Pudding Creek is a small coastal watershed in Mendocino County that drains an area of 11,520 acres (4,662 ha) before emptying into the Pacific Ocean about 2.4 miles (3.9 km) southwest of Cleone and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Fort Bragg, California. The name also refers to a historical community, formerly known as East Fort Bragg, located along the estuary. This community had a post office from 1870 to 1951. Today, nothing remains of East Fort Bragg except the California Western Railroad, also known as the Skunk Train.
In the early 1880s, lumbermen Charles R. Johnson, Calvin Stewart, and James Hunter expanded timber operations in Mendocino County. By 1885, they formed the Fort Bragg Railroad to facilitate lumber transport. This venture laid the foundation for what would become the California Western Railroad. The train was vital for transporting families and workers to logging camps along its route, transforming it into a multifaceted line. It played a significant role in the area’s industrial, social, and cultural life. The nickname “Skunk” originated in 1925 with the introduction of self-propelled railcars. These cars, powered by gasoline engines and heated by pot-bellied stoves burning crude oil, emitted a pungent odor along the rail line.
Pudding Creek once supplied water to the Union Lumber Company and is still crossed by a trestle bridge that formerly carried trains and logging trucks. It is now open only to pedestrians and cyclists. The major tributary to Pudding Creek is Little Valley Creek. The entire watershed is privately owned, with timber harvesting as the dominant land use. About three-quarters of the area consists of redwood conifer forests. Much of the timber is in its third rotation and is managed for sustained production. The watershed also contains approximately 900 homes. Coho salmon in the Pudding Creek basin are listed as endangered at both state and federal levels, while steelhead are federally listed as threatened. To prevent the extinction of coho salmon, it is essential to restore many key habitat attributes currently in poor condition. Read more here and here. Explore more of Pudding Creek and Fort Bragg here: