The Redwood Empire

In 1852 Seth Louis Shaw and his brother claimed two parcels of land on the West side of the Eel River near the present day city of Eureka. In 1854 Shaw built the house that you see above and named it "Fern Dale". A bit later the house was used as a post office for the other settlers in the area and the community became known as Ferndale. Today the community is one of the very best examples of Victorian style architecture in existence and there are a number of beautiful bed and breakfast inns located in the town including "Fern Dale" which is now known as "The Shaw House".