Mendocino County

County of Mendocino
—  County  —
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	California North Coast
Incorporated	1850
County seat	Ukiah
Largest city	Ukiah
Area
– Total	3,878.14 sq mi (10,044.3 km2)
– Land	3,508.97 sq mi (9,088.2 km2)
– Water	369.17 sq mi (956.1 km2)
Population (2010)
– Total	87,841
– Density	22.7/sq mi (8.7/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	www.co.mendocino.ca.us

Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Ukiah.

The county is noted for its distinctive Pacific Ocean coastline, Redwood forests, wine production, microbrews, and liberal views on cannabis. It is estimated that roughly two-thirds of the economy is based on the cultivation of marijuana.^[1]

The notable historic and recreational attraction of the "Skunk Train" connects Fort Bragg with Willits in Mendocino County via steam-locomotive trains and other vehicles.

History

Mendocino County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Due to an initially low population, it did not have a separate government until 1859 and was under the administration of Sonoma County prior to that.

The county derives its name from Cape Mendocino, which was probably named in honor of either Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, 1535–1542 (who sent the Juan Cabrillo Expedition to this coast in 1542), or Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, Viceroy from 1580 to 1583. Mendocino is the adjectival form of the family name of Mendoza.

Neither Spanish nor Mexican influence extended into Mendocino County beyond establishing two Mexican land grants in southern Mendocino County: Rancho Sanel in Hopland, in 1844 and Rancho Yokaya that forms the majority of the Ukiah Valley, in 1845.

In the 19th century, the county witnessed many of the most serious atrocities in the extermination of the Californian Native American tribes who originally lived in the area, like the Yuki, the Pomo, the Cahto, and the Wintun. The systematic occupation of their lands, the reduction of many of their members into slavery and the raids against their settlements led to the Mendocino War in 1859, where hundreds of Indians were killed. The segregation continued well into the 20th century.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 3,878.14 square miles (10,044.3 km²), of which 3,508.97 square miles (9,088.2 km²) (or 90.48%) is land and 369.17 square miles (956.1 km²) (or 9.52%) is water.^[2]

Cities and towns

Albion Anchor Bay Boonville Branscomb Calpella Caspar Cleone Comptche Covelo Dos Rios Elk Fort Bragg

Gualala Hopland Inglenook Laytonville Leggett Little River Longvale Manchester Mendocino Navarro Noyo Old Hopland

Philo Piercy Pine Grove Point Arena Potter Valley Redwood Valley Rockport Talmage Ukiah Willits Westport Yorkville

Adjacent counties

• Sonoma County, California—south
• Lake County, California—east
• Glenn County, California—east
• Tehama County, California—northeast
• Trinity County, California—north
• Humboldt County, California—north

Indian reservations

Mendocino County has nine Indian reservations lying within its borders, the fourth most of any county in the United States (after San Diego County, California; Sandoval County, New Mexico; and Riverside County, California).

• Coyote Valley Reservation
• Guidiville Rancheria
• Hopland Rancheria
• Laytonville Rancheria
• Manchester-Point Arena Rancheria
• Pinoleville Rancheria
• Redwood Valley Rancheria
• Round Valley Reservation (partly in Trinity County)
• Sherwood Valley Rancheria

National protected areas

• King Range National Conservation Area (part)
• Mendocino National Forest (part)

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

• State Route 1
• U.S. Route 101
• State Route 20
• State Route 128
• State Route 162
• State Route 175
• State Route 222 (unsigned)
• State Route 253
• State Route 271

Public transportation

The Mendocino Transit Authority provides local and intercity bus service within Mendocino County. Limited service also connects with transit in Sonoma County

The Greyhound Bus Lines currently serves Ukiah.

AMTRAK has bus service that connects Mendocino to passenger service on rail lines such as the "Coast Starlight".

The historic "Skunk Train" connects Fort Bragg, California with Willits in Mendocino County via steam-locomotive trains and other vehicles. Conceivably, it could be used for public transportation, as well as its recreational uses.

