Sue-meg State Park

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Sue-meg State Park
PatricksPointStateParkCA-DrDennisBogdan-1967.jpg
Agate Beach at Sue-meg State Park
Map showing the location of Sue-meg State Park
Map showing the location of Sue-meg State Park
LocationHumboldt County, California, United States
Nearest cityEureka, California
Coordinates41°8′9″N 124°9′41″W / 41.13583°N 124.16139°W / 41.13583; -124.16139Coordinates: 41°8′9″N 124°9′41″W / 41.13583°N 124.16139°W / 41.13583; -124.16139
Area640 acres (260 ha)
Governing bodyCalifornia Department of Parks and Recreation

Sue-meg State Park is 25 miles (40 km) north of Eureka, California in the heart of the coast redwood country.[1] Previously named Patrick's Point State Park, Sue-meg is the original place name used by the Yurok people.

The park is home to many tree species including coastal redwoods, Sitka spruce, hemlock, pine, fir and red alder and wildflower meadows with a shoreline that consists of sandy beaches and sheer cliffs against the Pacific Ocean. It is located in Humboldt County.

Amenities include hiking trails, a recreated Yurok Village, a native plant garden, visitor center, three family campgrounds, two group camps, a camp for hikers and bicyclists, accessible beaches, lookout points, and three group picnic areas.

History[]

Sue-meg is the original place name used by the Yurok people.[2] In the modern Yurok orthography, it is spelled Suemeeg, pronounced [ʂumiɣ] or [ʂumij].[3][4]

Patrick Beegan, an Irish immigrant who came from the Mississippi Valley in 1851, referred to the area as Patrick's Ranch.[5] After encountering wild potato, "Old Patrick," as he was known to the residents of the Trinidad area, decided to stop and file a preemption claim to the land. Beegan's claim to the land was first recorded in the Trinidad Record Book on January 13, 1851, and the first official mention of Patrick's Point on the Humboldt County map was in 1886.

Another narrative attributes the name to Patrick McLaughlin, a squatter who arrived in the area in the 1870s and is credited with planting the first apple trees in the area.[6]

Efforts to protect the wooden region and coastal rock formations led to the establishment of the park, ultimately encompassing an area of 420.01 acres (169.97 ha). The park was later renamed to Sue-meg State Park to reflect the Yurok name for the land. Sue-meg State Park was made the official park name by unanimous vote of the California State Parks and Recreation Commission in 2021.[7][8]

See also[]

  • List of beaches in California
  • List of California state parks
  • Parks in Humboldt County, California

References[]

  1. ^ "Sue-meg SP". Parks.ca.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  2. ^ Romero, Dania (September 10, 2021). "California State Parks seeks public input to change Patrick's Point State Parks name". KRCR. Retrieved September 14, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Yurok Dictionary: Suemeeg". linguistics.berkeley.edu. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  4. ^ "Yurok Language Project: Yurok Vowels II". linguistics.berkeley.edu. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  5. ^ Seidman, Lila (October 4, 2021). "California state park with ties to racist past will now be called by Indigenous name". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 4, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Turner, Dennis W.; Turner, Gloria H. (2010). Place Names of Humboldt County, California: A Compendium 1542-2009 (Second Edition, Revised, 2010). Orangevale, CA: Dennis W. & Gloria H. Turner. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-9629617-2-4.
  7. ^ Tribe, The Yurok (September 30, 2021). "Commission approves Yurok Tribe's request to rename Patrick's Point SP". Yurok Tribe. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  8. ^ "California renames park at request of Yurok Tribe". AP NEWS. September 30, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.

External links[]

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