 The Eel River crested at a gauge height of 72 feet (10.1 feet higher than 1955) on December 23, 1964.Eighteen-million board feet of redwood logs and 23-million board feet of lumber were washed out of the Scotia sawmill and scattered along the lower river and Pacific coast to the mouth of the Columbia River.The Humboldt Bay and Eel River Railroad connected the town to Humboldt Bay in 1885.