Vallejo, California
Vallejo is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 United States census. Vallejo is home to the California Maritime Academy, Touro University California and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
Vallejo is named after Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the famed Californio general and statesman. The city was founded in 1851 on Gen. Vallejo's Rancho Suscol to serve as the capital city of California, which it was from 1852 to 1853, after which the Californian government moved to neighboring Benicia, named in honor of Gen. Vallejo's wife Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo. The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was founded in 1854, and defined Vallejo's economy until the turn of the 21st century.
History
Vallejo was once home of the Coast Miwok as well as Suisunes and other Patwin Native American tribes. There are three confirmed Native American sites located in the rock outcrops in the hills above Blue Rock Springs Park. The California Archaeological Inventory has indicated that the three Indian sites are located on Sulphur Springs Mountain.Mexican era
The city of Vallejo was once part of the Rancho Suscol Mexican land grant of 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. The city was named after this Mexican military officer and title holder who was appointed in settling and overseeing the North Bay region. Gen. Vallejo was responsible for military peace in the region and founded the pueblo of Sonoma in 1836.In 1846, independence-minded Anglo immigrants rose up against the Mexican government of California in what would be known as the Bear Flag Revolt which resulted in Gen. Vallejo's imprisonment in Sutter's Fort. This was subsequently followed by the annexation of the California Republic to the United States. Gen. Vallejo, though a Mexican army officer, generally acquiesced in the annexation of California to the United States, recognizing the greater resources of the United States and benefits that would bring to California.
Post-Conquest era
In 1851, Vallejo was declared to become the official California State Capitol, with the new government prepared to meet for the first time the following year. In 1852, the legislature convened for the first time. However, Vallejo did not follow through with constructing a Capitol State Building for them to meet in. In 1853, it was again the meeting place for the legislature, solely for the purpose of moving the capitol officially to Benicia, which occurred on February 4, 1853, after only a month. Benicia is named after Vallejo's wife, Benicia de Vallejo. After the legislature left, the federal government established a naval shipyard on Mare Island, which helped the city overcome the loss. Due to the presence of the shipyard, Filipinos began to immigrate to Vallejo beginning in the first decades of the 20th century. The yard functioned for over a hundred years, finally closing in 1996.The U.S. government appointed the influential Vallejo as Indian agent for Northern California. He also served on the state constitutional convention in 1849. Afterward, Vallejo remained active in state politics, but challenges to his land titles around Sonoma eventually left him impoverished and reduced his ranch from 250,000 acres to a mere 300. He eventually retired from public life, questioning the wisdom of his having welcomed the American acquisition of California in the first place. Vallejo died in 1890, a symbol of the eclipse of Californio wealth, power, and prestige.
Although the town is named after General Vallejo, the man regarded as the true founder of Vallejo is General John B. Frisbie. Even before his daughter Epifania had formally married Frisbie, Vallejo had already granted him power of attorney over the land grant. It was Frisbie who hired E. H. Rowe, the man who designed the city layout and who named the east–west streets after states and the north–south streets after California counties.
Modern era
was a critical submarine facility during WW II, both for constructing and overhauling vessels.Downtown Vallejo retains many of its historic Victorian and Craftsman homes.
On May 6, 2008, the city council voted 7–0 to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, at the time becoming the largest California city to do so. Stephanie Gomes, Vallejo City Councilwoman, largely blamed exorbitant salaries and benefits for Vallejo firefighters and police officers. Reportedly, salaries and benefits for public safety workers accounted for at least 80 percent of Vallejo's general-fund budget. On November 1, 2011, a federal judge released Vallejo from bankruptcy after nearly three years.
Geography
According to United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. Land area is, and is water. The Napa River flows until it changes into the Mare Island Strait in Vallejo which then flows into San Pablo Bay, in the northeastern part of San Francisco Bay.Vallejo is located on the southwestern edge of Solano County, California in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. Vallejo borders the city of Benicia to the east, American Canyon and the Napa county line to the north, the Carquinez Strait to the south and the San Pablo Bay to the west.
Several faults have been mapped in the vicinity of Vallejo. The San Andreas Fault and Hayward Faults are the most active faults, although the San Andreas is at some distance. Locally, the Sulphur Springs Valley Thrust Fault and Southampton Fault are found. No quaternary seismic activity along these minor faults has been observed with the possible exception of a slight offset revealed by trenching. The no Sulphur Mountain and Green Valley faults have been associated with the Concord Fault to the south. The Concord Fault is considered active.
File:Carquinez Strait aerial view.jpg|thumb|right|The Carquinez Bridge spans the Carquinez Strait, connecting Vallejo to Contra Costa.
Historically there have been local cinnabar mines in the Vallejo area. The Hastings Mine and St. John's Mine contribute ongoing water contamination for mercury; furthermore, mine shaft development has depleted much of this area's spring water. Both Rindler Creek and Blue Rock Springs Creek have been affected.
Climate
Vallejo has a mild, coastal Mediterranean climate and can be an average of cooler than nearby inland cities. Vallejo is influenced by its position on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay, but is less sheltered from heatwaves than areas directly on or nearer the Pacific Ocean/Golden Gate such as San Francisco and Oakland. Although slightly less marine, average temperatures range between in January and in July. However, summer is very long with June–September being almost equal in historical average temperatures. This seasonal lag sees October averages being higher than in May in spite of it being after the Equinox.Demographics
Vallejo was named the most diverse city in the United States in a 2012 study by Brown University based on 2010 census data, and the most diverse city in California by a Niche study based on 2017 American Community Survey data. In 2022, Vallejo was again named the most diverse small town in America, with a 77% chance any two residents would be of a different census racial category. Hispanics comprise 28% of the local population, 23% are White, 23% are Asian, 19% are Black, and 7% are of mixed or other heritages.| Race / ethnicity | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 35,533 | 28,946 | 26,440 | 30.43% | 24.97% | 20.97% |
| Black or African American alone | 27,201 | 24,876 | 24,446 | 23.30% | 21.46% | 19.39% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 547 | 453 | 431 | 0.47% | 0.39% | 0.34% |
| Asian alone | 27,829 | 28,386 | 29,152 | 23.83% | 24.48% | 23.12% |
| Pacific Islander alone | 1,188 | 1,159 | 1,255 | 1.02% | 1.00% | 1.00% |
| Some other race alone | 312 | 304 | 1,037 | 0.27% | 0.26% | 0.82% |
| Mixed race or multi-racial | 5,559 | 5,653 | 7,494 | 4.76% | 4.88% | 5.94% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 18,591 | 26,165 | 35,835 | 15.92% | 22.57% | 28.42% |
| Total | 116,760 | 115,942 | 126,090 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Vallejo had a population of 126,090. The population density was. The racial makeup of Vallejo was 24.2% White, 19.9% African American, 1.1% Native American, 23.6% Asian, 1.1% Pacific Islander, 17.5% from other races, and 12.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.4% of the population.The census reported that 98.3% of the population lived in households, 1.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized.
There were 43,539 households, out of which 32.2% included children under the age of 18, 42.4% were married-couple households, 7.8% were cohabiting couple households, 30.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 19.2% had a male householder with no partner present. 23.9% of households were one person, and 10.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.85. There were 29,987 families.
The age distribution was 20.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% aged 18 to 24, 27.1% aged 25 to 44, 26.3% aged 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.8years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males.
There were 45,523 housing units at an average density of, of which 43,539 were occupied. Of these, 56.3% were owner-occupied, and 43.7% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $89,496, and the per capita income was $40,845. About 8.9% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line.