The town is pretty tiny, and you'd have to take an off-ramp from the 101 to get to it, but it does have an interesting history to it.
The people of the Wiyot, Mattole, and Nongati tribes were originally here. The actual city of Rio Dell though, you could say was established 1876. That's when the first post office was put in. The city was officially incorporated in 1965. It got its name from a local business owner, Lorenzo Painter, who owned the Rio Dell Hotel. He named this hotel after he joined the Spanish word for "river" and the English word for "small, forest valley."
Here is the bridge leading to Scotia. Back in the early days though, a flood in 1905 destroyed the bridge that connected Rio Dell and Scotia. They had to take a ferry to go work at the mill in Scotia. This lasted for 9 years, when a suspension bridge was put in to connect the two towns over the Eel River. The bridge put in was important to the community. So much so, that when a fire erupted in the town of Rio Dell in 1928, the Scotia fire department was concerned the bridge was too risky to cross due to potential harm the fire could do to it, so they couldn't help put it out.
You can see how wide the Eel River is, it creates quite the separation between the two towns.
A picture of the opposite site of the bridge and the view from there. It shows the Redwood Highway Bridge. This is the bridge you would take if you're on your way to Eureka from somewhere more south, like Ukiah.
The bridge connecting Scotia to Rio Dell is called the Eagle Prairie Bridge.
Back to the original side we were on (the one not facing the Redwood Highway Bridge), I spotted a rusty structure in the trees. Also, look at that steep slope downward.
It looks like there's a little trail leading down from the top here to the Eel River.
A waterfall from the mountain to the river.
Originally I wasn't going to put in this photo. It shows the water from the waterfall trickling into the river. However, if you zoom in a bit, it looks like there's something square there to the right of the creek. It looks too square to just be a rock, so I'm thinking it's manmade, maybe a lunchbox? With the trail featured two photos above, I'm going to assume that maybe the locals come down and fish or swim on warm days.
Lets turn back and focus on the town again though. As you can see from the photo, the main drag of the town has a western look. That sums up the history of Rio Dell though. The wild, wild west in the mountains of Northern California.
The fire I was talking about earlier was started by a moonshine still. Because the fire department in Scotia couldn't come to help, it's said the residents threw bootlegged wine on the fire to try and put it out.
That's what this town was known for though - bootlegging, moonshine, prostitution, fighting, and gambling. Most of the men would work in Scotia, then would kick loose in Rio Dell across the river. This city earned itself an intimidating reputation, and men from surrounding towns, even as far up north as Eureka, would come to partake in the various illegal activities featured here. This city was wild, and the main street's name was, and remains to this day, Wildwood Avenue.
There are tiny details alluding to this town's past. Even going into a local convenient store, I saw these handles that give off a very western vibe.
Other than taking photos, my other goal for visiting was to go to a local Rio Dell pizza place called "Rio Dell Pizza Factory." My husband went there when he was a kid passing through the town to play baseball against their team, and he remembered loving it. I didn't get any other photos of the inside because all of the chairs were up and many lights were off due to Covid, but I thought it was nice they had good, old-fashioned arcade games here. The town definitely embraces nostalgia in many ways.
As we were walking back to the car after getting the pizza (which was pretty great), and getting my photos, I saw these cute goats right there on the main street. It summed up the whole experience for me. It's a tough town, with its quirks too.
Now, I know I get readers from all over, so I just want to clarify something to anyone reading this. The town has some good pizza, and I'd say is worth a drive through if you're ever passing through. But just be careful going through here. Crime can be high, and while this city has many great individuals, it also can have some not-so-great individuals too. I almost had a run in with some troublemakers in my short visit here. So if you're from out of the area, please pass through. Take a look at the beautiful scenery and landscape, say hi to the goats, grab some pizza, maybe find a shop to go into (if there are any open), then go to Scotia and stay longer there. They're a tiny town too, but they have a beautiful historical inn that attracts a lot of great tourists which keeps the area clean. While I'm not trying to throw Rio Dell under the bus, I just want any potential visitors knowing what this town is fully like before they come.
So there you have it. Rio Dell is a small mountain town that made its' stamp in the wild, wild west. There's not too much to it, but it's become home to a lot of hardworking people who have been a part of the lumber industry just across the river. And they're a fully incorporated city, with law enforcement, schools, sports, city jobs, and all the like. When I visited places like the areas featured on my blog "Pennsylvania - The Rust Belt," I saw a lot of tiny towns that had faded into nothing due to the loss of jobs and people living in those areas. I don't know if that will happen to Rio Dell, but I genuinely hope they continue growing into a stronger community. We can't forget about places like this that made up our country, or the people in them. I hope, wherever you are, you go to your local tiny town and support it in some way. I know I'll be back visiting Rio Dell soon.