Airports

• Ukiah Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport owned by the City of Ukiah. It is located south of downtown Ukiah.
• Little River Airport is a general aviation airport serving the Mendocino coast.

For commercial service, passengers in Mendocino County need to go to Eureka, one county to the north in Humboldt County, or to Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, one county to the south. More comprehensive service is available from Sacramento to the east or San Francisco, well to the south.

Emergency services for the largely unincorporated county are coordinated through Howard Forest Station, a local Cal Fire station just south of Willits.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	55		—
1860	3,967		7,112.7%
1870	7,545		90.2%
1880	12,800		69.6%
1890	17,612		37.6%
1900	20,465		16.2%
1910	23,929		16.9%
1920	24,116		0.8%
1930	23,505		−2.5%
1940	27,864		18.5%
1950	40,854		46.6%
1960	51,059		25.0%
1970	51,101		0.1%
1980	66,738		30.6%
1990	80,345		20.4%
2000	86,265		7.4%
2010	87,841		1.8%
[3][4][5]

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Mendocino County had a population of 87,841. The racial makeup of Mendocino County was 67,218 (76.5%) White, 622 (0.7%) African American, 4,277 (4.9%) Native American, 1,450 (1.7%) Asian, 119 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 10,185 (11.6%) from other races, and 3,970 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19,505 persons (22.2%).^[6]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Mendocino County	87,841	67,218	622	4,277	1,450	119	10,185	3,970	19,505
Incorporated city	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Fort Bragg	7,273	5,439	51	160	108	14	1,165	336	2,313
Point Arena	449	305	2	1	0	0	118	23	150
Ukiah	16,075	11,592	174	601	412	34	2,385	877	4,458
Willits	4,888	3,862	34	216	68	5	479	224	1,008
Census-designated place	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Albion	168	150	1	4	5	0	0	8	4
Anchor Bay	340	301	2	5	2	1	12	17	29
Boonville	1,035	630	9	18	7	2	340	29	520
Brooktrails	3,235	2,818	22	87	26	4	109	169	329
Calpella	679	465	3	25	3	0	145	38	256
Caspar	509	474	3	0	8	0	3	21	15
Cleone	618	518	1	3	3	0	79	14	124
Comptche	159	146	0	1	1	0	5	6	10
Covelo	1,255	611	14	475	10	0	49	96	163
Hopland	756	521	4	38	10	0	142	41	263
Laytonville	1,227	839	16	244	10	1	60	57	141
Leggett	122	101	0	3	0	0	0	18	4
Little River	117	113	0	1	0	0	0	3	2
Manchester	195	151	0	4	1	0	29	10	48
Mendocino	894	834	5	8	13	1	6	27	42
Philo	349	171	2	4	5	0	157	10	204
Potter Valley	646	516	2	13	2	0	97	16	154
Redwood Valley	1,729	1,432	7	63	10	1	155	61	305
Talmage	1,130	503	3	27	273	4	278	42	366
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	48,881	38,588	301	2,492	541	57	4,851	2,051	9,605

