Page 60 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021 DISCOVERING MENDOCINO

PERCHED IN PARADISE FROZEN IN TIME

Without a doubt, the most charming town on the Meiggs, ventured to the north coast in search of
Northern California coast is the Village of Mendo- valuable salvage from a ship wreck at Point
cino. Hugging one of the Pacific’s most breathtak- Cabrillo. By the time he arrived, the cargo was
ing stretches of coastline, this New England-style scavenged, but Ford eyed a greater find - the areas
community is the only California coastal town des- vast forests of giant redwoods. A lumberman, Ford
ignated a Historical Landmark. As we walked its knew lumber was like gold in those heady times of
streets, it was easy to imagine being back in the explosive growth.
mid-19th century when the timber industry here Ford partnered with Meiggs and brought an en-
supported the great California gold rush. tire sawmill around the horn from the East Coast.
Hundreds of years ago, plentiful food and wa- For over 50 years, the mill produced most of the
ter led native American Pomo Indians to make lumber to build San Francisco and then rebuild the
coastal Mendocino their home. Around 1850, city after the Great Earthquake and fires of 1906.
Jerome Ford, an agent for railroad barron Henry Although there were few people or buildings

60 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2021