Weott, California
Encyclopedia
Weott is a census-designated place
in Humboldt County
, California
. It is located 375 km north of San Francisco, California
and 40 km due west of the Pacific Ocean. Lower Weott is situated at an elevation of 100m along the Avenue of the Giants and in the flood plain of the South Fork of the Eel River. The population was 288 at the 2010 census. Note that Weott is not related to Camp Weeott [sic], a fishing village established ca 1925 and destroyed in the 1955 flood. Camp Weeott was located 60km northwest of Weott, near Ferndale, California.
Due to flooding in 1955 and 1964, nearly all residents now live in the hills above the flood plain, mostly at elevations of 120m - 200m. The greater area of Weott encompasses the Bull Creek, Dyerville, South Fork, Camp Grant and Burlington areas. Weott's local services are run by the Weott Community Service District, which controls the town's sewage treatment facility and water supply. The town's water originally came from a property 1.5km east of Weott. It now comes from a spring west of town, across the Eel River. The California State Parks has tried to provide Weott with alternatives to the spring, which is on State Parks land, including constructing a well on the Weott-side of the river in 2003. This well had too much sediment, though, and was not usable. The WCSD has surveyed lands in the surrounding watershed but has yet to find an alternative water source. In summer, early morning and late evening fog typically protect the area from temperature extremes. Though daytime highs occasionally reach into the high 30s, they are more typically below 30°C. Due to its proximity to the ocean and its position in the shadow of 1 030m-high Grasshopper Peak, the area has an intense rainy season lasting from November through May. Locals report typical annual accumulations of 200 cm, though the range is 70 cm to 250 cm. Due to its moist climate, the town is surrounded on most sides by redwoods. Though most of the redwoods are second growth, the adjacent Humboldt Redwoods State Park
has nearly 7 000 hectares of old growth and includes Rockefeller Forest, the largest contiguous stand of old growth redwoods in the world. Weott is located close to Giant Tree, a 108m-tall redwood, and the Dyerville Giant, a 113m-tall redwood that toppled in 1991. Despite Weott's moist climate, it often suffers from water rationing in the summers. Because of this lack of water storage capacity, there has been a moratorium on new construction since the 1990s.
Before 1925, Weott had been known informally as Helm's Mill or Helm's Camp, then as McKee's Mill (named for Ernest McKee, who operated a shingle mill just east of lower Weott, the building of which still stands). When it put in a request to the United States Postal Service for a post office in that year, however, the residents had to decide on a name. that they were required to do this because there was already a town named McKee in California, but this appears to not be true. One source says that a naming contest led to the name , another that the USPS chose the name from several submitted . The ZIP Code
is 95571, with four-digit suffixes tied to post office box numbers. There is no home delivery in Weott. Weott is in area code 707
.
60 km northwest of current-day Weott. The Wishosk word for that area and the people who lived there was wíyat. Wiyot is now the general name for this group. The town of Weott is beyond the bounds of the areas known to have been utilitzed or inhabited by the Wiyot. When the area was invaded in 1849 by whites looking for new supply routes to the Trinity gold mines, the Sinkyone peoples were living in the area. The Wiyot were further north and currently occupy the Table Bluff Reservation just north of Loleta
. Invaders began filing and establishing homesteads in the area soon after the attempts to find a supply route. Indian Agent Redick McKee's invastion party of 1851 brought a rush of homestead filings. Native groups militated against this. The resulting conflicts led to the establishment of organized vigilante committees such as the Volunteer Company of Dragoons. The conflicts continued through at least the 1870s .
Though Weott had been hit by a flood in 1930, its recent history is shaped by two major floods. In 1955 December, lower Weott was partially destroyed when the South Fork of the Eel River overflowed its banks. The town largely re-built, but In 1964 December, the Pineapple Express—a warm mass of moist Pacific air—combined with a flow of cold air from an Alaskan high, a low pressure trough off the coast, and a strong westerly air flow with gusts up to 80 km/h (>22 m/s), created the greatest flood in the recorded history of California's North Coast. The storm was so intense that it destroyed 26 U. S. Geological Survey stream gauges. As a result, much of the flood data comes from qualitative reports and post-flood estimates. Other northern California rivers, such as the Russian, Eel, Klamath and Rogue Rivers, also rose to unprecedented heights. Rainfall totals as high as 76 cm were recorded for the 9-day period of the storm and 29 cm for the 24-hour period between 1964-12-21 and 1964-12-22. The South Fork of the Eel River is estimated to have peaked at nearly 5 700 cubic meters/second (m3/s) at a station 20 km south of Weott, nearly 800 m3/s greater than the 1955 flood. Tens of small towns were inundated. One of the worst hit was Weott.
