Ferndale Public Library

Ferndale, first settled in 1854 and for much of the year isolated by the Eel River, developed at a slower pace than the larger lumber towns to the north. Its first agriculture was dairy, and butter was its primary production. Dairy and farm products could be shipped to Eureka by ferry and temporary summer bridges, or by river and coastwise steamer to San Francisco. By 1878, a steamer was making regularly scheduled runs and the city thrived, with nearby Port Kenyon serving also as a port for the scattered farms and orchards to its south. The many Victorian homes for which Ferndale is so widely noted are testimony to the prosperity of that period. Ferndale was linked to the mainland in 1911 by the construction of a bridge across the Eel River, the longest concrete span of its time and considered an engineering marvel. 

Long before the coming of the bridge, the small community of Ferndale supported several churches, lodges, and other communal organizations. Ferndale’s first known reading room began some time prior to 1880, but it is not known whether it was sponsored by an organization or by an individual; it is known that it was free and boasted two hundred volumes. An 1880 new story refers to a successful fundraising masquerade ball held for the library. In early 1904, the Native Daughters of the Golden West initiated a campaign for a city library and by the end of the year, trustees had been appointed – three women and two men – and the public library opened in a commercial building. California’s traveling library program, that Ferndale was a member of, supplied a circulating cycle of fifty books to the library’s existing collection of six-hundred-eighty-nine volumes. 

Like most libraries prior to the era of Carnegie funding, acquiring a permanent building proved elusive for Ferndale. In early 1908, the library trustees applied to Carnegie for a grant to build a new community library, and $8,000 was offered March 21, 1908. In accordance with Carnegie policies, the city was required to provide a site and pass a resolution of annual library support in an amount equal to ten percent of the grant. This required an increase of the city’s annual appropriation from $600 to $800. Desiring a Main Street lot, the community set out to raise the money, with the Chamber of Commerce making up the last $25 of the $1,000 cost. Correspondence with the Carnegie Corporation reveals no major problem, either before or after the grant, but it was not until April 12, 1909, that Warren Skellings’ plans were put out to bid. The $7,775.40 bid by contractors Ackerman and Ackerman of Eureka did not leave sufficient funds or furnishings, but the city lent the library board additional money allowing building to commence, and the library was opened with a party of tea and cold cuts on April 2, 1910.  

Ferndale joined the Humboldt County library system shortly after its initiation in 1914. County library organizer Harriet Eddy describes her Humboldt County campaign as her easiest in terms of community interest and support of public officials, but the most difficult in terms of travel, referring to difficulties experienced on trips to meetings all over the county. The flagpole and plaque on the library lawn honor Hogan Ring, MD (1851-1930). A native of Norway, Dr. Ring was already a physician when he came to Ferndale, where he and his brother owned the early Trost and Ring drug store.  

Ferndale Public Library, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed January 7th 2021. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857374.

Ferndale Branch Library, Humboldt County - Calfornia's Redwood Coast. Accessed January 7th 2021. https://humboldtgov.org/284/Ferndale-Library.