Garberville, California


Garberville is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located on the South Fork of the Eel River south-southeast of Eureka, at an elevation of. The population was 818 at the 2020 United States census. It is approximately north of San Francisco, California, and within a fifteen-minute drive to Humboldt Redwoods State Park and a sixty-minute drive to Eureka, the county seat. Garberville is the primary town in the area known as the Mateel Region, consisting of parts of the Mattole and Eel River watersheds in southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino counties.

History

Prior to recorded history, the area was populated by southern Sinkyone people.
In 1853, a Spanish explorer, Antone Garcia, settled in the area near Town Gulch, which runs through modern-day Garberville. The first post office in Garberville opened in 1874. Jacob C. Garber, the town postmaster, later named the town after himself in 1879.

Geography

Garberville is located at. The town is stretched out in a small forested valley bisected by U.S. Route 101, at an elevation of. The nearby King's Peak rises to.

Climate

The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Csb, characterized by cold, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.

Demographics

Garberville first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.
Racial and ethnic composition20102020
White (non-Hispanic)85.76%74.82%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)5.91%10.39%
Two or more races (non-Hispanic)1.97%7.7%
Asian (non-Hispanic)1.75%2.44%
Native American (non-Hispanic)3.18%2.08%
Other 0.11%2.08%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)1.31%0.24%
Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)0.0%0.24%

The 2020 United States census reported that Garberville had a population of 818. The population density was. The racial makeup of Garberville was 646 White, 2 African American, 21 Native American, 22 Asian, 2 Pacific Islander, 33 from other races, and 92 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 85 persons.
The census reported that 96.8% of the population lived in households, 2.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.9% were institutionalized.
There were 396 households, out of which 59 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 104 were married-couple households, 31 were cohabiting couple households, 131 had a female householder with no partner present, and 130 had a male householder with no partner present. 196 households were one person, and 81 were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.00. There were 165 families.
The age distribution was 135 people under the age of 18, 47 people aged 18 to 24, 250 people aged 25 to 44, 205 people aged 45 to 64, and 181 people who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 43.4years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males.
There were 456 housing units at an average density of, of which 396 were occupied. Of these, 212 were owner-occupied, and 184 were occupied by renters.

Economy

Marijuana cultivation has replaced timber as the economic driver of Garberville and neighboring Redway. There is a Cannabis College in Garberville, and the town has been called "the marijuana heartland of the U.S." by BBC News.
Reggae on the River, an annual music festival, is held near Garberville. Nearby, the 1925 Tudor Revival Benbow Inn is on the Humboldt County, California|National Register of Historic Places].
The local economy has seen a fall as the years of cannabis legalization have seen most of the farmers of the 215 era leave and the influx of trimmigrants has dropped dramatically. Many businesses lie empty or boarded up. There is still some cannabis tourism but it is not the boon that it was once thought it would be due to regulations.
The program is located in Humboldt County which serves to train people in the art of cannabis assessment much like a sommelier in wine. Because of their program over 150 people travel to the Garberville area to visit farms, learn about assessing cannabis, and most important; they learn about regenerative farming and the community that still remains.

Government

Politics

In the state legislature, Garberville is in, and.
Federally, Garberville is in.

Incorporation attempts

A proposal to incorporate Garberville as a city was dropped after county supervisors declined to form a Municipal Advisory Committee due to concerns over the associated costs. A group of local residents once attempted to qualify a "Sequoia County" initiative to secede from both Humboldt and Mendocino County with Garberville as the new county seat, although the campaign ended without gathering enough signatures. A local chapter of the Green Party was formed in 2006.

Education

The Southern Humboldt Unified School District was created from 19 separate school districts in 1948 and currently serves about 800 students in an area of. The district has five elementary, one middle school, one high school and one learning center.

Media

Garberville is home to the weekly Redwood Times, run by Media News Group as a sister publication of the daily Times-Standard from Eureka. A second weekly, the locally owned Humboldt Independent, was founded in 1997 and closed in 2024. Redwood Community Radio, KMUD, broadcasts from Garberville at 91.1 FM.

Infrastructure

Transportation

U.S. Route 101 bypasses the town, with exits 639 and 642 at Garberville and Redway, respectively.
Humboldt Transit Authority serves from Garberville as far north as Trinidad.
The Amtrak Thruway 7 bus provides daily connections to/from Garberville, Martinez to the south, and Arcata to the north. Additional Amtrak connections are available from Martinez station.
Garberville Airport is a public airport located southwest of town.

Utilities

Garberville's ZIP Code is 95542. The community is inside area code 707.
The Garberville Fire Protection District, has three engines and a utility truck, self-contained breathing apparatuses and radios. The Garberville Water Company supplies drinking water to residents and maintains 27 fire hydrants on its water lines. The Garberville Sanitary District is not the same as the water company, but provides sewers in the core of the fire district. Some releases of water have contained one or more toxins.

Health care

The Jerold Phelps Community Hospital is administered by the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District.
Garberville recently added a local pharmacy at the top of Sprowl Creek Road and they are working on adding a clinic at the same location.
Redwoods Rural provides health and dental care to local residents.

Notable residents