In 1987, long-time resident Velma Childs listed businesses in the downtown area of Weott as the town was just before the 1955 flood. According to Ms Childs, downtown hosted a candy store, ice cream store, two gasoline stations, a laundromat, bar, two cafes, three restaurants, two car-garages, a Ford agency, church, movie theatre, two grocery stores, dress shop, telephone office (to connect callers via party line), print shop, chainsaw shop, sporting goods store, beauty shop and an apple orchard along a 400m stretch of the Highway 252. She also listed thirteen homes in lower Weott. The 1955 flood destroyed or damaged beyond repair the theatre, two motels, a grocery, a service station, the bar and a restaurant, The other businesses repaired their buildings.. After the 1964 flood, only one house was rebuilt on the old site. Residents and some businesses moved uphill far enough to be above any possible flood waters, the majority did not return. The 1964 flood was famously described by Governor Edmund Brown as a "thousand year flood," though in fact it has been rated a 290 year flood.An 11m-tall flood marker shows how high the waters rose at their peak on 1964-12-24.
Weott Center, located at the off-ramp of Highway 101, was for many years home to the Sequoia Hotel, a restaurant, a Union 76 gasoline station and a company that made redwood curios. None of these businesses has survived. 3 km south of Weott is Burlington Campground, which also hosts the Humboldt Redwoods State Park visitor center. This is one of several campgrounds in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park
, but is the only campground open year round. The closest commercial services to Weott are in Myers Flat, 10 km south. The closest major shopping facilities are in Garberville (35 km south) and Fortuna (45 km north).
Until 2010, Weott had access only to dial-up internet service. In 2010, high speed internet access became available in the town.
There are two roads that provide access to Weott, State Highway 252 (the Avenue of the Giants) and U.S. Highway 101, both of which are oriented north to south. Weott can be reached from the Avenue of the Giants, but has not had a significant presence on it since the 1964 flood. Highway 101, which was built in 1962, goes through the upper portion of the town and has a dedicated off-ramp and on-ramp for both directions. Though both roads lead through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the Avenue of the Giants is a scenic route popular with RV, motorcycle, and bicycle tourers. During the summer months there are several accessible swimming holes along the Avenue near Weott. There is a temporary summer pedestrian bridge put in at Burlington campground and another 2 km north at Women's Federation Grove. Weott is surrounded by old homesteads that are now part of the State Park. Many of these homesteads still have remnants of orchards and some have remnants of the old structures.
was 144.2 people/km². The racial makeup of Weott was 87.5% White, 0.0% African American, 4.5% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races
, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.9%.
The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.
There were 134 households, out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 38.1% were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.7% had a male householder with no wife present. There were 11.2% unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 1.5% same-sex married couples or partnerships. 35.1% of households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15. 58.2% of households housed families; the average family size was 2.67.
The population was spread out with 18.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% aged 18 to 24, 23.3% aged 25 to 44, 38.2% aged 45 to 64, and 12.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.6 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males.
There were 143 housing units at an average density of 71.6/km², of which 65.7% were owner-occupied, and 34.3% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 70.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 29.5% lived in rental housing units.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
in Humboldt County
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is located 375 km north of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and 40 km due west of the Pacific Ocean. Lower Weott is situated at an elevation of 100m along the Avenue of the Giants and in the flood plain of the South Fork of the Eel River. The population was 288 at the 2010 census. Note that Weott is not related to Camp Weeott [sic], a fishing village established ca 1925 and destroyed in the 1955 flood. Camp Weeott was located 60km northwest of Weott, near Ferndale, California.
Due to flooding in 1955 and 1964, nearly all residents now live in the hills above the flood plain, mostly at elevations of 120m - 200m. The greater area of Weott encompasses the Bull Creek, Dyerville, South Fork, Camp Grant and Burlington areas. Weott's local services are run by the Weott Community Service District, which controls the town's sewage treatment facility and water supply. The town's water originally came from a property 1.5km east of Weott. It now comes from a spring west of town, across the Eel River. The California State Parks has tried to provide Weott with alternatives to the spring, which is on State Parks land, including constructing a well on the Weott-side of the river in 2003. This well had too much sediment, though, and was not usable. The WCSD has surveyed lands in the surrounding watershed but has yet to find an alternative water source. In summer, early morning and late evening fog typically protect the area from temperature extremes. Though daytime highs occasionally reach into the high 30s, they are more typically below 30°C. Due to its proximity to the ocean and its position in the shadow of 1 030m-high Grasshopper Peak, the area has an intense rainy season lasting from November through May. Locals report typical annual accumulations of 200 cm, though the range is 70 cm to 250 cm. Due to its moist climate, the town is surrounded on most sides by redwoods. Though most of the redwoods are second growth, the adjacent Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park is located south of Eureka, California in southern Humboldt County, within northern California. Established by the Save-the-Redwoods League in 1921 with the dedication of the Raynal Bolling Memorial Grove, it has grown to become the third largest park in the California...
has nearly 7 000 hectares of old growth and includes Rockefeller Forest, the largest contiguous stand of old growth redwoods in the world. Weott is located close to Giant Tree, a 108m-tall redwood, and the Dyerville Giant, a 113m-tall redwood that toppled in 1991. Despite Weott's moist climate, it often suffers from water rationing in the summers. Because of this lack of water storage capacity, there has been a moratorium on new construction since the 1990s.
