Eureka Waterfront Litigation Collection - Finding Aid | Library Special Collections & Archives

In 1968 a lawsuit was filed against the City of Eureka to determine who had legal ownership of land on the Eureka Waterfront. During the 13 year span of the case, Lazio v. City of Eureka, also known as the Eureka Tidelands Case, the law firm engaged by the City conducted extensive historical research on the complex history of the question. Their “evidence” included copies of original deeds and lawsuits dating back to before the establishment of the City. These documents, along with copies of many historical maps as well as a series of contemporary aerial photographs and archaeological findings commissioned for the case, are included in the collection which was donated by the City of Eureka to the Cal Poly Humboldt Library in 1984.

Access

The collection is open for research.

Copyright

Copyright has not been assigned to Cal Poly Humboldt. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce in any format, please contact the Special Collections Librarian.

Acquisition Information

In 1984 the City of Eureka donated the collection of documents, maps and photographs used as evidence in the Eureka tidelands litigation known as Lazio v. City of Eureka.

Funding

This project was funded in part by a grant from the Tracy Memorial Trust Fund, a fund of the Humboldt Area Foundation.

Scope and Content of the Collection

In 1968 a lawsuit was filed against the City of Eureka to determine who had legal ownership of land on the Eureka Waterfront. During the 13 year span of the case, the Eureka City Attorney, Melvin Johnsen, obtained assistance from the law firm Nossam, Kreuger and Marsh in Los Angeles. They conducted extensive historical research on the complex history of the question which is rooted in federal swamp lands as well as state tidelands law and cases. Their “evidence” included copies of original deeds and lawsuits dating back to before the establishment of the City, newspaper excerpts, town trustees minutes, city council minutes, etc. These documents, along with copies of many historical maps as well as a series of contemporary aerial photographs and archaeological findings commissioned for the case, are included in the collection.

The collection came with a detailed list of the items used as exhibit evidence in the lawsuit. Donated items were numbered and checked off on this list, referred to as the List of Exhibits. This is the essential tool for using the collection and it dictated the arrangement of the collection into two series, the print documents and the maps and aerial photographs. The List of Exhibits is available in the HSU Library Humboldt Room; it is not online.

There are two additional groups of items not included in the List of Exhibits, although they were assigned identifying designations by the collection creator. One group is the Defendants Exhibits A-JJJJ. These are in Box 6, Red Binders 1 and 2, with a List of Defendants’ Exhibits A-JJJJ at the front of Red Binder 1. The second group carries a “2-xx” notation. These are in Boxes 7 and 9 (plus a few items in Folder 7 of the collection map filing drawer) and have been described by staff when processing the collection. Copies of both of these lists are located in the HSU Library Humboldt Room, along with the List of Exhibits.

It is necessary to use the List of Exhibits to identify items within the collection.

Container List

Series: Print Materials

Box 1

Volume 1: Harbor Commission Minutes (1-100)
Volume 2: Newspaper Excerpts (101-236; not including 103, 109, 122, 132, 147, 205: “no exhibit”)
Volume 3: Statutes; Original Deeds from Eureka (237-330)
Volume 4: Town Trustees Minutes (373-479)

Box 2

Volume 5: City Council Minutes (480-579; not including 566, 579: “no exhibit”)
Volume 6: Lawsuits (580-590)
Volume 7: Lawsuits (591-632)
Volume 8: Miscellaneous (641-679; not including 668: “no exhibit”; not including 676, 679: bound separately and included in Box 3 (below)

Box 3

Chains of Title (634-640)
676, 679
Orange Photo Box (758-759; 829-861[hotlink to Swanlund scans])

Box 4

Deeds (800-1154)

Box 5

Volume 9: Miscellaneous Documents (680-757; 781-787)
Black Binder 1 (1215-1219; 1280)
Black Binder 2 (1220-1238)
Black Binder 3 (1239-1253;1256;1282-1291)

Box 6 (first 4 items NOT in List of Exhibits)

