Redwood History Basic Data

F. COMMENTS and RECOMMENDATIONS

The desire for quick wealth focused the attention of many Californians on the Humboldt Coast in 1850. Ship after ship sailed through the Golden Gate en route up the coast. To reach the diggings on the Trinity and the newly discovered placers on the middle Klamath and Salmon, the adventurers thronged ashore at Trinidad Head, Humboldt Bay, and the mouth of the Klamath. Towns were platted and sprang up over night. The San Francisco press told of their promise. Klamath City for a while looked like a winner, but the elements doomed her: the Klamath was too swift and rocky for steamboats, while the bar shifted constantly and the pass opened and closed. The rugged coast likewise took its toll. Paragon was wrecked, and Tarquin stranded.

The site of Klamath City and the wreck of Paragon are outside the Park, but the site of the former on Wau-Kell Flat is indicated on the Historical Base Map. As another site of historical significance, the Klamath River Agency, was also located on this flat, consideration should be given to the possibility of including Wau Kell Flat in Redwood National Park. The story of Klamath City could then be interpreted on site; otherwise it will have to be told in the Visitor Center. Visitors can be told of the stranding of Tarquin and the difficulties of navigating the Klamath bar at one of the field interpretive stations.