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41-882: Kneeland may refer to: Places [ edit ] United States Kneeland, California Kneeland, Michigan Kneeland, Wisconsin Kneeland Airport Kneeland Elementary School District Court case [ edit ] Commonwealth v. Kneeland , court case People [ edit ] Abner Kneeland (1774-1844), American evangelist and theologian David Kneeland (1881-1948), American athlete Francis M. Kneeland (born 1873), African American physician Hildegarde Kneeland (1889–1994), American economist and statistician Marshawn Kneeland (born 2001), American college football player Kneeland Youngblood (1955- ), American surgeon and political figure Topics referred to by

82-493: A Christian and civilized people. Old women wrinkled and decrepit lay weltering in blood, their brains dashed out and dabbled with their long grey hair. Infants scarcely a span along, with their faces cloven with hatchets and their bodies ghastly with wounds." Major Gabriel J. Rains (sometimes spelled "Raines"), commander of Fort Humboldt , reported on the massacre to his superiors that "Captain Wright's Company [of vigilantes ] held

123-591: A brief visit in 1806, Russian fur traders, whose 18th-century invasion in search of the sea otter had devastated the Pomo , were uninterested in the area, which was not a sea-otter habitat. The way of life of the Wiyot people, after many centuries of isolated development, was disrupted by the settlement of Europeans . The Josiah Gregg exploring party spent the turn of the years 1849–1850 at Humboldt Bay; subsequent to their return to San Francisco several ships set out to settle

164-659: A cleanup and get-together to commemorate the history of this small community. The Kneeland Prairie School District was split from the Bucksport district in 1869, and the first classes were held in a teacher's home before the construction of a one-room schoolhouse in 1873 with separate outhouses for boys and girls. Two other nearby schools were in operation at the time: Iaqua School (in Iaqua ) and Lone Star (in Lone Star ), but these were later amalgamated with Kneeland School. Today Kneeland

205-593: A helitack base for the Cal Fire Humboldt-Del Norte unit. The Kneeland Volunteer Fire Department was founded in the early 1980s. Later in 1990 a voter initiative approved the creation of the Kneeland Fire Protection District to be funded with a special parcel tax. They provide emergency response to over 100 square miles of mountainous rural areas. Kneeland is a rural community with no central downtown district. Significant locations are

246-539: A high school diploma or equivalency, 32.1% had some college education but no degree, 39.0% had attained a bachelor's degree, and 9.6% had earned a graduate or professional degree. Wiyot The Wiyot and Yurok are the westernmost people to speak an Algic language. Their languages, Wiyot and Yurok , are distantly related to the Algonquian languages . The Wiyot people's traditional homeland ranged from Mad River (Wiyot name: potawot ) through Humboldt Bay (including

287-401: A meeting at Eel River and resolved to kill every peaceable Indian – man, woman, and child." The vigilantes were also known as the " Humboldt Volunteers , Second Brigade," reported to have organized at Hydesville (the town called "Eel River" by Major Rains is now named Rohnerville ). Gaines reported that around five men had formed a volunteer squad to murder the sleeping women and children on

328-672: Is 16 miles (26 km) south of Eureka between Loleta and the South Jetty of Humboldt Bay. Some 350 people are enrolled in the Table Bluff Reservation – Wiyot Tribe. "Table Bluff Rancheria of Wiyot Indians of California" is the name under which the United States federal government previously listed the Table Bluff Reservation in the Bureau of Indian Affairs list of federally recognized tribes ; "Table Bluff Reservation – Wiyot Tribe"

369-548: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Kneeland, California 40°45′40″N 123°59′41″W  /  40.76111°N 123.99472°W  / 40.76111; -123.99472 Kneeland (formerly, Kneeland Prairie ) is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County , California . It is located 7.5 miles (12 km) south-southwest of Korbel , at an elevation of 2,129 feet (649 m). Kneeland Airport

