
Samoa Cookhouse Historic Logging Museum
The Samoa Cookhouse Historic Logging Museum is one of the oldest restaurants in California and the last surviving lumberjack camp style cookhouse in the West. In addition to serving hot meals for breakfast, lunch & dinner, the building also contains a logging museum.
At logging camps, the cook was recognized as one of the most important people. His cooking skills and style created the tone for hard working lumberjacks who burned thousands of calories each day, and longed for something good to eat. Loggers were actually known to leave a camp for better meals. Actual kitchen utensils once used during the 19th-20th century logging era of Samoa includes a stove, pots and pans on exhibit in the Samoa Cookhouse Historic Logging Museum.
The museum houses artifacts from the early logging days as well as implements used in lumber camp kitchens. From old logging boots, saws and machinery to a massive wood-burning stove, the Samoa Cookhouse Historic Logging Museum is a treasure trove of items from the lumber mill and Cookhouse in Samoa. Visitors can sign the guest book in the museum and quickly discover that tourists come from around the globe to enjoy old-fashioned food service and quality meals cooked fresh daily, while learning about the logging history.
Samoa Cookhouse Historic Logging Museum Quick Facts
Open 7 days a week except Thanksgiving and Christmas
Tour groups are welcome.
Across from the Maritime Museum
Serving American (Traditional), Breakfast & Brunch, Diners
Cookhouse & Logging Museum Hours
Breakfast 7am-11am
Lunch 12pm – 3pm
Dinner 5pm-8pm
Sunday breakfast served till noon and lunch till 4pm. During summer, dinner is served till 10pm

The Samoa Cookhouse and Historic Logging Museum walls are lined with an extensive pictorial review of this history, including the maritime industry.
More about the Samoa Cookhouse Dining
Humboldt County Logging History & the Samoa Cookhouse
Every large or small logging or mill operation in the redwood country had a cookhouse. It was the hub of life in the temporary community, if it was in the woods. If it was located in a substantial settlement, it served as a “community center”. If the cookhouse was set up to serve fifteen or twenty men in a shingle bolt camp, often a woman and her husband, with a helper or two called bullcooks, flunkeys or cookees, handled the cooking and serving. If the boarders numbered in the hundreds, a staff of dozens of men and women carried the demands of the task. “Come and get it!” was a familiar cry heard by millmen and brawney-armed longshoremen at the Hammond Lumber Company cookhouse – now the Louisiana-Pacific Samoa Cookhouse – at the beginning of the century. When “quitting” whistles blew, the men were more ready to sit down to a big meal.
Directions to Samoa Cookhouse Historic Logging Museum:
Take the Samoa Bridge (Hwy 255) over the Bay from Eureka, then turn left and follow the signs. Only 5 minutes from Eureka.
Location: 511 Vance Ave., Samoa, CA 95564 | (707) 442-1659 | Website | Hours Daily: 8:30am-10:30pm | 3.4 mi from Hotel
Tags: Samoa Cookhouse, Samoa Cook House, Samoa Cookhouse Historic Logging Museum, Eureka Museum, Logging Museum, Humboldt County Logging Muse
Eureka & Humboldt County Museums, Galleries and Historic Sites Guide
Within walking distance, a short hop in your car, or a day-long driving excursion from the Eureka Townhouse Motel, you will a variety of Crescent City Museums, Galleries and Historic Sites to explore. There is much more to Humboldt County than the redwoods and coast that everyone comes to see. Learn about the nearby Eureka Museums, Galleries and Historic Sites nearby in our Eureka travel guide, and find some time to learn about the people and events who settled the area.
View Eureka & Humboldt County Museums
Hotels In Eureka California:
About Eureka Town House Motel
The Town House Motel – Historic Old Town Eureka, is located on the scenic Northern California Coast, home to the world’s tallest redwood trees and miles of stunning coastline. Conveniently located in downtown Eureka, the The Eureka Town House Motel is near historic Old Town, a National Historic District possessing some of the most spectacular Victorian architecture in the nation. The Morris Graves Museum of Art is a few blocks away from the Motel. Humbolt Redwoods State Park, home to the largest contiguous redwood forest in the nation, is 40 miles to the south.
Rooms feature free Wi-Fi and wired internet; wall mounted flat-screen TVs with DISH satellite service and 9 HBO channels. Rooms are equipped with refrigerators, microwaves, and coffee makers. Covered parking is free and dogs are welcome – and ALL calls in the 48 US contiguous states are FREE (local, 1+ and 800).
Town House Motel is rated for the best value in Eureka! Guests get more for their money when compared to other hotels in Eureka. As a result, we have been a top TripAdvisor hotel for years and work very hard to earn your trust and maintain that status. Take a few moments to read our Guest Reviews and see what others have to say.