But did you know we have a total of eight historical landmarks county wide here in Mendocino county.

Starting here  on the coast there is California Landmark No. 615, Fort Bragg. Established in June 11, 1857 by 1st Lieutenant Harotio Gate Gibson, 3rd Artillery, later Brig. General of the U. S. Army. Named by Gibson in honor of his former company commander, Braxton Bragg, later General of the Confederate Army. The photograph shows the 1892 redwood Victorian built on the site of Fort Bragg as a home for Charles Russell Johnson who founded the Union Lumber Company and served as Fort Bragg’s first mayor. The landmark is located 321 Main Street, Fort Bragg.

Landmark No. 714 Mendocino Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian Church has already observed three centennials. The first in 1954, celebrating its 100th birthday of Protestant services in Mendocino Village. The second, in 1959, took note of the first 100 years as a Presbyterian congregation. At that time, the church was declared a California Historical Landmark. The church is also listed in the Federal Registry of Historic Places. The third centennial in 1967 marked the first 100 years of life of the building itself. Located at 431 South Main Street, Mendocino.

Landmark No. 927 Temple of Kwan Tai. Dedicated to the Chinese god of war. One of the oldest of California’s Chinese houses of worship in continuous use, the temple may date as far back as 1854, though its documented history raches only to 1883. The Temple of Kwan Tai was restored and rededicated in October 2001. Visitors may view Temple of Kwan Tai at 45160 Albion Street, Mendocino.

Landmark No. 1035 Point Arena Light Station. In 1989 the Point Arena Light Station was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its statewide significance in the area of maritime history. The first buildings at the station were constructed in 1870 and were destroyed in 1906 during the San Francisco Earthquake. At that time the U. S. Lighthouse Service decided to use reinforced concrete in the light house replacement. Thus, when the Point Arena Lighthouse began operation in 1908, it became the first lighthouse of reinforced concreted in the State. Located at the Lighthouse Road, Point Arena.

Landmark No. 926 The Sun House. This house, constructed in 1911-12, is a unique Craftsman style redwood building which incorporates northwestern designs into its architecture. The Sun House was designed by George Wilcox and John W. and Grace Carpenter Hudson. Dr. Hudson was a recognized authority on American Indians, and especially California Pomo Indians. Mrs. Hudson, an outstanding artist, became widely known for her paintings of Pomo life. Located at 431 South Main Street, Ukiah

Landmark No. 980 Ukiah Vichy Springs Resort. Frank Marble discovered these springs in 1848, and William Day established a resort here in the 1850′s. Ukiah Vichy represents one of the oldest and one of the few continuously operating mineral springs in California. Its waters remain among the most important of the thermal, alkaline-carbonated waters once so highly valued by both European and American believers in hydropathy. It is the only mineral springs in California that resembles the famed Grand Grille Springs of Vichy, France. Located at 2701 Vichy Springs Road, Ukiah.

Landmark No. 549 Squaw Rock. This early landmark, also called Lover’s Leap, is associated with the legend of a 19th century Sanel Indian maiden. According to legend the young Indian maiden named Sotuka jumped from this rock while holding a great stone. She landed on her faithless lover, Chief Cachow and his new bride who were sleeping killing all three. Located on U S Highway 101, approximately 6 miles south of Hopland (mile marker 5.1) Mendocino County.

Landmark No. 674 Round Valley. This valley was discovered by Frank M. Azbill, who arrived from Eden Valley on May 15, 1854. During the same year. Charles Kelsey from Clear Lake also visited it and George E. White sighted it from Blue Nose. Location at Inspiration Point, on State Highway 162, 5 miles south of Covelo.

Porcini Mushrooms

About 80% of Mendocino county’s wild mushrooms come from national forest lands, such as those prominent in Mendocino County. Some of the many mushrooms you will find here are Candy Caps, Black Trumpets, Porcinis, Morels, Oyster Mushrooms, Portobello, Yellow Foots, Hedgehogs, Golden, White & Black Chantrelles. Mendocino County in an average year produces and sells 300,000 to 500,000 pounds of mushrooms.