410-491: Is nearby. The ZIP code is 95549. Kneeland is located about 12 miles (19 km) east of Humboldt Bay, roughly equidistant from Eureka and Arcata (14 miles (23 km)). It is 283 miles (455 km) north of San Francisco . This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. Winters are cool and rainy, and while snow at sea level in Humboldt County

451-465: Is now Eureka. Relationships between the Wiyot and the white colonizers became hostile, marked by raids and vigilante justice. On February 26, 1860, the Wiyot experienced a massacre which devastated their numbers and has remained a pervasive part of their cultural heritage and identity. Three days before the massacre, on Washington's birthday, a logging mill engineer from Germany named Robert Gunther bought property on " Indian Island ". The day before

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492-460: Is now known as Tuluwat Island , since 1992, and a major cultural and environmental restoration project is underway there. More recently, the long-awaited World Renewal Ceremony has returned to the island, and is in the process of being revived by current tribal members. This event is private and central to Wiyot cultural beliefs. In 2000, the Wiyot established the Table Bluff Reservation on 88 acres (360,000 m ) of their homeland. The reservation

533-540: Is proof that the time has arrived that either the pale face or the savage must yield the ground." The Times apparently represented the mainstream opinion in the area at the time. An investigation failed to identify a single perpetrator, although those who did the killing were rumored to be well known. Although a grand jury summoned witnesses and held hearings, no one was indicted. Harte was threatened and in danger of mob violence. He quit his job and left Union in March 1860 by

574-584: Is rare, light snowfall is typical several times a year in Kneeland because of the higher elevation. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Kneeland has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Humboldt County was occupied by several native groups of at least two language families prior to and after the European settlers arrived. The Wiyot people used

615-655: Is the current designation. Some people of Wiyot descent are enrolled in the Bear River Rancheria. Since October 2019, the Wiyot have had the land deed to most of Indian Island , which previously was owned by the City of Eureka. The last documented native speaker of Wiyot died in 1962. The Wiyot tribal government is in the process of reviving the language. The people ate mostly clams and acorns , and made long, carved, log canoes . Healers and ceremonial leaders were mostly women, who received their powers on mountaintops during

656-479: Is the seat of the Kneeland Elementary School District ,. The current Kneeland School was built in 1880 and serves grades K-8. It underwent modernization in 1951, and again in the 1980s. The Kneeland School is one of California's smallest public schools, with a 2022 enrollment of 33 students in grades K-8. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of Kneeland was 244. The population

697-454: The Homestead Act of 1862 permitted formal settlement, there were conflicts between settlers and squatters. The former small holders sold out in the 1870s and the land became consolidated into large ranches and at the turn of the century, these large ranches were owned by prominent local families. Some stage hotels were built in the 1880s. After World War II a sawmill was built to support

738-649: The Indian Island Massacre , other massacre events, Indian wars, introduced diseases, starvation and forced relocations, they numbered around 100 individuals. Today, many Wiyot live on the Table Bluff Reservation , located 16 miles (26 km) south of Eureka. The area around Kneeland was not settled by whites until after the California Gold Rush brought waves of new settlers to the region to supply inland gold miners. The area around Kneeland

779-419: The 1770 population of the Wiyot at 1,000. Sherburne F. Cook initially offered an estimate of 1,500 but subsequently raised this to 3,300. Kroeber reported the population of the Wiyot in 1910 as 100. The Wiyot suffered a devastating onslaught of violence by American settlers in the 1850s and 1860s, wiping out the majority of those alive in 1850 and dispossessing them of their lands. Surviving members of

820-592: The Kneeland Elementary School building near a central crossroads, the Kneeland Airport , and the Kneeland Firehouse. Logging continues in the surrounding timberland. Most of the ranches and the few houses past the post office and toward Bridgeville are also referred to as Kneeland. The cemetery is a 8 miles (13 km) from the post office. Memorial Day weekend brings a few of the locals out for

