Fields Landing, California
Fields Landing is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located on Humboldt Bay south-southwest of downtown Eureka, at an elevation of 13 feet. The ZIP Code is 95537. The population was 287 at the 2020 census.
History
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area now known as Humboldt County was occupied by a number of indigenous peoples, including the Wiyot, Yurok, Hupa, Karuk, Chilula, Whilkut, and the southern Athabascans. Fields Landing is located within the original territory of the Wiyot tribe.The first recorded entrance into Humboldt Bay occurred in 1806 by members of a Russian-American company from Sitka. The Josiah Gregg party arrived by land in December 1849, and by 1850 the first ships came to the bay bringing men seeking gold. As the Gold Rush subsided, the economy shifted to the use of the surrounding natural resources, mainly timber, salmon, and agricultural land. The area was a prime exporter of agricultural products from 1857 to 1900.
Fields Landing was named for Waterman Field, a resident of Humboldt County since 1861. He established the town in 1862. Field owned 160 acres in what is currently known as Fields Landing. Waterman Field built a dock there to ship his farm products and the name "Fields Landing" was derived from this landing place for ships.
Fort Humboldt, built in 1853 to protect settlers from retaliatory attacks and keep peace between the settlers and the natives, was a failure, as the garrison did neither successfully. Indians were enslaved under the terms of the 1850 "Act for the Government and Protection of Indians" that provided legal basis for the continued Californio practice of capturing and using Native people as forced workers, particularly that of young women and children, which was carried on as a legal business enterprise. Intrusion of professional hunters and settlers and their herds of cattle and pigs into the hunting and gathering areas of the natives in the interior led the reduction of their food supplies and native resistance to this began the Bald Hills War. Development around the bay, disease, and the February 26, 1860 Indian Island Massacre, and consequences of the Bald Hills War, led to decimation of the peaceful Wiyot reducing their numbers from 3,000 to less than 100 survivors by 1865.
In the 1880s, docks were built in Fields Landing for shipping redwood and other timber. When the Northwestern Pacific Railroad was extended into the Humboldt Bay area in 1914, it functioned as a dike, and allowed the tidal marshes to be converted into agricultural lands. The construction of U.S. Route 101 in 1927 also created more fill, allowing most of the marshes to be drained and diked.
After World War II, a new Douglas fir and plywood industry brought in many out-of-state loggers and mill workers. From 1940 to 1951, a whaling station operated in Fields Landing. However, the timber industry continued to dominate life in the community into the 1970s. The demise of the timber industry in the 1980s forced a fresh perspective on resource use. New groups of people began to arrive, namely Hispanic workers and families, and refugees from the Vietnam War.
Demographics
Fields Landing first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Fields Landing had a population of 287. The population density was. The racial makeup of Fields Landing was 192 White, 3 African American, 16 Native American, 7 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 14 from other races, and 55 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 47 persons.The whole population lived in households. There were 139 households, out of which 19 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 40 were married-couple households, 15 were cohabiting couple households, 47 had a female householder with no partner present, and 37 had a male householder with no partner present. 57 households were one person, and 23 were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.06. There were 63 families.
The age distribution was 60 people under the age of 18, 27 people aged 18 to 24, 87 people aged 25 to 44, 72 people aged 45 to 64, and 41 people who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 35.7years. For every 100 females, there were 114.2 males.
There were 139 housing units at an average density of, of which 139 were occupied. Of these, 75 were owner-occupied, and 64 were occupied by renters.
Economy
The economic base of Fields Landing was founded on fishing and timber. The commercial fishing industry experienced a steep decline in recent years, and in 2013 the major industries are tourism and timber.Fields Landing is located within the Port of Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District and the Port of Humboldt. Two shipping terminals are based in Fields Landing. Humboldt Bay Forest Products docks include one berth with a wooden dock with two approach ramps. Fields Landing Terminal includes one berth with a dock. A public boat ramp provides boating access for smaller craft.
Commercial fishing
In 2000, of the 42 vessels that delivered to Fields Landing all were commercially registered. There was at least one seafood processing plant located here in 2000, whose shipments included $182,000 worth of crab and over $1.5 million worth of groundfish.Fields Landing residents owned eight vessels in 2000, all of which participated in the federally managed groundfish fishery. Seven federally managed groundfish fishery permits were held by three Fields Landing residents in 2000.
Statistics
The 2000 U.S. Census indicates that 0% of the employed civilian population 16 years and over worked in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries. This percentage may not be indicative of the actual number of people in these professions as many are self-employed, especially in the fishing industry. A total of 7% worked in arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services. Additionally, 8% worked in educational, health, and social services, while 9.9% were employed by the government. The 2000 U.S. Census states that the unemployment rate in 2000 was 22.6%. For the population 16 years and older, 41.9% were not in the labor force, while 45% were employed.According to the 2000 U.S. Census, in 1999 the median household income was $35,313 and the per capita income was $14,198. About 24.5% of the population was living below poverty level in 1999. Of the 95 housing units in 2000, 89.5% were occupied and 10.5% were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, 40% were owner occupied, while 60% were renter occupied.
Government
In the state legislature, Field's Landing is in, and.Federally, Field's Landing is in.