Platina was founded as Noble's Station in 1902, named after Don Noble, a local resident. It served as a stage stop for stagecoaches traveling to and from Red Bluff to Knob, Wildwood, Peanut, and Hayfork. A boarding house, general store and post office were located in the tiny settlement.
During the 1920s, Noble and others discovered platinum in nearby Beegum Creek, causing Noble's Station to quickly become known as "Platina". Platina is a native alloy of platinum with osmium and other related metals.
Platina post office
The current Platina post office was established in 1921. Today, it and the general store stand on almost the same spot as the old station. The store's owners recently tried to sell it and a few other buildings in town on eBay, but were unsuccessful.[2]
Monastery
Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery
Saint Herman of AlaskaMonastery, a monastic community of the Serbian Orthodox Church, is located just outside of Platina, to the south. It was founded in 1968 by Fr. Herman Podmoshensky and Fr. Seraphim Rose, with the blessing of St. John the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco. Rose was a graduate of Pomona College and the University of California at Berkeley who converted to Russian Orthodoxy and became a prolific author and translator of ancient Orthodox texts, many of which were printed at the monastery. Fr. Seraphim died September 2, 1982, and is buried in the monastery cemetery.
Fr. Seraphim is revered by many Orthodox Christians around the world. Although he has not been formally canonized (as of 2023) by any Orthodox synod, he has been locally canonized in the Metropolis of Akhalkalaki, Kumurdo, and Kari of the Georgian Orthodox Church.[3]