861-515: The area around Kneeland for salmon and locally harvested roots as well as lamprey from the Eel River and other subsistence food items. They may have used fire to maintain the prairies around Kneeland for hunting. Estimates of California Indian populations prior to the whites vary widely, but there were about 1500 to 2000 Wiyot in the Humboldt region shortly before the arrival of the whites, however due to

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902-520: The bay. The crew of seafarer Douglass Ottinger became, in 1850, the first Americans to enter Humboldt Bay. White settlement followed swiftly. Fort Humboldt was established on January 30, 1853, by the Army as a buffer between Native Americans, gold-seekers and settlers under the command of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Buchanan of the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment . Among the miners, farmers, ranchers and loggers pouring into California, many settled at what

943-538: The commercial logging that drove the local economy. The Kneeland post office operated from 1880 to 1891 and from 1892 until 2011, when it was slated for closure by USPS due to lack of funding. Kneeland Airport has operated as a non-towered airport since it opened in September 1964. It provides a location for small planes to make emergency landings, since the other Humboldt County airports at lower elevations often become fog bound before Kneeland. The airport also hosts

984-483: The guilty to justice, but learned "We soon found that we had better keep our mouths shut." Three other attacks on Indian settlements took place within two days: at the South Spit (Eureka), at South Fork Eel River (Rohnerville), and at Eagle Prairie (Rio Dell). Gunther said, "It was never publicly known who did the killing, yet secretly the parties were pointed out." The 1860 massacre was well documented historically and

1025-441: The island. In his army reports, appalled at the massacres and at the openly discussed aims of the local white settlers to kill the Wiyot, he stated there were 55 killed at Indian Island, 40 on South Fork Eel River, and 35 at Eagle Prairie. South Fork Eel River became Rohnerville and was later annexed by Fortuna ; Eagle Prairie is now the site of the town of Rio Dell . Meanwhile, The Humboldt Times newspaper editorialized, "For

1066-470: The massacre, 25 February, the Weekly Humboldt Times editorialized: "The Indians are still killing stock of the settlers in the back country and will continue to do so until they are driven from that section, or exterminated"; meanwhile prominent local residents had already formed a vigilante committee to deal with the problem, and were sworn to never reveal their membership. For several days before

1107-569: The massacre, World Renewal ceremonies were being held at the village of Tuluwat, on Indian Island less than a mile offshore from Eureka in Humboldt Bay. Up to 250 Wiyot participated in the ceremonies. The leader of the Humboldt Bay Wiyots was Captain Jim. He organized and led the ceremony to start a new year. A group of white men came to the island in the early morning after the last ceremony

1148-468: The night. The Wiyot religion shares much in common with that of the neighboring Yurok with certain differences. A central act in the Wiyot people's spirituality is an annual World Renewal Ceremony held at Tuluwat village. Indian Island, formerly called Duluwat Island, was and is the center of the Wiyot world. On the island, at the start of each year, a ceremonial dance called the World Renewal ceremony

1189-461: The northeast tip of the 275-acre (1.11 km ) island on May 18, 2006. Tuluwat, the sacred Wiyot village of Indian Island, is currently being restored by the Wiyot tribe. Eureka businesses have stepped forward to donate supplies and trash barges, and the citizens of Eureka have donated to a Tuluwat restoration fund. In 2013, Wiyot tribe members returned to Indian Island by canoe, and announced plans to hold another World Renewal Ceremony; it will be

1230-456: The number of Wiyots killed that night vary from 80 to 200; they were mostly women and children, who were apart from the men conducting ceremonies. There was one survivor of the massacred group on Tuluwat, an infant named Jerry James. Gunther had been asleep on the mainland across Humboldt Bay from the Island and had awakened to what he thought were screams, but went back to sleep. The next morning he

1271-455: The past four years we have advocated two—and only two—alternatives for ridding our country of Indians: either remove them to some reservation or kill them. The loss of life and destruction of property by the Indians for ten years past has not failed to convince every sensitive man that the two races cannot live together, and the recent desperate and bloody demonstrations on Indian Island and elsewhere

