A Photographic History Of Trinidad, California - Page Three
Early 20th Century
By the turn of the last century, Trinidad had become quite run-down and dreary-looking. As this photograph from circa 1900 shows, what had once been a "boom" town had clearly gone "bust". (Photo courtesy of Anne Odom.)
By 1909, when this photo was taken, the Occidental Hotel was nearing its end. The gold rush and the heyday of the mill era were long gone, and when the city center moved up the hill to E. Edwards St., Old Town quietly slipped into obscurity. Not a single structure of Trinidad's original downtown remains on the site today. (Photo courtesy of Anne Odom.)
Trinidad sometime in the late 'teens. The long, bright white building to the upper left of center is the newly-constructed city hall, built in 1917. At far right is the new Hotel Trinidad. The dark building at left rear is the 1914 schoolhouse; the tiny white building to its left near the trees is Trinidad's first schoolhouse, built in 1870.
This rare postcard (postmarked 1919) shows Little Head in its natural state. Note the high rocky ridge connecting it with Trinidad Head, from which the picture was taken. In the background, however, are two other noteworthy views. At upper left can be seen Trinidad's second commercial center, located along the old stagecoach road (today E. Edwards St.). (Click here to see an enlarged view.) From left to right are "Pink's" Saloon, the two-storey Pinkham Hotel, the Saunders Mercantile and residence (originally owned by C.J. McConnaha), and the Hotel Trinidad. Also in the background can be seen the recently-deserted Yurok village of Tsurai, the last resident of which had died in 1914. (Click here for an enlargement.) This may be the last known photographic image of Tsurai.
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