2000

A vineyard in Mendocino county

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 86,265 people, 33,266 households, and 21,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 36,937 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.76% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 4.76% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 8.61% from other races, and 3.90% from two or more races. 16.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 12.2% were of German, 10.8% English, 8.6% Irish, 6.1% Italian and 5.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 84.4% spoke English and 13.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 33,266 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,996, and the median income for a family was $42,168. Males had a median income of $33,128 versus $23,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,443. About 10.9% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Mendocino County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	Dem	Others
2008	26.8% 10,721	69.6% 27,843	4.0% 1,620
2004	33.7% 12,955	63.5% 24,385	2.8% 1,089
2000	35.7% 12,272	48.3% 16,634	16.0% 5,504
1996	29.9% 9,765	45.7% 14,952	24.4% 7,975
1992	21.8% 7,958	50.2% 18,344	28.0% 10,236
1988	41.9% 12,979	55.4% 17,152	2.6% 816
1984	52.1% 16,369	45.9% 14,407	2.1% 646
1980	44.1% 12,432	38.2% 10,784	17.7% 5,008
1976	45.5 9,784	49.5% 10,653	5.0% 1,072
1972	51.0% 11,128	43.3% 9,435	5.7% 1,251
1968	46.4% 8,305	44.3% 7,935	9.3% 1,664
1964	34.7% 6,322	65.1% 11,869	0.2% 36
1960	49.3% 9,301	50.2% 9,476	0.5% 94
1956	56.9% 10,327	42.8% 7,767	0.2% 43
1952	60.9% 10,897	38.1% 6,813	1.1% 191
1948	50.5% 6,368	44.1% 5,553	5.4% 682
1944	45.9% 4,655	53.8% 5,452	0.4% 36
1940	42.5% 5,345	56.1% 7,055	1.3% 169
1936	35.8% 3,670	62.7% 6,432	1.6% 164
1932	35.2% 3,365	61.4% 5,867	3.3% 319
1928	63.4% 4,810	34.6% 2,628	2.0% 150
1924	56.5% 3,465	12.0% 739	31.5% 1,933
1920	65.8% 4,443	26.5% 1,789	7.7% 517

Mendocino is a strongly Democratic county in Presidential and congressional elections.^[8] The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. It is part of California's 1st congressional district, which is held by Democrat Mike Thompson. In the state legislature Mendocino is in the 1st Assembly district, which is held by Democrat Wes Chesbro, and the 2nd Senate district, which is held by Democrat Noreen Evans. As of April 2008, the California Secretary of State reports that Mendocino County has 47,168 registered voters. Of those, 22,264 (47.2%) are registered Democratic; 11,422 (24.2%) are registered Republican; 4,179 (8.9%) are registered with other political parties, and 9,303 (19.7%) declined to state a political party.

In 2000, Mendocino County voters approved Measure G, which calls for the decriminalization of marijuana when used and cultivated for personal use.^[9] Measure G passed with a 58% majority vote, making it the first county in the United States to declare prosecution of small-scale marijuana offenses the "lowest priority" for local law enforcement. Measure G does not protect individuals who cultivate, transport or possess marijuana for sale. However, Measure G was passed at the local government level affecting only Mendocino County, and therefore does not affect existing state or federal laws. The city of Berkeley has had a similar law (known as the Berkeley Marijuana Initiative II) since 1979 which has generally been found to be unenforceable.^[10]

In 2008, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors placed Measure B on the June 3 county-wide ballot. After three months of hard-fought campaigning and national attention, voters narrowly approved "B", which repealed the provisions of 2000's Measure G.^[11][12] However, opponents of Measure B intend to continue the challenge in court as the wording of Measure B relies heavily on S.B. 420's state limitations which were recently ruled unconstitutional by the California supreme court. On July 3, the Sheriff and District Attorneys offices announced that they would not be enforcing the new regulations for the time being, citing pending legal challenges and conflicts with existing state law.^[13] In April, 2009, Sheriff Tom Allman issued his department's medical marijuana enforcement policy, which includes the provisions of Measure B and also cites the California Supreme Court Ruling narrowly defining "caregiver" in the state's medical marijuana law.^[14]

In 2004, Measure H was passed in Mendocino County with a 57% majority, making it the first county in the United States to ban the production and cultivation of genetically modified organisms.

On Nov. 4, 2008 Mendocino County voted 63.2 % against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Government

As of 2011, the elected District Attorney of Mendocino County is C. David Eyster, the elected Sheriff and Coroner is Thomas D. Allman, and the appointed Chief Executive Officer is Carmel Angelo. Mendocino County is governed by a board of five supervisors, each with a separate district.^[15] The first district is represented by Carre Brown, and serves the central-eastern region of the county, including Potter Valley, Redwood Valley, Calpella, and Talmage. The second district, represented by John McCowen, serves Ukiah. The third district, in the northeastern quadrant of the county from Willits north to Laytonville and Covelo, is represented by John Pinches. The fourth district covers the northwestern quadrant of the county, including the coast from Caspar northwards through Fort Bragg; its supervisor is Kendall Smith. The supervisor for the fifth district is Dan Hamburg; his district covers the southern portion of the county, including the coast from Mendocino to Gualala, the Anderson Valley, the western outskirts of Ukiah, and portions of the Russian River valley near Hopland. Hamburg also previously served as a county supervisor, and also served one term as a Congressman in Washington, D.C.

