The Clark District began as a sub-divided section from Union/Summer to C Street and 8^th to Cedar, and was named for Jonathan Clark who came here in 1850 aboard the brig Reindeer. He was born in Indiana, received his medical training there and came to California in 1849 to mine gold.  After a little success he came to Eureka, established a medical practice, and in 1853 was made acting assistant surgeon in the army where he treated Ulysses Grant. In 1863, he became Surgeon for the First Battalion of Mountaineers, California volunteers, and served at Fort Gaston on the Hoopa Reservation during the Indian Wars 1863 – 1865. He filed a  map in 1866 for the First Clark Addition, which contained 24 blocks. He added another forty blocks in a second addition and his son William added a third of 59 blocks later. In 1851, he was appointed first postmaster and first notary public, was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1855, was appointed Humboldt County Treasurer in 1857, was second mayor in 1878 – 1880, and served in the State Assembly from 1877 – 1879. Many important people lived in the Clark Addition at various times: Mayors, District Attorney, Legislators, etc. There are – or were – four buildings of State significance and we will see all of them (except the one that burned down).  There are many types of architecture: Gothic, Eastlake, Queen Anne, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, Moderne, etc. The boundaries of the proposed Clark Historic District are slightly different from the original boundaries of the several "additions," and a map showing both can be obtained at Eureka's City Hall, or from the Clark District Preservation Association c/o the Eureka Heritage Society, PO Box 1354, Eureka, CA 95502. Most of the text for this web page was provided by Melanie Kuhnel, who led this Discovery Walk. Thank you, Melanie!

Start at the corner of Clark and B streets, the South West corner of Jefferson School. Jefferson School was built in 1941 and has a 1949 addition.  It is a one-story Streamline Moderne building, with vertical pylon at entry.  Architect was  Matson and Hurd.  Built on the site of original Jefferson School.  State significance.

Check out the building on the corner across from the school – a store drastically changed into apartments, covered with natural weathered siding, giving it an odd look that doesn’t seem to match any known style.

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Walk south on B Street  to Simpson

1103 B  two-story Colonial Revival house with prominent front gable  and large brackets. 1906  first owner W. Clark Built by A. Foster.

1111  B 1884 two-story Eastlake house with two story square bay. Owner J. Ryan, Builder B. F. Butterfield.

1121  B 1876 one and one half story Gothic Revival with gabled roof and center front cross gable, T shaped plan, corner boards, shiplap siding.  Hipped roof addition ca. 1880s.  Built for Preston, it belonged to the Hill family from 1878 to 1952.  Arthur Hill was a Humboldt county District Attorney.  Born in 1864, went to Hastings Law School.  Lawyer, Assemblyman, District attorney in 1914.  Father came from New Brunswick.  Probably built for $250.

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Walk east on Simpson to C Street
120 Simpson: This two story house has some Craftsman elements - a projecting roof with rafter tails.  It has a recessed entry at the left corner of the north side of the building with a roof that mimics the house roof..  Double windows are one over one.  The upper part of the second story is shingled. Below that is a mid-sized lap siding.  Below that is a larger lap siding.  There is an old addition to the south side of the house that has an attached garage.  These are covered with v-rustic siding, and the lower part is lap siding.
122 Simpson: 2 separate buildings.

Walk south on C Street to Cedar
1202 C Street, 1885: This  two story Italianate house has highly stylized double brackets on the  frieze, and many old additions. There is a transom over the front door which has a window in it.  Patterned glass in the entry on the north side of the house contains diamond panes. The top row is green wand the second row is red.   The rest are clear glass. The building was originally rectangular and has many additions.  The windows are two over two and have hoods with brackets that are a smaller version of those in the frieze.  It is covered in lap wood siding. There are corner boards.  The street names are on the house  in the second story.  The front stairs are concrete and drop from the porch to a sidewalk which then drops a couple of more steps to the street. The owner, O J. Cottrell,  had a molding mill with Shields at Broadway and Cedar.  He was born in 1841 in New Brunswick.
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1228 C Street  ca. 1900. This two story Queen Anne/Eastlake house is of state significance according to Eureka, An Architectural History. This rating is warranted because of many distinctive features such as the cantilevered porch at attic level, the tripartite window on the second floor, the recessed second-story porch and an arched first floor window with Ionic pilasters. The entrance porch features turned ornate posts. There are elaborate double entry doors with another door off to the right. This second door opens into a specially designed “orchid room.” There are two sets of patterned shingles in the attic level with v rustic siding below. The side gable has spindles under the eaves. Moldings of flowers are over the front porch and slanted bays are positioned on the south and east sides. Two outbuildings The Cottrell family moved here from their house next door. There is an uneven roof line found on many Queen Anne buildings in Eureka. One of the current owners is a master gardener, and this home has a beautiful landscaped yard with mature hedges and plantinng.
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1234 C: This two story Italianate home has a hipped roof. Double brackets are found at the corners of the building under the eaves. Patterned shingles are found on the second story with V-rustic on the first floor. There are two one-story slanted bays one on the front of the house and another on the south side.  Decorative fish and flowers have been added just above the windows on the bay and to the frieze. A porch on the back was enclosed. The front porch has a gabled roof that does not appear original.  Slender posts hold this roof up and the there is no railing. Most of the windows are new and appear to be plastic. An oriel window was added in the back. The foundation is post and pier.