Before 1925, Weott had been known informally as Helm's Mill or Helm's Camp, then as McKee's Mill (named for Ernest McKee, who operated a shingle mill just east of lower Weott, the building of which still stands). When it put in a request to the United States Postal Service for a post office in that year, however, the residents had to decide on a name. that they were required to do this because there was already a town named McKee in California, but this appears to not be true. One source says that a naming contest led to the name , another that the USPS chose the name from several submitted . The ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
is 95571, with four-digit suffixes tied to post office box numbers. There is no home delivery in Weott. Weott is in area code 707
Area code 707
North American area code 707 is a Californian telephone area code which covers Napa, Sebastopol, Vallejo, Benicia, Fairfield, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Fort Bragg, Crescent City, Eureka, Clearlake, Vacaville, Ukiah, and northwestern California. It was split from area code 415 on March 1, 1959...
.
History
The town of Weott is believed to be named after a sub-grouping of the Wishosk people who lived at the delta of the Eel RiverEel River (California)
The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...
60 km northwest of current-day Weott. The Wishosk word for that area and the people who lived there was wíyat. Wiyot is now the general name for this group. The town of Weott is beyond the bounds of the areas known to have been utilitzed or inhabited by the Wiyot. When the area was invaded in 1849 by whites looking for new supply routes to the Trinity gold mines, the Sinkyone peoples were living in the area. The Wiyot were further north and currently occupy the Table Bluff Reservation just north of Loleta
Loleta, California
Loleta is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located south of Fields Landing, at an elevation of 46 feet . The population was 783 at the 2010 census....
. Invaders began filing and establishing homesteads in the area soon after the attempts to find a supply route. Indian Agent Redick McKee's invastion party of 1851 brought a rush of homestead filings. Native groups militated against this. The resulting conflicts led to the establishment of organized vigilante committees such as the Volunteer Company of Dragoons. The conflicts continued through at least the 1870s .
Though Weott had been hit by a flood in 1930, its recent history is shaped by two major floods. In 1955 December, lower Weott was partially destroyed when the South Fork of the Eel River overflowed its banks. The town largely re-built, but In 1964 December, the Pineapple Express—a warm mass of moist Pacific air—combined with a flow of cold air from an Alaskan high, a low pressure trough off the coast, and a strong westerly air flow with gusts up to 80 km/h (>22 m/s), created the greatest flood in the recorded history of California's North Coast. The storm was so intense that it destroyed 26 U. S. Geological Survey stream gauges. As a result, much of the flood data comes from qualitative reports and post-flood estimates. Other northern California rivers, such as the Russian, Eel, Klamath and Rogue Rivers, also rose to unprecedented heights. Rainfall totals as high as 76 cm were recorded for the 9-day period of the storm and 29 cm for the 24-hour period between 1964-12-21 and 1964-12-22. The South Fork of the Eel River is estimated to have peaked at nearly 5 700 cubic meters/second (m3/s) at a station 20 km south of Weott, nearly 800 m3/s greater than the 1955 flood. Tens of small towns were inundated. One of the worst hit was Weott.
In 1987, long-time resident Velma Childs listed businesses in the downtown area of Weott as the town was just before the 1955 flood. According to Ms Childs, downtown hosted a candy store, ice cream store, two gasoline stations, a laundromat, bar, two cafes, three restaurants, two car-garages, a Ford agency, church, movie theatre, two grocery stores, dress shop, telephone office (to connect callers via party line), print shop, chainsaw shop, sporting goods store, beauty shop and an apple orchard along a 400m stretch of the Highway 252. She also listed thirteen homes in lower Weott. The 1955 flood destroyed or damaged beyond repair the theatre, two motels, a grocery, a service station, the bar and a restaurant, The other businesses repaired their buildings.. After the 1964 flood, only one house was rebuilt on the old site. Residents and some businesses moved uphill far enough to be above any possible flood waters, the majority did not return. The 1964 flood was famously described by Governor Edmund Brown as a "thousand year flood," though in fact it has been rated a 290 year flood.An 11m-tall flood marker shows how high the waters rose at their peak on 1964-12-24.
