How It All Began

A chance encounter ... a trunk of historic photographs … a cache of letters—the stuff of history inspires Mendocino Refuge: Lake Leonard & Reeves Canyon. Historian Dot Brovarney unpacks the trunk and much more. This engaging book introduces a cast of tough-as-leather characters who have peopled this rugged canyon and colored its history. Mendocino Refuge tells a multifaceted story of this wild place on California’s North Coast through its human inhabitants and the plants and animals who share it.

Hazel Putnam’s trunk holds memories of her life in Reeves Canyon, 2022. Tom Liden, photographer. Trunk loan courtesy of the Peter Wagner family.

Ancient Redwoods in Reeves Canyon

Hazel’s family among the big trees near their canyon cabin, c. 1920.

Native Pomo stories and traditions reflect a regenerative relationship with the land.​

Annie Burke, c. 1940. Pomo basketweaver and educator, mother of Elsie Allen. Robert J. Lee Photograph Collection, Historical Society of Mendocino County, Ukiah, CA

Settlers brought a different approach to living on the land.

Redwoods Above Reeves Mill, 1888. Theophilus D’Estrella, photographer. Grace Hudson Museum & Sun House, Ukiah, CA ​

Two intrepid women among the canyon’s hardy year-round residents.

Una Boyle and Zoe in the hills, 1948.

    Hazel Putnam (nee´ Dickinson) after the hunt, 19-teens.