Benbow, CA

Benbow is a Humboldt County community beside the South Fork Eel River, about two miles south-southeast of Garberville and just off US 101. The river, redwood hills, and the old Redwood Highway give the place its shape. For decades, Benbow has been best known for the Benbow Inn, a Tudor Revival hotel that grew out of a 1,288-acre resort project started by the Benbow family. The hotel opened in 1926, with electricity at first supplied by diesel generators until a dam and powerhouse were built on the river.

ATTRGrogan, Brian Related names: Save-The-Redwoods League Bureau of Public Roads General Contracting Corporation Fairbanks and Baechtel Pacific Construction Company U S Forest Service Lane, Franklin K Mather, Stephen T Wilbur, Ray L Albright, Horace M Drury, Newton B Wirth, Conrad L Drury, Aubrey Muir, John Olmsted, Frederick Law Redwood Empire Association Edmondson, Clyde Bordwell and Zimmerman Gutleban Brothers Mercer-Fraser Company Smith, E E Neves and Harp C W Caletti Company Civilian Conservation Corps Christianson, Justine, transmitter Leach, Sara Amy, historian / Public domain

The inn brought travelers, movie stars, and a resort economy to this stretch of Southern Humboldt, but Benbow is more than the hotel grounds. The South Fork, Benbow Lake, nearby campgrounds, and the redwood corridor create the setting people associate with the community. The inn was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and remains in operation. The 2020 census counted 422 residents in the CDP. Benbow’s local story is a meeting of river engineering, family enterprise, and the long highway through the redwoods.