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History · Crescent

Crescent’s history is mostly unwritten

The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Crescent. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

4old photos & papers
2historic places
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Crescent’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Crescent’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Famous sons and daughtersJustin Miller, Pia de Solenni and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crescent’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crescent’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBURNING WOOD CHIPS: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people

11 famous people were born in Crescent

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Justin MillerUnited States federal judge · b. 1888
P
Pia de SolenniAmerican journalist · b. 1971
C
Cody HoffmanAmerican football linebacker · b. 1991
R
Rick KeeneAmerican politician · b. 1957
F
Fred RinneAmerican artist · b. 1955
M
Mike HynsonAmerican surfer · b. 1942
The story

How Crescent came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crescent.

Read it all →

Crescent City was founded on the site of Tolowa Indian Settlements at Battery Point, Pebble Beach, south of Point St. George, and north of Point St. George. In Tolowa: Taa-’at-dvn. In the Yurok it is Kohpey, and in Wiyot: Daluwagh).

In 1855, the U.S. Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse at "the battery point" (a high tide island on the coast of Crescent City) which is still functioning as a historical landmark.

Europeans began moving to the area in the 1850s. Crescent City was incorporated as a city in 1854.

ChaptersNamesake shipsShipwrecks

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crescent, 1856 to 1991

Woven from the archive, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856BuiltCresent City Lighthouse is built
  3. 1888Born hereJustin Miller is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1957Born hereRick Keene is born here
  6. 1971Born herePia de Solenni is born here
  7. 1972In the archiveBURNING WOOD CHIPS
  8. 1991Born hereCody Hoffman is born here
By decade

Crescent, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s4 items
BURNING WOOD CHIPS1972BURNING WOOD CHIPS INVENTORY OF REDWOOD ARRIVING FROM THE LATEST CUT. MEN MEASURE LOGS WITH TAPE. WOODBURNER IN BACKGROUND1972INVENTORY OF REDWOOD ARRIVING FROM THE LATEST CUT. ME… LOW TIDE WITH WOOD BURNER IN BACKGROUND1972LOW TIDE WITH WOOD BURNER IN BACKGROUND WOODBURNER IN REDWOOD PROCESSING PLANT1972WOODBURNER IN REDWOOD PROCESSING PLANT
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
GTE pedestal in Crescent City, California2026GTE pedestal in Crescent City, California TolowaIndianSettlement Crescent City, CA2012TolowaIndianSettlement Crescent City, CA SSEmidio Marker Crescent City, CA2012SSEmidio Marker Crescent City, CA Crescent City, CA2012Crescent City, CA
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

BURNING WOOD CHIPS
Retake this viewBURNING WOOD CHIPS, 1972

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Crescent’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Crescent

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Cresent City Lighthouse
in California
#185
by listings
Cresent City Lighthouse, built 1856BROTHER JONATHAN (Shipwreck Site)
BuildingsSites
Cresent City LighthouseBuilt 1856
BROTHER JONATHAN (Shipwreck Site)Site

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Bertsch-OceanviewIts story

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Has Crescent changed for the better?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia and Wikidata for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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