residents coming from such far-flung places as Mexico, Japan, England, Germany, Russia, and Armenia, as well as from the eastern, southern, and southwestern United States. Over the years, Boyle Heights has continued to be a focal point for new immigration. Transformed through the everyday interactions of its diverse residents as well as by political events occurring at the regional, national, and international levels, the neighborhood's historical and contemporary communities reflect the challenges and potential of living in a pluralistic society.

Coronado

9780738581309

$24.99

During the 1880s, a great land boom was sweeping California. Two visionary entrepreneurs, Elisha Babcock and H. L. Story, imagined Coronado as a resort and brought their dream to reality by luring the wealthy and famous to their exclusive red-roofed hotel on the beach. John D. Spreckels continued to build upon that dream, leaving a legacy through his many gifts to the city. The U.S. Navy has played a prominent role in Coronado's development, with North Island officially known as the birthplace of naval aviation, and later, with U.S. Navy SEALs stationed at Naval Amphibious Base. Coronado and North Island are surrounded by water and only accessible by the peninsular Silver Strand and the iconic Coronado-San Diego Bay Bridge. This creates a small town atmosphere with a unique combination of cosmopolitan beach resort and navy town, rich in history.

Cover image for Coronado, isbn: 9780738581309

Ventura County

9781467106955

$24.99

Ventura County has its roots in the founding of Mission San Buenaventura during the Spanish era (1769-1821). During the Mexican era (1822-1846), expansive mission lands were divided and granted out as ranchos for individual landownership to those with political influence and to former soldiers for loyal service during the war. When California became a state in 1850, settlers, prospectors, and developers began to purchase rancho lands. Ventura County became one of the most productive agricultural and oil-rich lands in the state and country. Farmland dominated much of the county's landscape in the early years--oranges were its most popular fruit, and sugar beets were its prized commodity. Although the county still has an agricultural landscape in many of its cities and towns, the county is a patchwork of farms, islands, high-tech businesses, and military defense installations. It is as diverse as its people.

Bishop

9780738581835

$24.99

Located in the stark landscape of Eastern California's Owens Valley, Bishop is situated between two of the highest mountain ranges of the contiguous United States. Native Americans had been in the region since antiquity, and white settlers began to filter in after many battles with the Paiutes and Shoshones. Bishop was named after Sam Bishop, who drove cattle into the area and settled along Bishop Creek. Many more farmers and ranchers followed. To the south, Los Angeles was growing too, tapping the Owens River for a gravity-fed aqueduct for its residents; thus began the Los Angeles-Owens Valley Water Conflict.

Jewish Gold Country

9781467104814

$24.99

The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma on January 24, 1848, initiated one of the largest migrations in US history. Between 1849 and 1855, hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived in Northern California hoping to find gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The rapid population growth and economic prosperity led to boomtowns, banks, and railroads, making California eligible for statehood in 1850. An international cast of gold-seekers, merchants, and tradespeople arrived by land and through the port of San Francisco, which was transformed from a small village to a cosmopolitan metropolis. Jewish pioneers, many of whom had been merchants in Europe, opened stores and businesses in small towns and mining camps in and around the Mother Lode. They established benevolent societies and cemeteries, founded synagogues and companies, held public office and positions of influence, and contributed greatly to the multicultural fabric of the Gold Country.

Cover image for Jewish Gold Country, isbn: 9781467104814

Movie Studios of Culver City

9780738582009

$24.99

After watching pioneer filmmaker Thomas Ince film one of his famous Westerns on Ballona Creek, city founder Harry Culver saw the economic base for his city. Culver announced plans for the city in 1913 and attracted three major movie studios to Culver City, along with smaller production companies. "The Heart of Screenland" is fittingly etched across the Culver City seal. These vintage images are a tour through the storied past of this company town on the legendary movie lots bearing the names of Thomas Ince, Hal Roach, Goldwyn, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lorimar, MGM-UA, Columbia, Sony Pictures, DeMille, RKO-Pathe, Selznick, Desilu, Culver City Studios, Laird International, the Culver Studios, and such nearly forgotten mini-factories as the Willat Studios. On these premises, Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, and other classics were filmed, along with tens of thousands of television shows and commercials featuring Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and many others.

