Samoa Cookhouse

The Samoa Cookhouse is a historic restaurant in Samoa, California in the United States. It is the last lumber camp-style cookhouse in the American West.

Samoa Cookhouse
Location in California
Restaurant information
SloganThe Last Remaining Cookhouse In The West
Established1893
Street address908 Vance Ave
CitySamoa
CountyHumboldt
StateCalifornia
Postal/ZIP Code95564
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°49′11.79″N 124°10′54.29″W
Websitewww.samoacookhouse.net

Background

Originally it was a dining facility for the employees working the mills for the Vance Lumber Company and opened in 1893.[1] The cookhouse opened to the public in the 1960s and serves "lumber camp style", or family style, meals at long communal tables.[1][2] The building also houses a museum with artifacts and images that focus on logging and "maritime industry" history.[2] The building is large enough to seat five hundred workers and to make cleaning the floors more efficient there were holes drilled into the floor with a grate to act as drainage for water rather than mopping.[3] The second floor of the building functioned as a dormitory for the waitresses.[1][3][4] Waitresses were required to be single during the period when the Cookhouse served only company workers, were paid $30 a month, and worked seven days a week.[4] The dormitory has a curfew and was locked at night and the women were not allowed to date on the weekdays.[4] There was, however, a secret passageway that led to the kitchen that waitresses used to leave the dormitory at night.[4]

References
  1. Place names of Humboldt County, California : a compendium, 1542-2009. Turner, Dennis W., Turner, Gloria H. (2nd ed., rev ed.). Orangevale, CA: Dennis W. & Gloria H. Turner. 2010. ISBN 9780962961724. OCLC 688528963.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Samoa Cookhouse". www.visitredwoods.com. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  3. McManis, Sam. "Discoveries: Get your fill of vittles and lore at the Samoa Cookhouse". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  4. "Upstairs at the Samoa Cookhouse". Times-Standard. 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
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