Scotia, California

Scotia is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located 8.5mi south-southeast of Fortuna, at an elevation of 194 feet . The ZIP Code is 95565. The population was 850 at the 2010 census.Scotia is a company town which was previously wholly owned by the Pacific Lumber Company . While it is home to approximately 800 past or present mill employees and their dependents, a process is underway to divide the homes into lots for sale. Located in northwestern California's Humboldt County, its partially wooded hillside near the Eel River is highlighted by the sheer size of mammoth lumber mill buildings located between the town and the river. Via U.S. Route 101, the town is 28mi south of Eureka, California and 244mi north of San Francisco.HistoryScotia was founded in 1863 as Forestville. It was renamed 25 years later because another community in California had a similar name. It is said that because it was populated by many residents who originated from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the name Scotia was chosen by a coin toss, the alternative of course being Brunswick. At the time of its founding, Scotia was just one of many company towns across the Pacific Northwest, many of which closed down during the Great Depression. Early economic development started in 1883 when the Pacific Lumber Company started construction on a mill and housing. Scotia, however, was one of a relative handful of company towns to survive this period. Most of the existing houses were built between the 1920s and 1950s.