Los Angeles in World War II

9780738581811

$24.99

During World War II, the Los Angeles region underwent rapid industrial growth as Kaiser Steel opened a giant mill in Fontana, and the aircraft giants--North American Aviation, Lockheed, Douglas, and Hughes--expanded with war contracts. The war economy's demographic and ethnic dimensions included women and African Americans entering factory work and troops streaming through Union Station to San Pedro for embarkation. The Zoot Suit Riots defined the tensions between servicemen and the Mexican American community, and the internment of Japanese Americans led to the eventual disappearance of established neighborhoods. The war inspired home front efforts by local civic and academic institutions, by the entertainment industry, and by émigrés from Nazi Germany. It led to the training of civilian corps, rationing, and vigilance for enemy activities. American participation in World War II from 1941 to 1945 energized the region's growing industrial infrastructure and spurred postwar economic and housing development.

Farallon Islands

9781467103978

$24.99

The Farallon Islands lie almost 30 miles outside the entrance to San Francisco Bay and are comprised of over 20 islands, islets, sea stacks, and rocks, which span a seven-mile stretch of the Pacific Ocean. Nineteenth-century sailors called them "the Devil's Teeth," in reference to their extreme hazard to navigation, and hundreds of shipwrecks, disasters, drownings, and deaths have occurred here. The sixth lighthouse on the West Coast was lit on Southeast Farallon Island in 1855. Only Southeast Farallon supports historic structures, several of which are maintained for management purposes. Southeast Farallon once served as home to keepers from the Bureau of Lighthouses (1853-1939), the US Coast Guard (1939-1972), and at various times the US Navy. Today, the islands are home to millions of seabirds and five species of pinnipeds. Because of their biological importance, the islands are not open to the public. They are managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in collaboration with Point Blue Conservation Science. Visitors can explore the islands by boat, at speeds of five miles per hour and from a distance the length of a football field for excellent viewing of globally significant wildlife populations.

Cover image for Farallon Islands, isbn: 9781467103978

Avila Beach

9781467130738

$24.99

For more than 100 years, Avila Beach has represented the best of what California's Central Coast has to offer. Inhabitants of Avila have, since before its inception as a town, borne witness to the many changing faces and cultures representing the California landscape. Its earliest inhabitants were the Chumash Indians, who populated the Central Coast until the arrival of the Spanish missions. Later, the San Miguelito Rancho land grant was awarded to Don Miguel Avila, for whom the town itself was named. Avila eventually became a thoroughfare for the fishing industry. Other industries prospered as well, notably due to the ingenuity of early pioneer John Harford, who was instrumental in the development of numerous piers at Avila and at Port San Luis. The access to the sea allowed the region to benefit from the steamer ships that serviced California's coast.

Quincy

9780738528557

$24.99

Situated among the forests and lakes of northeastern California where the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges meet, the town of Quincy is both picturesque and steeped in local history-from the Maidu Native Americans who first lived in the American Valley now called Quincy to the flood of people who came in the mid-1800s searching for gold. Quincy was born when Hugh J. Bradley, who helped organized Plumas County in 1854, laid out the town and named it after his home city in Illinois. Now the county's seat of government, Quincy boasts many attractive downtown buildings that have become the focus of the community's historic preservation and restoration efforts.

Monterey County's North Coast and Coastal Valleys

9780738546773

$24.99

Fog billows gently across Monterey County's north coast, a white blanket tucked up against the hills of Aromas. Beneath its protective shroud, fishing boats gently rock, artichokes thrive, and shorebirds build nests along Elkhorn Slough. In this muffled landscape of fertile loam crisscrossed by sloughs, settlers built four distinct communities. Juan B. Castro subdivided his family's rancho to found Castroville, now known as the artichoke capital of the world. Captain Moss and Cato Vierra opened a port, a sea gate to a premier agricultural area. Moss Landing later hosted whalers, a salt works, canneries, and a power generation plant. John Porter's ranch was a safe haven for Chinese immigrants. Their apple-drying businesses spearheaded Pajaro's development as a central rail-shipping point with several produce-packing companies. Aromas pioneers judged their valley well suited for growing apricots. Drifts of white blossoms buried Aromas in spring, while summer's vistas were golden with trays of drying apricots.

