Sacred Woods Garden Center
32881 N. Harbor Drive — A small Noyo Harbor building remembered as a fish-canning stop, Honda dealership, charter-fishing office, sign shop, and now a garden art center.
Last updated: September 8, 2026
Overview
Sacred Woods Garden Center occupies a modest red building on North Harbor Drive that has carried several very different businesses through the years.
Today the property is known for large garden sculptures, Southeast Asian statuary, furniture, artwork, gifts, and outdoor pieces.
Behind that colorful present-day identity is a working-harbor history reaching back to fish canning in the early 1960s, a Honda motorcycle dealership, charter fishing, and a late-1980s sign shop.
Location
Sacred Woods Garden Center is located at 32881 N. Harbor Drive in Noyo Harbor.
The building sits in a part of the harbor historically surrounded by fishing businesses, restaurants, trailer parks, marine services, shops, and other small enterprises.
History
One of the earliest memories associated with the building comes from the early 1960s, when families reportedly could bring salmon, albacore, and other fish here for canning.
The operation is remembered as providing cans, pressure cookers, and hand-cranked canning equipment for customers to use.
By the 1960s, the building is also remembered as a Honda motorcycle dealership associated with harbor businessman Jim Cummings.
Cummings was remembered as owning several nearby harbor properties, including the Anchor Inn restaurant and bar, The Wharf restaurant, a trailer park, and the two-story house where he lived.
Another chapter connected the building with charter fishing. A former operator remembered using it as a charter-fishing office while the property was owned by Cummings. Some of the old signs were reportedly still visible in the windows years later.
By the late 1980s, The Sign Shop is remembered operating from the building.
There is also a recollection of a woodcarver working somewhere in this part of the harbor, although the exact location and dates remain uncertain.
Sacred Woods Garden Center eventually brought a very different identity to the property. Community memory associates Mel Zackery with the business as an original owner, although the exact chronology of the transition remains an open part of the story.
The Building Today
Today Sacred Woods Garden Center is known for large statues, garden sculpture, furniture, art, decorative objects, gifts, and imported pieces, particularly items associated with Southeast Asia.
Visitors describe both the store and its outdoor garden as peaceful places to wander, and several longtime customers remember it simply as a favorite harbor stop.
The transformation from fish canning and motorcycles to garden art is unusual, but it fits Noyo Harbor's long pattern of practical buildings finding entirely new uses.
Community Memories
Community recollections provide most of the detail about the building's earliest uses.
Memories include families canning salmon and albacore here in the early 1960s, the Honda motorcycle dealership associated with Jim Cummings, a later charter-fishing office, and The Sign Shop in the late 1980s.
The discussion also brought back memories of the surrounding harbor, including the Anchor Inn, The Wharf, a trailer park, a small candy and gift shop, a half-round corrugated-metal laundromat, Snug Harbour, El Mexicano, Captain Flint's, and other businesses that have disappeared or changed over the years.
Present-day comments consistently describe Sacred Woods as an enjoyable place to browse, with particular praise for its garden, unusual merchandise, atmosphere, and owners.
Timeline
Early 1960s — Remembered as a place where customers could can salmon, albacore, and other fish using supplied equipment.
1960s — Remembered as a Honda motorcycle dealership associated with Jim Cummings.
Later years — Remembered as a charter-fishing office while the property was connected with Cummings.
Late 1980s — The Sign Shop is remembered operating from the building.
Later years — Property becomes Sacred Woods Garden Center, associated in community memory with original owner Mel Zackery.
Present — Sacred Woods Garden Center operates as a garden, gift, furniture, art, and statuary business.
Sources & Original Research
This article blends verifiable historical records with personal recollections shared by longtime Fort Bragg residents. Much of this information comes from community memory and is not available in any published source.
This article combines historical research with firsthand memories shared by longtime Fort Bragg residents. Several of the building's earlier uses are preserved primarily through community recollection rather than published documentation, so some dates and transitions remain open parts of the story.
Sources: Original post text, photographs, website material, and research provided by Gee Bee; community comment threads provided by Gee Bee, including memories and information from Stephen Dunlap, Donna Beach Winkler, Russell Terrell, Heather Capps, Eric Carmichael, Steve Turner, Judith Smith, Loraine Toth, Rick Fischer, Tiffany Garland, Margaret M Roberts, Judy Bennett, Valerie Thornton, Johnny Hayward, and Gee Bee; previous Sacred Woods Garden Center research citing Visit Mendocino, Sacred Woods Garden Center; Mendo Voice reporting on The Wharf at Noyo Harbor; Mendocino Coast News reporting on The Wharf at Noyo Harbor; Visit Mendocino information on Noyo Harbor.