Original Index: “List of Exhibits)
Red Binder 1: Defendants Exhibits A-WW(6) – Includes List of Defendants’ Exhibits A-JJJJ
Red Binder 2: Defendants Exhibits XX-JJJJ
Red Binder 3: Eureka Development Plan, 1973
Loose items

1157-1161
1203-1211
1254 (2?)
1296-1299
1315-1320
1322 (A & B)
1325
1330
1336-1353
1355 (1-5)-1358
1360-1362

Box 7

Loose “2-xx” items (NOT in List of Exhibits)

2-D
2-E (1-3)
2-F (1-4, 6-10, 15, 17)
2-G (1-3)
2-H (3-7, 11)
2-I
2-J
2-J (6)
2-K (1)
2-L
2-L (1)
2-M
2-N (1, 3, 4)
2-O (1-18, + 10, 12, 14, 17, 18 dups)
2-Q
2-R
2-Y
2-AA
2-BB
2-BB (5)
2-CC
2-DD (1-2)
2-EE – 2-PP
2-EEE
2-GGG
2-KKK
2-MMM
2-NNN
2-NNN (A)
2-OOO
2-QQQ
2-RRR
2-RRR (1)
2-SSS
2-TTT
2-UUU
2-VVV
2-XXX
2-BBBB
3 unnumbered pieces (at end of “2-xx” list)

Box 8

1254,1255 (oversize)

Series: Maps and photographs

Subseries: Rolled

Box 9: “2-xx” items (NOT in List of Exhibits)

2-A
2-B (1-11)
2-C
Rolled together: 2-S (1-6), 2-T, 2-U, 2-V [1 (1-10) & 2]
2-QQ
Rolled together: 2-BBB, 2-CCC, 2-DDD
2-FFF
2-HHH
2-III
2-JJJ (1-2)
2-LLL (1-2)
Rolled together: 2-PPP (1-2), 2 clear overlays whose labels have come off
2-WWW (1-2)
Rolled together: 2-YYY, 2-ZZZ (1-2)
2-AAAA 2-CCCC

Box 10: 300s & 400s 367A

367A (1)
367B
367C
367D
367E
367F
1200
1201
1202
Rolled together: 1268A, 1268B
1271
1273
Rolled together: 1292, 1292A
1295

Box 11: 1300s 1300

Rolled together: 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304
1305
Rolled together: 1306, 1307, 1308, 1309, 1310, 1311, 1312, 1313
1314
1321 (1-6)
1323
Rolled together: 1324A, 1324B
1326
1327 (1-2)
1328
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1354 (1-3)

Subseries: Mounted, flat

Map Drawer [old Norman Smith Drawer, basement]

Folder 1

331
333
334A (334 & 334A attached)
335
336
336A
338
339A (339 & 339A attached)
340

Folder 2

Folder 3

347
357A
357
360
361A
363
366
369
370

Folder 4

768
770
771
772
773
774A

Folder 5: Swanlund Mounted Prints [hotlink to scans]

Folder 6

789
1269
1276A
1276B
1293
1329A
1329B(?)

Folder 7 (NOT in List of Exhibits)

2-RR
2-SS
2-TT
2-UU
2-VV
2-WW
2-XX
2-AAA
2-PPP

Oversize

332
332A
343
344
356
788
1262
1263
1294

Bibliography

Faria, Jacqualine. Trouble on the Waterfront: The Plight of Eureka’s Tidelands. Arcata, Humboldt State University, 2008.

Newspaper clippings from Humboldt Room pamphlet collection: Eureka tidelands – litigation

Report on the use and development of tide and submerged lands conveyed to the city of Eureka. [Eureka, Calif.? : s.n., 1974?]

Willis, Jerry. The first attempts to end the alienation of Eureka's waterfront, 1897-1913. Arcata, Humboldt State College, 1969.

Subject Headings

Eureka (Calif.) – History
Harbors
Shipping
Docks
Humboldt Bay
Submerged Lands
Lumber Trade
Lumbering

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Eureka Waterfront Litigation Collection - Finding Aid

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