Monterey County's North Coast and Coastal Valleys

Hetch Hetchy

9780738593227

$24.99

When water from the Sierra Nevada reached the San Francisco Bay area in 1934, it was greeted by a national celebration after two decades of grueling construction. The Hetch Hetchy Project evolved from a long search for a reliable source of water for San Francisco that began after the 1906 Great Earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, San Francisco had burned to the ground repeatedly due to the lack of water to fight fires. Studies of 14 different sources led to the design of an engineering marvel that conveys water using gravity across California via a complex system of tunnels, reservoirs, pipelines, powerhouses, treatment plants, and dams. But before the Hetch Hetchy Project broke ground, controversy roiled over the project. Finally, the Raker Act was passed by Congress in 1913 and signed by Pres. Woodrow Wilson to permit the use of the rights-of-way for the project. Today, this system serves some of the highest-quality water in the nation to 2.4 million people.

The Sea Ranch

9780738559902

$24.99

The Sea Ranch, translated from the Spanish "Del Mar Ranch," occupies the northwest corner of Sonoma County and is renowned for its architecture and environmental sensitivity. The development of a second-home community in 1965 was just one more chapter in a long history that began in 1846. The Sea Ranch is part of the German Rancho, the most northern coastal Mexican land grant, which was confirmed by the United States following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. It was home to German cattlemen, loggers, and an early-20th-century Russian Baptist colony. Over the years, shepherds, World War II soldiers, and bootleggers have called it home. Early maps and photographs tell the history of the area, and contemporary photographs reveal remnants of historic buildings and sites on the current Sea Ranch landscape.

Cover image for The Sea Ranch, isbn: 9780738559902

Cardiff-by-the-Sea

9780738569512

$24.99

Cardiff-by-the-Sea is a beautiful Southern California coastal town nestled between the San Elijo Lagoon to the south and rolling hills to the east. Known simply by locals as Cardiff, it was named by Esther M. Cullen, who arrived from Boston in 1910 with her husband, J. Frank Cullen, a man determined to transform the swampy expanse of fertile farmland into a coastal playground and town. During the 1920s, the town evolved quickly into a bustling community with a school district, post office, train station, and water irrigation district. The independent character of today's residents can be gleaned throughout the history of the area, from Cullen's determination to build a town in a region thought to be unsuitable for inhabitation, to the citizens' battle in the 1980s to retain autonomy as the town was incorporated into a larger city. Today Cardiff-by-the-Sea is one of five communities comprising the city of Encinitas and is proud of the small-town atmosphere first cultivated by the pioneering spirit of its early settlers.

The Ghostly Tales of the Queen Mary

9781467198011

$12.99

Ghost stories from the Grey Ghost herself have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The RMS Queen Mary's famous haunted history comes to life--even when the main players are dead. Meet Little Jackie, the ship's most playful ghost, see Winston Churchill, who hangs out at the restaurant, and explore the spectral vortex in the first-class pool. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

San Pedro

9780738581996

$24.99

San Pedro was incorporated into the City of Los Angeles in 1909, and grew into one of the world's strategic international ports. The dredging and backfilling of berths and canals have been mirrored in town through the decades as landmarks were demolished, streets altered, and some structures steadfastly maintained.

Los Angeles's Original Farmers Market

9780738570051

$24.99

The original Farmers Market at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles has been at the center of its city's history for 75 years. Farmers Market led Los Angeles out of the Great Depression, drew tourists from around the world, and became the most popular attraction in Southern California. It is Los Angeles's beloved grocery store, its town square, its favorite dining room and den, Hollywood's best friend, and one of the city's most delightfully eccentric citizens. From its uniquely quirky beginnings to its contemporary stature as the coolest place in town, Farmers Market has a history rich in stories and is alive with character, integrity, and tradition.

