Blue Lake, California

Blue Lake is a city in Humboldt County, California, United States. Blue Lake is located on the Mad River, 16mi northeast of Eureka, at an elevation of 131 feet . The population was 1,253 at the 2010 census, up from 1,135 in 2000.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6sqmi, over 95% of which is land.HistoryPresent Blue Lake comprises "old" Blue Lake, Powersville, and Scottsville. In 1854, Augusta Bates settled in the Scottsville area and sold to Brice M. Stokes in 1862. In 1861, the 13-acre Blue Lake was formed from flooding of the north fork of Mad River, and it gave the town a resort atmosphere. As the river change courses in the 1920s, the lake disappeared to become what today is a small pond on private property.In 1866, William Scott purchased land from Brice M. Stokes and established "Scott's Farm," later becoming Scottsville. Powersville was established in 1869 by David Powers on land originally claimed by Augusta Bates, Brice M. Stokes and William Scott.In 1876 a post office opened, named "Mad River." The post office named Blue Lake was established in 1878. The town of Blue Lake was incorporated on April 11, 1910.Lumber industryThe lumber industry shipped wood down the Arcata and Mad River Railroad. During the 1950s, timber shipped from Blue Lake included from Levitt Brothers own lumberyard and nail factory from which lumber and nails were sent to the four Levittown developments in the eastern U.S.