Fortuna History

History of Fortuna / Slide/ Springville / Rohnerville; Brief and Abridged

Fortuna's city history - Fortuna became Fortuna in 1888 when the residents selected the name Fortuna (Spanish for fortune) for our friendly city because everyone felt so fortunate to live by the beauty of the redwood forest, the ocean, the rich valley and beautiful rivers.  We got electricity earlier than most small towns (1883) as it was a boon to the saw mill.  The lumber industry was the start of the town and its primary industry.  You get a sense of our history by visiting the Depot Museum on Park Street.  It's open every day noon to four-thirty in the summer (Jun 1 to Aug 31); and Thursday and Friday those same hours in the winter months (September 1 to May 31).  The Depot Museum was built in 1893 and was restored in 1976 and 1984.  It has information about the Rohner Family (opened the first saw mill here), the railroad, how Fortuna served gold miners and more.  You can do a little genealogy work in the Reference Room.  Admission is free and generally visitors stay about an hour. 

Today there are about 12,000 residents in Fortuna.  We are proud stewards of the vast forests that surround us.  We hope you will feel as humbled as we do to stand in front of giant trees that were here when the Roman Empire was at its height.

Read the History of Highway 101 through the redwoods

Visit the Fortuna Depot Museum