Soquel

9780738570815

$24.99

Soquel is a scenic town known for its antique shops, restaurants, and wineries. Winding through it is Soquel Creek, a once-powerful stream that defines the nature of the landscape and its history. The name Soquel is linked to Suquer, a leader of the native people living along the stream when nearby Mission Santa Cruz was founded in 1791. Later, during the Californio era, cattle grazed on the Soquel and Soquel Augmentation Ranchos. Fortune seekers, arriving after 1848, quickly discovered "red gold"--redwood forests, which they cut to build the pioneer settlements of California. Founded in 1852, the town expanded in the 1860s, as the sounds of logging rang in the mountains and goods were shipped from the wharf at Soquel Landing. By 1874, a railroad was charted along the coast and a resort called Camp Capitola was established at the beach. Gradually, as the mills grew quiet, Soquel shifted toward agriculture.

Pismo Beach

9781467130233

$24.99

Pismo Beach was home to some of America's earliest people. They thrived in the mild climate and were sustained by abundant natural resources, including the now famous Pismo clam. European settlers developed Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and Rancho Pismo. With the breakup of the rancho, a small town grew at the beach. The spectacular wide, sandy beach, stretching away from hills and a rugged shoreline, has drawn many photographers to the town, its people, and its progress. An early aerial photograph of Pismo Beach was taken not from an airplane but from kites.

Hidden History of Sonoma County

9781467138277

$21.99

The enterprising spirit that led to Sonoma County's storied agricultural heritage defined its earliest denizens. Sail the seas with Captain Bodega y Quadra, whose name graces the coast and beyond, and wave farewell to the last train out of the redwoods. Discover the fate of Charles Henley, spirited from the county jail in 1876 by masked vigilantes. Learn about the rise and fall of Sonoma's tobacco growers and the historic opening of the Jenner Bridge as the automobile rose in popularity. John Schubert and Valerie Munthe reveal Sonoma County's enthralling history.

Pittsburg

9780738529042

$24.99

Situated at the far reaches of the Bay Area, Pittsburg has long been perceived as a commuter town, an out-of-the-way bedroom community. Yet this city has a rich and varied history stretching back to the early days of statehood and has played an important role in commerce, both to the state and to the Bay Area. Before long the burgeoning city had a fishing industry rivaling that of San Francisco's famed Fisherman's Wharf and a largely Italian fishing community. By the 1900s, a surprising number of industries set up factories along the waterfront property of Pittsburg. In 1942, the beginning of World War II brought the building of Camp Stoneman, an important departure point for many servicemen. Later, the city became known as a residential destination. Readers of this book will surely see Pittsburg in a new light as they enjoy the surprising and varied tales of the city's previous generations.

San Francisco Zoo

9780738569154

$24.99

In 1922, philanthropist and president of the San Francisco Parks Commission, Herbert Fleishhacker, purchased a 60-acre site in southwestern San Francisco. Fleishhacker Pool was built in 1925 and an adjoining zoo added in 1929. Originally called Fleishhacker Zoo, it featured a variety of exotic wildlife. Major exhibits were built in the 1930s Depression era as part of the Work Progress Administration (WPA). This book celebrates the San Francisco Zoo's 80-year history as it revisits cherished animals and structures like Monkey Island, Storyland, and Dentzel Carousel. The zoo holds a special place in the hearts of many, as it is a great San Francisco treasure along the foggy shores of Ocean Beach.

Palm Springs

9780738559827

$24.99

Nestled beneath the San Jacinto Mountains in an oasis of palm trees is a mineral hot springs. For thousands of years, this was the winter home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the original inhabitants of this harsh desert region. A U.S. government survey party discovered the spring in 1853 and identified the area located at the base of "two bunches of palms." In 1884, Judge John McCallum of San Francisco purchased land near the springs for $800 and built the first adobe structure, which still stands today. Stage lines and railroads provided transportation through the area, bringing in visitors year-round. Dr. Welwood Murray built the first Palm Springs Hotel, and in 1909, Nellie Coffman built The Desert Inn, which would become famous as a tourist attraction. This was the beginning of the area's major industry. Today Palm Springs is still a destination for visitors throughout the year and home to a growing population of permanent residents.

