Amended Map of Loleta.

Description

This is a unique manuscript map of the small California town of Loleta, located on the Eel River, just south of Humboldt Bay. It was drawn in 1899 by civil engineer and surveyor Frank E. Herrick on a commission from a local entrepreneur and businessman who owned the condensed milk and cream factory that is prominently shown in the middle of town. The map was likely intended for broader consumption and was submitted to the official record, as is evidenced by its notarization. Yet there is no evidence that it was ever printed or mass-produced in any other way. Consequently, this manuscript map remains (almost) the only evidence for this local cartographic initiative.

The map has a cadastral appearance, with streets, blocks, and individual lots delineated and, in most cases, named and numbered. Train tracks run through town, with the station located in the heart of the community. North of the creamery,  we see three one-acre lots available, reflecting the early stage of the town’s development. Undoubtedly, one of this map’s aims would have been to attract more investment and settlers.

The Loleta Creamery was a milk-bottling plant established in 1892. It continued its production up to 2007, after which production was abandoned. The empty factory remained the most prominent building complex in Loleta until an earthquake caused significant damage to the deteriorating structure in December 2022. This led to its partial demolition in May 2024 due to safety concerns. The future of the site remains uncertain.

A few of the map’s original street names have changed. Rail Road Avenue still exists, but its thoroughfare function has been taken over by the parallel Main Street. The creamery was initially located at the junction of Market Street and Loleta Avenue. While these streets still exist in the same format, their names have changed to Loleta Drive and Scenic Drive. Most of Loleta’s streets have retained their names since 1899.

Census

As a manuscript map this is a unique item. We have cross-referenced this map with the holdings of the Herrick Land Survey and Map Collection, housed at California State Polytechnic University in Humboldt. This collection holds two parallels. One is a copy of our map made for the collection in 1971, when the manuscripts map was in the ownership of a Norton Steenfelt (Map ID. 1999.15.0124). The collection also owns a blueprint version of the map dated (Map IC. 1999.10.0049), which was notarised in the same manner, but by another notary: one Peter Belcher. This blueprint map is dated 1897. Despite the fact that preparing this map was a prolonged effort, we have located no evidence that the map was ever printed, making this a rare collectible by one of California’s pioneering mapmakers.