Fort Bragg in Mendocino County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Our Past Through Our Trash

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 22, 2016

1. Our Past Through Our Trash Marker

Inscription.
The strange and beautiful objects found along this beach started out as trash. Until 1959, this site was Fort Bragg's garbage dump. Years of smoldering fires and salt-water spray melted and twisted old cars, household trash, electric materials, and myriad other discarded items, turning them into fantastical shapes. Meanwhile, the constant rolling of the sort ground bits of glass and ceramic into smooth beach confetti.

Unfortunately, this historic treasure is disappearing as both locals and visitors cart off interesting objects and take handfuls of glass "jewels." The amount of glass on our beach today is a fraction of what it was in the early 1980s.

Enjoy our town's history, but please don't take our sea glass away. Ask others to leave our treasure on the beach.

Erected by City of Fort Bragg.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places.

Location. 39° 27.048′ N, 123° 48.756′ W. Marker is in Fort Bragg, California, in Mendocino County. It can be reached from West Elm Street near Glass Beach Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 398 West Elm Street, Fort Bragg CA 95437, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Wine Country,

in the North Coast,

and specifically on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast

and in the Pacific Northwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this

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marker: Surrounded By Trees (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Dynamite Shack (approx. ¼ mile away); The Weller House (approx. 0.4 miles away); Major William F. Mullen Freedom Tree (approx. half a mile away); First Baptist Church Bell (approx. half a mile away); Whirring Saws Silenced: A Pictorial History of the Mill Site (approx. half a mile away); Charles Russell Johnson (approx. half a mile away); Fort Bragg (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Bragg.

More about this marker. This marker is found on the Glass Beach Trail at Noyo Headlands Park in Fort Bragg.

The Making of Glass Beach circa 1920 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 22, 2016

2. The Making of Glass Beach circa 1920

Detail from the marker.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 22, 2016

3. Our Past Through Our Trash Marker

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 22, 2016

4. Glass Beach

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 22, 2016

5. Glass Beach

Credits. This page was last revised on August 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 7, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 1,181 times since then and 85 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 7, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.