History of Fern River

History of the Property

The property that Fern River Resort occupies was originally 3 parcels with the highway running through them and down into and through Gold Gulch Creek. The original few cabins were built for gold miners coming to search for prosperity. Around the 1850s, a large boulder was found in Gold Gulch that was reported to have contained $30,000 to $50,000 worth of gold, according to the various stories and was considered one of the largest gold finds in the state of California. The gold rush only lasted a few years as not many substantial finds were found afterwards.

On April 18, 1906, San Francisco had one of the worst natural disasters in American history. With an estimated 8.3 magnitude earthquake and fires that raged parts of city. Most buildings had been made of wood. Fires accounted for the majority of the resulting damage, leaving approximately 4.7 square miles (the equivalent of 508 city blocks) of San Francisco scorched in their wake. Redwoods trees were harvested from all over the coastal forests surrounding San Francisco and you can see evidence of their harvest at Fern River. Look for the large cut mother stumps with smaller redwood circles growing around.

History of the Business

Fern River Resort was originally established under the name Griffin's Resort by the Griffin family in 1929. Known as Griffin's resort the property had several vacation cabins for rent. In 1971 the Martin family purchased the property and has been running it ever since. Fern River Resort is a multi-generational business. Eugene and Beverly Martin bought the resort to work together and raise their family onsite. Eugene built and added to many of the cabins you see today. Beverly for years kept horses in the area that is now used for weddings and special events. Eugene and Beverly created a camp like family fun atmosphere with games like horseshoes and weekly sing along campfires. When their son Daniel Martin took over the resort, he remodeled many of the buildings, created and added more modern touches and eventually built the wedding grounds as a gift for one of his daughters' weddings. His daughter Nicole came to facilitate his retirement and create and run weddings and special events at Fern River. The business is now operated by Nicole Martin.