Rio Dell, California
Rio Dell is a city in Humboldt County, California, United States. It is located on the west bank of the Eel River 1 mile north of Scotia at an elevation of 161 feet. The population was 3,363 at the 2010 census, up from 3,174 at the 2000 census. Originally settled on the territories of the Wiyot, Nongatl, and Mattole tribes, Rio Dell was reportedly first dubbed "Tokemuk" by native inhabitants of the land who were thought to be of multiple regional... Show more tribes and who uniquely spoke at least two different regional languages. The native presence in region faded following the 1860 Wiyot massacre on Indian Island that extended south to the Eel river valley where Rio Dell is located. From there, the area became known as Eagle Prairie and finally as Rio Dell, so named after the settlement's long-established Rio Dell Hotel. Its owner, businessman Lorenzo Painter, devised the name as a merging of Spanish...