Metropolitan, California

Metropolitan
Unincorporated community
Concrete sidewalks at the bend in the road through 21st century dairy pastures identify the former company town of Metropolitan, California. Concrete sidewalks at the bend in the road through 21st century dairy pastures identify the former company town of Metropolitan, California.
Metropolitan Location in California
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	California
County	Humboldt County
Elevation	72 ft (22 m)

Metropolitan is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located on McDairmid Prairie, on the north side of the Eel River floodplain three miles downstream of Scotia, at an elevation of 72 feet (22 m).

History

The location was formerly a company town of 25 homes with a hotel and store for sawmill workers of the Metropolitan Redwood Lumber Company organized in 1904 by owners in Michigan and Wisconsin. Company timberlands on Slater Creek were reached by a railroad trestle across the Eel River. The timber was logged out in the 1920s, and the sawmill burned in 1932. Most of the employee housing was moved to Rio Dell by 1937. The railway trestle and 62-room hotel were destroyed by the Eel River flood of 23 December 1964.

Metropolitan Redwood Lumber Company Locomotives

Number	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
1	Lima Locomotive Works	Shay locomotive	3 May 1907	1836	purchased new; became Pacific Lumber Company #36 in October 1935
2	Lima Locomotive Works	Shay locomotive	24 December 1904	867	formerly Amador Central Railway #2 (Ione, California); purchased 1912; scrapped 1935