The small town of Ferndale, California is home to about 1500 people. It's a charming place well known for its many beautifully preserved Victorian homes from the 1800s.
Nestled in a pastoral valley near the Northern California Redwoods, Ferndale was founded in 1852, not long after California's famous Gold Rush. The town is named for the six-foot-tall ferns which grew here in abundance before the land was cleared for agriculture. The town soon developed a thriving dairy industry; the wealth generated from milk, butter and cheese funded the construction of these lovely homes and businesses (which are locally known as "Butterfat Palaces”). It probably won't surprise you to learn that the entire town is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ferndale has a number of activities to keep its citizens busy throughout the year. For example, the Humbold County Fair is held here every August, and in December it lights up what is said to be the largest living Christmas tree in the country! It's an excellent location from which to visit Redwoods National and State Parks. Hiking and biking opportunities abound.
My wife and I (and our 2 dogs) spent a half day walking around the town. It was a cool cloudy fall day but fortunately it was not raining. We stopped frequently to study details of many of the buildings, browsed in some of the interesting shops on Main Street (and bought a few items), enjoying some good food, and chatting with some of the locals. It was a very pleasant morning.
Interspersed in this blog are some of my favorite photos from our visit.
The town has been used as a frequent backdrop in a number of movies, television shows and commercials, such as Outbreak, Salems Lot and Joe Dirt. It's a photogenic place.
There is one place in Ferndale I want to highlight. We strolled through a small, pleasant park off Main Street known as Hadley Gardens. It included a cute miniature Victorian home ("the House that Troy Built")....
...A hobbit house....
...And a stretch of an enchanted garden! Kids loved the place.
Ferndale is about a three-hour drive north of San Francisco and is a half hour south of Eureka. The town is close to the Pacific Ocean which you can view from some of its hills.
Ferndale is a very pleasant community! I hope to return someday.
Comments (2)