Rivers

Aerial view of Noyo River

from south to north:

• Russian River (inland)
• Gualala River
• Garcia River
• Elk Creek
• Navarro River
• Albion River
• Little River
• Big River
• Noyo River
• Pudding Creek
• Virgin Creek
• Ten Mile River
• Usal Creek
• Eel River (inland)

Beaches

A Beach Near Elk

• Big River Beach
• Caspar Headlands State Beach
• Van Damme Beach
• Greenwood State Beach
• Seaside Beach
• Wesport-Union Landing State Beach
• Manchester State Beach
• Navarro Beach
• Portuguese Beach
• Schooner Gulch State Beach
• Long Valley Creek
• 10 Mile Creek

Parks, reserves and related places

Ecological staircase trail in Jug Handle state nature reserve

Islands off the Mendocino coast

• Admiral William Standley State Recreation Area
• Caspar Headlands State Recreation Area
• Hendy Woods State Park
• Jug Handle State Reserve
• MacKerricher State Park
• Mailliard Redwoods State Reserve
• Manchester State Park
• Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
• Mendocino Headlands State Park
• Mendocino National Forest
• Mendocino Woodlands State Park
• Montgomery Woods State Reserve
• Navarro River Redwoods State Park
• Point Cabrillo Light Station
• Reynolds Wayside Campground
• Round Valley Indian Reservation
• Russian Gulch State Park
• Sea Lion Cove State Marine Conservation Area
• Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
• Smythe Redwoods State Reserve
• Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area
• Van Damme State Park
• Hiking trails in Mendocino County

Education

Community Colleges

• College of the Redwoods (satellite campus) in Fort Bragg
• Mendocino College in Ukiah
• Pacific Union College's Albion Biological Field Station

Local Schools

• Mendocino K-12 Public School Districts

See also

California portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mendocino County, California

References

1. ^ Regan, Trish (2009-01-23). Marijuana Inc., Inside America's Pot Industry (televised documentary). Mendocino County, California, USA: CNBC, Incorporated. http://www.cnbc.com/id/28281668. Retrieved 2009-03-15. 
2. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
3. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ca190090.txt
4. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
5. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
6. ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau. http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/California/. 
7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
8. ^ "Mendocino County, California". political info. epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/politicalInfo.php?locIndex=10497. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
9. ^ "Mendocino County Personal Use of Marijuana Initiative". CA NORML News. California National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. November 8, 2000. http://www.canorml.org/news/mendorelse.html. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
10. ^ Suzanne La Barre (March 31, 2006). "Legal Limbo for Pot Users?". Berkeley Daily Planet. http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?archiveDate=03-31-06&storyID=23788. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
11. ^ Measure B on the June 3 ballot, Ballotpedia.
12. ^ It's official: Marijuana reform effort passes - Ukiah Daily Journal
13. ^ Mike Geniella (July 3, 2008). "Mendocino County won't enforce pot measure". PressDemocrat.com web site (The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, CA). http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080703/NEWS/807030377/1350. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
14. ^ "Directive on Medical Marijuana 2009-04-03-NO.1". Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. April 3, 2009. http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/pdfs/2009-04-03-No1_JN.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
15. ^ Mendocino County district boundaries, retrieved 2010-08-21.

External links

• Official website
• Mendocino County Official Travel Website
• Mendocino County Online Information
• Mendocino County and Coast Travel Directory
• Mendocino County Travel Information
• Mendocino Connection
• Mendocino County Museum
• Mendocino's Movie History - Information and Video

Coordinates: 39°26′N 123°26′W / 39.43°N 123.43°W / 39.43; -123.43