Of the 3,000 mushroom species found in Mendocino County about 500 are edible, 100 have the texture or presentation a chef can use and 20 are readily identifiable as most often used for cooking. The 2 most often exported from Mendocino County are Matsatake Mushroom (during Japanese New Years) and Horn of Plenty Blacks. Eric Schramm of Mendocino Mushrooms reports that he ships about 60,000 pounds of wild mushrooms per year.

Fall and Winter are peak seasons for foraging. A walk in the forest and you will no doubt see wild mushrooms, but don’t pick them unless you are an experienced harvester. Only a few mushrooms are deadly, but many can make you ill. Our seasonal downpours encourage the wild mushrooms to be found in fields, meadows, forests, and along the coastal wilderness. Mushrooms lie dormant throughout dry weather as mycelium. This microscopic form responds to the rains, feeding and fattening on earth’s organic matter until a cap poised sumptously, on a stalk pokes above the ground.

Defination:

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name “mushroom” is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap just as do store-bought white mushrooms. However, “mushroom” can also refer to a wide variety of gilled fungi, with or without stems, and the term is used even more generally to describe both the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota and the woody or leathery fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, depending upon the context of the word. Forms deviating from the standard form usually have more specific names, such as “puffball”, “stinkhorn”, and “morel”, and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called “agarics” in reference to their similarity to Agaricus or their placement in the order Agaricales. By extension, “mushroom” can also designate the entire fungus when in culture or the thallus (called a mycelium) of species forming the fruiting bodies called mushrooms.

Other Uses:

Mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers. The chromophores of mushrooms are organic compounds and produce strong and vivid colors, and all colors of the spectrum can be achieved with mushroom dyes. Before the invention of synthetic dyes mushrooms were the primary source of textile dyes. This technique has survived in Finland, and many Middle Ages re-enactors have revived the skill.

Medicinal mushrooms:

Currently, many species of mushrooms and fungi used in folk medicine for thousands of years are under intense study by ethnobotanists and medical researchers. Maitake, shiitake, chaga, and reishi are prominent among those being researched for their potential anti-cancer, anti-viral, or immunity-enhancing properties. Psilocybin, originally an extract of certain psychedelic mushrooms, is being studied for its ability to help people suffering from mental disease, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Minute amounts have been reported to stop cluster and migraine headaches.

Mushroom Glossary

Here are a few mushrooms, some more common than others, getting widespread culinary respect:

Black trumpet (Craterellus cornucopioides) A chanterelle with slim dark stem and tulip- or trumpet-like cap.

Candy cap (Lactarius fragilis) A small mushroom found mainly in the West with golden to reddish-brown caps and a slightly sweet, maple flavor that benefits desserts.

Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) Also known as girolle or pfifferling, it has golden ruffles that flare upwardly along the stem like a tulip or trumpet.

Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Also known as hen of the woods, these are beautiful classic-shaped, gray-brown mushrooms with an earthy flavor.

Matsutake (Tricholoma magnivelare) A white to yellowish gilled mushroom with brown fibrils and cinnamonlike spicy pungency that is prized by the Japanese.

Morel (Morchella esculenta) Light green to black, with a honeycomb cap (a “peach pit on a stem,” says Eric Schramm), these coveted mushrooms thrive where there have been forest fires, thus their affinity for smoky flavors.

Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) There are many varieties of this multilayered mushroom named for its oysterlike shape. One is the king, which has a texture that is scalloplike. The cultivated blue is almost purple and the golden has a sweet nutty flavor.

Porcini (Boletus edulis) Also known as cèpe (French), steinpilz (German), or gamboni (Mendocino County), the porcini has a fleshy cap and stem with a spongy layer instead of gills.

Portobello (Agaricus bisporus) Found all over the country, these trendy giants (with a name developed by marketing folks) are not wild, but are mature cremini (a darker-capped version of the white button) that are allowed to grow longer and develop their meaty texture and large size.

Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) Parasol-shaped, this mushroom, long popular in Asian cuisine, has a smooth, dark brown cap with gills and a tough stem.

In the ruins of Fort Bragg High’s once proud agriculture program, an enthusiastic new group put down roots on Sunday, or at least they planted some garlic and a green delicious apple tree.