Hawthorne

9780738529714

$24.99

A semi-rural alternative to bustling Los Angeles early in the 20th century, Hawthorne grew through the World War I years, welcoming oil wells and eventually airplane factories. The city became home to the chart-topping Beach Boys, athlete Jim Thorpe, and the greatest glamour blondes of their times, Marilyn Monroe and Mattel's Barbie. Bisected by Hawthorne Boulevard, the main north-south thoroughfare through the South Bay region, Hawthorne's notable events ran the gamut, from the annual Kiwanis Parade--second in California prestige only to Pasadena's Tournament of Roses
Parade--to a furious 1971 police gun-battle with the desperate Charles Manson gang. Today, the city is a support community to Los Angeles International Airport and the aerospace industry.

Filipinos in Carson and the South Bay

9780738570365

$24.99

One of Carson's most distinct features is its diversity. The city is roughly one-quarter each Hispanic, African American, white, and Asian/ Pacific Islander. This last group's vast majority are Filipinos who settled as early as the 1920s as farmworkers, U.S. military recruits, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and other laborers, filling the economic needs of the Los Angeles region. This vibrant community hosts fiestas like the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture and has produced local community heroes, including "Uncle Roy" Morales and "Auntie Helen" Summers Brown. Filipino students of the 1970s organized to gain college admissions, establish ethnic studies, and foster civic leadership, while Filipino businesses have flourished in Carson, San Pedro, Wilmington, Long Beach, and the surrounding communities. Carson is recognized nationally as a Filipino American destination for families and businesses, very much connected to the island homeland.

San Francisco's Ocean Beach

9780738528571

$24.99

Where the waves of the Pacific Ocean wash up against the quiet neighborhoods of San Francisco, Ocean Beach has endured as a popular destination for tourists and San Francisco residents alike. At water's edge is the Cliff House restaurant where visitors can look down upon the remains of the Sutro Baths, a 19th-century indoor pool complex. Just south is the famous Golden Gate Park with its two stately windmills, followed by the well-loved San Francisco Zoo. But a century of change has altered the landscape and the attractions of Ocean Beach, making way for new developments and reflecting the evolution of the city of San Francisco itself.

Sonoma Valley

9780738529431

$24.99

California's Wine Country, its rolling hills studded with ancient oaks and laced with vines. Tourists flock to the charming, historic towns in the "Valley of the Moon," from Kenwood in the north to Schellville in the south. The town of Sonoma may be the birthplace of the State of California. Its central plaza, designed as a parade ground by Mexican general Mariano Vallejo and still ringed by mid-19th century buildings, was the site of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt. Since 1823, when Mission San Francisco Solano, the last link in the long chain of California missions, was established here, to the famous present-day wineries, restaurants, and shops, Sonoma Valley has been treasured by residents and visitors alike.

Cover image for Sonoma Valley, isbn: 9780738529431

Lifeguards of San Diego County

9780738555867

$24.99

Lifeguards of San Diego County traces the origins of the nine professional lifeguard agencies that serve the public swimming, diving, and boating along the shorelines of San Diego County. Sporadic lifeguard service existed as early as 1906, but on a single day in 1918, thirteen people drowned at Ocean Beach. The drownings focused community and government attention on the need for consistent lifeguard services along San Diego County's beaches. Today there are more than 600 lifeguards from city and state agencies that serve San Diegans throughout the county. Here for the first time, the origins, experiences, and stories of these dedicated and most often heroic people are woven together into one volume.

Brentwood

9780738556215

$24.99

The future Brentwood began to change more than a century ago when 300 wild acres of brushy canyons and rabbit and coyote habitat along with sheep-grazed mesas were contributed to the cause of needy veteran soldiers. Landowners Sen. John P. Jones of Nevada and Arcadia Bandini de Baker turned the land over to the board of managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The Pacific branch of this national hospice organization opened its doors to patients in 1888. Soon families and staff began to purchase lots and build homes near the gates. Businesses began to open to service the new residents. Through the late 20th century, this western area of the city of Los Angeles became known for beautiful neighborhoods, movie star residents, and a relaxed lifestyle--it became Brentwood.