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1312-534: The present cities of Eureka and Arcata ) to the lower Eel River basin. Inland, their territory was heavily forested in ancient redwood. Their stretch of shoreland was mostly sandy, composed of dunes and tidal marsh. They recognized three divisions based on dialect and geography (from north to south): The Wiyots were among the last indigenous people in California to encounter white settlers. Spanish missions extended only as far north as San Francisco Bay . Following

1353-413: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Kneeland . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kneeland&oldid=1197342846 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

1394-959: The steamer Columbia for San Francisco, where an anonymous letter published in a city paper is attributed to him, describing widespread community approval of the massacre. The Wiyot people were thus decimated. They were corralled at Fort Humboldt for protection however many died there. Survivors were herded mostly to Round Valley, established as an Indian reservation within California, but they kept escaping and returning to their homeland. By 1850, there were about 2,000 Wiyot and Karok people living within this area. After 1860, there were an estimated 200 people left. By 1910, there were fewer than 100 full-blood Wiyot people living within their ancestral territory. This rapid decline in population occurred due to disease , slavery , target practice, protection, being herded from place to place (survivors' descendants describe this as "death marches"), and massacres. Memorials have been held annually at Tuluwat village, on what

1435-675: The tribe intermarried with neighboring groups, including the Yurok. About 500 Wiyot live in Northern California today, still well below their mid-19th century population of 2,000. In a step towards making amends, in June 2004 the Eureka City Council transferred 40 acres (160,000 m ) of Indian Island back to the Wiyot tribe, to add to 1.5 acres (6,100 m ) the Wiyot had purchased. The council also transferred 60 acres (240,000 m ) on

1476-493: Was 51.6% female and 48.4% male. The median age of the population was 41.5, higher than the national median of 35.3. The population was 95.9% White, 1.6% Native American or Alaskan Native, 0.9% other races, and 1.6% identified with two or more races. Only 2.2% of the population was foreign born, and of those, 50.0% were born in Guatemala . For the population 18 years and over, 89.3% had a high school education or higher: 8.6% had

1517-564: Was awakened by the Justice of the Peace who went with Gunther to inspect the Island following reports that Indians had been killed. He was appalled by what he saw, recalling " …what a sight presented itself to our eyes. Corpses lying all around, and all women and children, but two. Most of them had their skulls split. One old Indian, who looked to be a hundred years old, had his skull split, and still he sat there shivering". Gunther initially desired to bring

1558-503: Was completed and most of the Indian men had left the island, leaving only women and children. The whites were armed with hatchets, clubs and knives and had left their guns behind so the noise of the slaughter would be only screams rather than gunshots. This was not the only massacre that took place that night. Two other village sites were raided, on the Eel River and on the South Spit. Reports of

1599-420: Was held, which lasted seven to ten days. Ceremonial masks were worn during the dance. All people were welcomed; no one was turned away. It was held at the village site of Tuluwat on the northern part of the island. Traditionally the men would leave the island and return the next day with the day's supplies. The elders, women and children were left to rest on the island along with a few men. Alfred L. Kroeber put

1640-489: Was originally known as Kleizer's Prairie , but in 1852 with the establishment of a ranch by John A. Kneeland and his sister Mandala, the area became known as Kneeland's Prairie . Other sources cite the name to Tom and John A. Kneeland, first American settlers there. As more settlers arrived, conflict with the Indians resulted in the establishment of two U.S. Army stations Camp Lyon (1862) and Camp Iaqua (1863), nearby and Army soldiers patrolled settler's ranches. Until

1681-461: Was reported in San Francisco and New York City by the young American writer Bret Harte . Harte was working as a printer's helper and assistant editor at a local newspaper at the time, and his boss was temporarily absent, leaving Harte in charge of the paper. Harte published a detailed account condemning the event, writing, "a more shocking and revolting spectacle never was exhibited to the eyes of

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