Editing Ferndale, California (section)

===Business and communications===
Dairies were founded from the Bear River Ridge to the south side of the Eel River starting in the late 1860s.<ref name ="Carlson" /> Filled kegs of butter were transported along the beach river by four-horse teams from the Mattole to Centerville or Port Kenyon and the teams returned supplies from Ferndale.<ref name ="Carlson" /> The 81 dairies from the southern area faded as the land along the Eel River Valley was settled for dairying, first by the Danes and later by other settlers.<ref name ="Carlson" /> In the 1880s, multiple cooperative creameries in the Eel River valley began to process milk into butter; by 1904, the Central Creamery on Main Street Ferndale had combined the smaller operations into a more modern production facility.<ref name ="Carlson" />

The use of paper wrapping on butter to reduce air oxidation was pioneered in Ferndale at the suggestion of Chester E. Gray (1881–1944) from the [[United States Department of Agriculture|U.S. Department of Agriculture]] who studied the problem of unrefrigerated fine butter turning white within hours of production.<ref name ="Carlson" /> Gray patented a new spray-drying process (U.S. Patent #858,868 – 1907 and #1,157,935 – 1915) and went into business with Central Creamery owner Aage Jensen in a new dry-milk manufacturing process that used non-fat milk solids which had formerly been waste of the process.<ref name ="Carlson" /> Their new plant processed 75,000 pounds of milk a day, shipping to San Francisco and filling contracts for the U.S. Navy.<ref name ="Carlson" /> The first motorized milk truck was used here.<ref name="library.humboldt.edu">{{cite archive|box=9–10|collection=Andrew Genzoli Collection|collection-url=http://library.humboldt.edu/humco/holdings/genzoli.htm|repository=Humboldt State University Special Collections|institution=Humboldt State University|location=Arcata, California}}</ref>

In 1916, Grey and Jensen moved to San Francisco and changed the company name to Golden State Creamery<ref name ="Carlson" /> Local Ferndale resident and Eureka newspaper editor Andrew Genzoli began recording the history of the Ferndale dairies during this time, culminating in scrapbooks of newspaper clippings from 1910 to 1954.<ref name="library.humboldt.edu" />

Ferndale was a crossroads village and provided lodging, horses, [[blacksmith]]ing and other services both to individual travelers and the Overland Stage and Express line which ran from Eureka to [[Cloverdale, California|Cloverdale]] with connections to San Francisco; over 80 hours of traveling for a cost of $20.<ref name ="Carlson" /> The first stage line was founded in 1862 with daily trips from Eureka, Centerville, and Petrolia.<ref name ="Carlson" /> In 1868, twice weekly stages ran to San Francisco and by 1871 daily service was available. The first automobiles were used for the stage runs in 1911, the same year as [[Fernbridge (bridge)]] was built, eliminating the need for ferry boat service.<ref name ="Carlson" />

In 1878, regular service on [[steamship]]s carried produce, cargo and passengers from Port Kenyon, where, by 1897, 188,652 pounds of wool and 965,010 pounds of butter were shipped out along with grains, chickens, potatoes, lumber, eggs, hides, vegetables, and salmon.<ref name ="Carlson" /> The steamer trade declined as the [[Salt River (California)|Salt River]] silted up and the transport hub shifted to Eureka<ref name ="Carlson" /> The completion of the [[Northwestern Pacific Railroad]] in 1914 allowed for speedier transportation to Eureka and the San Francisco area. The track was built about five miles to the northwest of Ferndale in [[Fernbridge, California|Fernbridge]].

Main Street businesses supplied the needs of not only the Ferndale area, but for the inland Mattole Valley as well.<ref name ="Carlson" /> They included banks, hotels, stables, variety and merchandise stores, hardware and grocery stores, farm and machine implements, butchers, blacksmiths shoemakers, barbers, tailors, [[Hatmaking|milliners]], saloons and gambling halls, billiard parlors, coopers, doctors, dentists, drug stores, lawyers, engineers, surveyors, real estate agents, several photographers, furniture makers, [[Funeral director|undertakers]], a [[Telegraphy|telegraph office]], and a Wells–Fargo office.

Telephone and telegraph wires were run into the valley by private companies in the 1890s; by 1899, it was said that the telephone was in "almost universal use in this valley."<ref name="FE1899">{{cite news   | title =Local News  | publisher =The Ferndale Enterprise  | date =February 28, 1899 }}</ref> In 1900, the telephone line was extended to the Mattole Oil fields in Petrolia.<ref name="FE1900">{{cite news   | title =Local News  | publisher =The Ferndale Enterprise  | date =March 17, 1900 }}</ref> In 1911, the Eel River and Southern Telephone company consolidated operations around Ferndale, and, on February 6, 1960, dial telephones were introduced; the old switchboard and crank phones are on display at the [[Ferndale Museum]].<ref name="FE1960">{{cite news   | title =Local News  | publisher =The Ferndale Enterprise  | date =February 5, 1960 }}</ref>

The ''Ferndale Enterprise'' newspaper was founded on May 11, 1878, by three sons of the local [[Methodism|Methodist]] minister and has published continuously since then, while moving offices and shifting from semi-weekly to weekly publication.<ref name ="Carlson" /><ref name="Titus">{{cite web  | last =Titus  | first =Caroline  | title =History  | publisher =Ferndale Enterprise  | url =http://www.ferndaleenterprise.com/history/   | access-date = October 10, 2012 | date =January 30, 2012}}</ref>