Culture
The town hosts periodic events, such as the spaghetti feed, Southern Humboldt Garden Club Flower Show and Holiday Crafts Fair. The former economic base for Weott residents, primary and secondary lumber industries, has largely disappeared. Some locals commute to jobs in near-by communities or work with government entities such as the school district or Humboldt-Redwoods State Park. Retirees also make up an important part of the community.Facilities
Weott has not had any commercial services since the general store, which first opened in 1919, last closed in 2003. The town has a post office, a volunteer fire department, a Cal Fire station and the K-5 Agnes J. Johnson Elementary School. The Cal Fire station was torn down in 2010 with plans to re-build it. Those plans have been put on hold due to the project grant monies being re-directed. The school draws from several communities in the area. There is one community center, Milligan Hall, named after a long-time resident. This building was the town’s schoolhouse from 1923–1954 and later a Legion Hall. At least once the surrounding land was used as a California Department of Forestry tent camp, presumably for firefighting At one time, the town had two churches—Faith Chapel Assembly of God and the non-denominational Weott Christian Church. The Weott Christian Church, which was established in 1954, has had its non-profit status suspended until it comes into compliance with the California Franchise Tax Board or the Office of the Secretary of State. The Faith Chapel is still functioning.Weott Center, located at the off-ramp of Highway 101, was for many years home to the Sequoia Hotel, a restaurant, a Union 76 gasoline station and a company that made redwood curios. None of these businesses has survived. 3 km south of Weott is Burlington Campground, which also hosts the Humboldt Redwoods State Park visitor center. This is one of several campgrounds in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park is located south of Eureka, California in southern Humboldt County, within northern California. Established by the Save-the-Redwoods League in 1921 with the dedication of the Raynal Bolling Memorial Grove, it has grown to become the third largest park in the California...
, but is the only campground open year round. The closest commercial services to Weott are in Myers Flat, 10 km south. The closest major shopping facilities are in Garberville (35 km south) and Fortuna (45 km north).
Until 2010, Weott had access only to dial-up internet service. In 2010, high speed internet access became available in the town.
There are two roads that provide access to Weott, State Highway 252 (the Avenue of the Giants) and U.S. Highway 101, both of which are oriented north to south. Weott can be reached from the Avenue of the Giants, but has not had a significant presence on it since the 1964 flood. Highway 101, which was built in 1962, goes through the upper portion of the town and has a dedicated off-ramp and on-ramp for both directions. Though both roads lead through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the Avenue of the Giants is a scenic route popular with RV, motorcycle, and bicycle tourers. During the summer months there are several accessible swimming holes along the Avenue near Weott. There is a temporary summer pedestrian bridge put in at Burlington campground and another 2 km north at Women's Federation Grove. Weott is surrounded by old homesteads that are now part of the State Park. Many of these homesteads still have remnants of orchards and some have remnants of the old structures.
Events
Since 1972, the Avenue of the Giants Marathon has taken place on the first Sunday in May, starting 4 km north of Weott at the Dyerville Bridge. It has included a 10 km race since 1993 and a 21.1 km race since 2002. The Humboldt Redwoods Marathon has taken place on the second Sunday of October since 1976. It now also includes a 5 km and 21.1 km. The 21.1 km race has served as the Pacific Association of the United States Track and Field Association championship for several years. There is a large spaghetti feed at Milligan Hall for the runners before the races. Weott hosts the Holiday Crafts Fair the first weekend of December. Participants include local art, ceramic gifts, jams, jewelry, ornaments, clothing, holiday crafts and local goods. Since 1951, Weott has also been host to the Southern Humboldt Garden Club Flower Show. It is currently held at the Agnes J. Johnson Elementary School on the fourth Sunday in May. Local gardeners enter prized roses and other flowers from their gardens for a chance to win ribbons and prizes. The show also includes plant sales, food and other crafts. There are various seasonal activities at the Humboldt-Redwood State Park headquarters, including guided nature walks and Christmas tree lightings.Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Weott had a population of 288. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 144.2 people/km². The racial makeup of Weott was 87.5% White, 0.0% African American, 4.5% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.9%.
The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.
There were 134 households, out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 38.1% were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.7% had a male householder with no wife present. There were 11.2% unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 1.5% same-sex married couples or partnerships. 35.1% of households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15. 58.2% of households housed families; the average family size was 2.67.
The population was spread out with 18.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% aged 18 to 24, 23.3% aged 25 to 44, 38.2% aged 45 to 64, and 12.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.6 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males.
There were 143 housing units at an average density of 71.6/km², of which 65.7% were owner-occupied, and 34.3% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 70.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 29.5% lived in rental housing units.