Fern Cottage Historic District - Ferndale, CA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The following statement of significance is taken from the NRHP Nomination Form:

Fern Cottage Historic District is nominated to the National Register as an exceptional example of a Humboldt County settlement-period farmstead whose architectural components and historic fabric survive totally intact. This 160-acre District, the center-piece of which is the picturesque, 19th-century farmhouse known as Fern Cottage, represents the homeplace of an extensive, family-run ranching operation of dairies, sheep, and cattle. It was, however, the immediate environs of orchards, kitchen gardens, poultry houses, sheds, and barns that provided the Sustenance for this self-sufficient household. Re­taining a high degree of architectural and historic integrity. Fern Cottage is significant for its simple but gracious vernacular architecture which was carefully preserved throughout historic periods of expansion and alteration. Still in the ownership of the heirs of Zipporah and Joseph Russ, who patented the land in 1866 and who occupied a place of substantial influencein the business, agricultural and political life of the area, the District is not only a record of that family's history, but also, through that record, a history of Humboldt County—settlement, land ownership, agricultural development, life styles, and emergence into the modernworld. The District is unparalleled in Humboldt County as a working ranch whose physical and historic character has been preserved so completely that its roots have remained clear and enduring. The interaction of a special natural environment of ocean, river, forest, and bottomland; a built environment of an earlier agrarian period; and the cultural identity of the people who participated in these environments has created, in the Fern Cottage Historic District, a strong and vibrant "sense of place," which makes the District re­markably worthy of recognition on the National Register of Historic Places.

There are 15 contributing buildings and structures that make up Fern Cottage Historic District. The original home was erected in 1866 and further additions were made over the years to its present size.

Street address: 2121 Centerville Rd, Ferndale, CA 95536 County / Borough / Parish: Humboldt County Year listed: 1988 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture, Agriculture Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899, 1850-1874 Historic function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic Current function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.