Early Amusement Parks of Orange County

9780738559476

$24.99

The Orange County coast had its Joy Zone and its Fun Zone in the early decades of the 20th century. Knott's Berry Farm sprouted from a simple berry stand in Buena Park. The spot that would become Walt Disney's theme-park empire began as a citrus grove in Anaheim. Before long, Orange County was recognized as the nurturing ground for the growing amusement park industry. This book concerns the early history of such parks in the county east and south of Los Angeles, before high-tech digitization, when custom cars, enormous alligators, stunt planes, dolphin leaps, and movie stars' wax likenesses thrilled patrons. Some amusement parks have come and gone over a century of development, and some are still here, changing with the times to create new adventure and excitement for park goers.

Arlington

9780738555805

$24.99

The neighborhood of Arlington, located about five miles southwest of downtown Riverside, was first settled in the 1870s and was later developed as a town site in 1877 by philanthropist Samuel C. Evans and William Sayward. Citrus groves flourished in the area, providing the community with a newfound wealth. Large and gracious homes were built on wide streets lined with beautiful shade trees. Arlington's commercial district at Van Buren Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue expanded to include a bank, chamber of commerce, newspaper, store, church, boardinghouse, and post office with its own Arlington postmark, in use since 1888. In the early 1900s, an electric railway was built down the center of Magnolia Avenue ending at beautiful Chemewa Park with its large trees, dance pavilion, zoo, and polo field. Today Arlington retains much of its neighborhood feeling while undergoing a large-scale redevelopment project for a future retail and commercial district.

Mount Whitney

9780738595368

$24.99

The history of Mount Whitney is long, complex, and revealing. Identified in 1864 and named for the head of the California Geological Survey, Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states. Throughout the years, it challenged several accomplished mountaineers who failed to reach its summit; it was as if the mountain were working to confuse and impede them. Finally, the mountain was climbed from the west side by three fishermen from Lone Pine. Mount Whitney has always called to the adventurous heart of the climber. Gustave Marsh put in the trail to the summit and then built the Smithsonian Observatory. Writers and artists have applied their talents to capturing elements of the Whitney experience, and there is fascinating geological, natural, and cultural history that rounds out this original approach to the story of a mountain.

Unforgettable San Jose Earthquakes, The

9781467156196

$24.99

When the San Jose Earthquakes first started playing soccer in 1974, no one imagined how their efforts would reverberate fifty years later. The Quakes and their fans have overcome a multitude of issues in the last five decades, including leagues collapsing, attempted rebrandings, local apathy, political indifference and even a franchise relocation, yet they never gave up. While players like Johnny Moore, Chris Wondolowski and Landon Donovan have come and gone--along with coaches, general managers and owners--the multigenerational family this San Jose team created over the last half century stands as strong as ever. Join author Gary Singh, a native and lifelong fan, as he celebrates the legendary history of the Quakes.

Cover image for Unforgettable San Jose Earthquakes, The, isbn: 9781467156196

Rails of California's Central Coast

9780738555911

$24.99

Diversity is the prime characteristic of the California Central Coast's many rail operations. Readers will be attracted by the varying scope of Central Coast--Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties--rail systems. They range from local horsecar services and the narrow-gauge electrified plant railroad that served the Santa Cruz Cement Company at Davenport to the Southern Pacific Railroad's Coast Line and its engineering marvel Cuesta Grade, highlighted by the world-famous horseshoe curve. Local streetcar systems and long-ceased regional railroads are part of the area's rail legacy. Rare historic images blended with contemporary photography chronicle the region's railways from times past to the present.

Trinidad

9780738571614

$24.99

When Spanish explorers turned their ships north in the summer of 1775, they were searching for new territory for the Spanish crown. Nearly 300 miles north of San Francisco, they found safe harbor in a small but beautiful bay they called Trinidad. The Spaniards erected a large cross on Trinidad Head and left the Bay of Trinidad prominently marked on maps of what would become the fledgling state of California. Many came to Trinidad to seek their fortunes--from fur traders and Gold Rush miners to pioneer homesteaders and timber barons. They found the land already inhabited by indigenous Yurok tribes, whose ancestral home encompassed the entire greater Trinidad region, bound by three rivers and filled with a vast and ancient redwood forest. Today, after more than a century and a half of boom and bust, Trinidad is a seaside oasis.