1239 C, 1904: Single-story Queen Ann cottage.
1243 C, 1905: Two story Queen Anne house
1247 C, ca. 1909: Two-story Colonial Revival house

Walk west on Cedar to B Street, and north on B Street to Simpson

1235 B Burned. State Significance.
1229 B:  This one-story frame cottage with Queen Anne details was built circa 1890 It has a hipped roof with a front pedimented gable with decorations in the roof and fish scales in the tympanum. V-rustic siding covers the house elsewhere. A double window with diamond panes in the top and a double light in the lower window are offset from the house in an oriel design covered with bead board shaped in a V. There are brackets in the eaves and the southern two-over-two windows have hoods. Spindles are just below the roof line of the front porch. The porch also has narrow turned columns for support with pilasters. The owner in 1977 said there is a basement that is entered through a trap door in a closet where casks and corks were found.

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1223 B This one-story Queen Anne cottage with hipped roof and front gable was built about 1883. The windows are one over one and the front door has a window in it that appears to be original.  The small porch has a turned column.  Siding appears to be vinyl.  The foundation  is post and pier.  It appears that some decorations were removed when the siding was installed.

1215 B:  This one and a half story Queen Anne cottage was built ca 1885, and has twin square bays with pediments and double one-over-one windows. A shed roof connects the two bays over a central front door. The door has a transom. The roof is gable end towards the front with a small window in the second story. The foundation is post and pier. Asphalt siding has been applied to the exterior.

1205 B:  This two story symmetrical Italianate house with hipped roof and double brackets under the eaves was built ca 1889. Brackets and hoods are found over the narrow, one-over-one windows. The front of the house has two double windows on each floor and a single window over the front porch. The front entry has double doors topped with a double transom. The house has v-rustic wood siding and a concrete foundation. The front porch is mostly flat  with just a hint of a mansard roof. There are wooden stairs leading to the porch with balusters and newel posts.

1204 B: This one story symmetrical Italianate house with twin slanted bays was built ca. 1884 in a T shape and sits on the south west corner of Simpson and B Streets. By 1889, one addition was added to the rear of the house and the porch on the north side appears to have been divided into two rooms. By 1920, that porch seems to have been altered and an addition to the south side appears in the Sanborn maps. A later maps shows yet another small addition to the south side. The bays which are joined by the hipped porch roof  above them have very elegantly proportioned arched Italianate windows separated by turned columns topped by a finial. There is a small rectangular framed area under the bay windows. Aluminum windows are on the north, south  and rear of the house. This is a fine example of a popular local home. The side porch (possibly part of the earlier porch) to the north has a bracketed and hooded door and bracketed frieze with corner decorations. The back porch has a shed dormer on the side. The house is covered with v-rustic siding and has a post and pier foundation. There is a dormer in the attic with an aluminum window, an apparent late addition.
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Walk west on Simpson to Pine

4 West Simpson: 1896 one and one half story Queen Anne

16 West Simpson: 1890 one story frame cottage with hipped roof, bracketed cornice, twin square bays flanking the central entrance, highly decorated window surrounds and paneling.

17 West Simpson: This one-story frame cottage with gabled roof, gable front with fish scales in the pediment was built ca 1893. There is scrimshaw in the peak of the roof, wide fascia, original front door. The windows are two-over-two and are covered with hoods. The center portico has brackets.

17 West Simpson: This barn is sited on the alley. It has a gabled roof with wide eaves. Channel rustic siding covers the walls. A single board and batten door is found on the right half of the south side. It is hinged. There are corner boards.

112 West Simpson, 1901: Two-story fame Queen Anne Colonial Revival house with hipped roof, center pediment and recessed porch and bay

116 West Simpson, 1878 with 1882 alterations: One and a half story frame cottage with gabled roof, center cross gable with arched window and six over six sash windows. O. J. McIntosh

122 West Simpson, 1883: One story frame house with gabled roof,  and central entrance

123 West Simpson, 1885: One-story frame cottage with hipped roof, bracketed cornice, paired windows, and shed roof supported by grand brackets over central entrance

128 West Simpson, 1903: Two story frame house with gabled roof, tripartite center window and porch with hipped roof and columns with decorative brackets.

134 West Simpson, 1898: One story frame cottage with hipped roof and full width front porch

135 West Simpson, 1903: One story frame house with projecting pedimented slanted bay. O. Barry

204 West Simpson, 1884: Two story Italianate house with hipped roof, twin first floor slanted bays flanking the central entry two-over-two sash windows and bracketed cornice. Remodeled with alterations into two apartments in 1920.

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Walk north on Pine to Clark

1215 Pine, 1903: One story late Queen Anne cottage with pedimented projecting slanted bay. O:J. Barry

1125 Pine, 1897: One story frame cottage with hipped roof, two-over-two sash windows, and porch with shed roof

1113 Pine, 1879: Two story frame house with gabled roof and two-over-two sash windows, gabled roof entry portico is a later addition

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Walk east on Clark to B Street

306 West Clark, 1899: One story frame Queen Anne house with low hipped roof, bay window, and a variety of decorative wall surfaces including shingles, sunbursts and recessed panels; top story burned in the late 1940's J. Long

217 West Clark, 1904: One and a half story frame house with hipped roof broken by projecting gable, O. J. Ryan

202 West Clark, 1936: One story stucco Moderne house with wrap around corner windows

134 West Clark, 1902: One and a half story shingled house with pyramidal roof, double windows, and center cross gable

123 & 129 West Clark, 1903: Two story frame house with hipped roof and front gable, recessed porch and slanted bay. Matched pair of houses. O. W. Gibbard

32 West Clark, 1880: One and a half story frame house with gabled roof and two over two windows. O. J. Dollison

25 West Clark, ca. 1875: One and a half story frame house with gabled roof and full front porch W. Preston