Weott, California

Weott is a small unincorporated town located in Humboldt County, California, USA. Weott is located along the Avenue of the Giants. It has a population of 450. It is located along the south fork of the eel river. It is inside area code 707. Weott's local services are run by the Weott Community Service District and the town has full sewers and water from a spring across the Eel River. The area enjoys a nice climate with lots of sunshine during the summer and lots of rain and fog during the winter. The town is surrounded on most sides by huge ancient redwoods and the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.Contents

History

The town of Weott was named after the Wiyot Indian tribe who live at the Table Bluff Reservation just north of Loleta. The name weott is translated as "by the river". In December of 1964 several days of very heavy rain, on top of an early snowpack in the higher mountains, created the greatest flood in the history of the north coast. The Russian, Eel, Klamath and Rogue Rivers all rose to unprecedented heights. Dozens of small towns were inundated, and several were completely swept away. One of these was Weott, halfway down the Avenue of the Giants on the South Fork of the Eel River.

The old downtown of Weott consisted of a dozen commercial buildings and twice as many houses along a three block stretch of the old highway. The flood marker is 35 feet tall and shows how high the waters rose on Christmas Eve, 1964. Only one house has been rebuilt on the old site -- the town moved uphill far enough to be above any possible flood waters. The '64 flood is referred to as a "thousand year flood", meaning that an event of that magnitude is only expected to occur once in a thousand years. Today Weott is a small sleepy town among the redwoods and is home to many families.

Culture

Because of its isolated location, Weott retains a small town atmosphere. There are no motels in the town, but there are several campgrounds nearby the community. Nearby Myers Flat and Southfork were originally stagecoach and mail stops in the 1800s.

Every year the Southern humboldt garden club host the annual Weott flower show at the local elementary school. Other activitys include spaghetti dinners and community gatherings. There is a running marathon called the Avenue of the Giants marathon. There are also festivals and other community events throughout the year near Weott, including Reggae Rising in Piercy, California; the Mateel community center in Redway, California; and the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale, California.

Facilities

Weott has a small downtown area with a now closed general store. It also has a post office, and volunteer fire department. Weott has its own elementary school, Agnes Johnson Elementary School. There is one community center, Milligan Hall, named after a long time resident of the area. This building was once the town old schoolhouse. The town is home to the local CDF Station. It has two churches. One is called Weott Christian Church, and the other is called Weott Faith Church. Weott once had a motel called "sequoia hotel" in the now run down weott center, this once had a restraunt and a gas station. The propertys now are vacant. One mile south of Weott is the Humboldt redwoods visitor center, in burnington. This is the main campground for the Humboldt redwoods state park and is the only campground open year round. The closest stores near weott are in neighboring myers flat, five miles south.

There are only two roads that lead into Weott, both the avenue of the giants and U.S. highway 101 travel north and south through town. The avenue of the giants is at the bottom of town and U.S. 101 goes through the middle of town. Both roads lead through scenic redwood forests. The avenue of the giants is the scenic route, and during the summer months there is places to drive down onto the river bar for swimming. There is also a few summer bridges that a put in during the summer. The bridges are located south one mile in burlington or north 1 mile at womens federation grove. The avenue of the giants is the scenic route. The avenue of the giants is a popular route for mountain biking and motorcycleing routes for visitors of the area. Weott is also surrounded by old homesteads from earlyer times that are now apart of the state park, many of these homesteads still have orchards and some have remnants of the old structures.

Politics

In the state legislature Weott is located in the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Pat Wiggins, and in the 1st Assembly District, represented by Democrat Patty Berg. Federally, Weott is located in California's 1st congressional district.