Sebastopol, California
Sebastopol is a city in Sonoma County, California, with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. census.
Sebastopol was once primarily a plum- and apple-growing region. Wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, and nearly all lands once used for orchards are now vineyards. The creation of The Barlow, a $32 million mall on a floodplain in Sebastopol, has converted old agricultural warehouses into a marketplace for dining, tasting rooms, and art, and has made Sebastopol a Wine Country destination.
Horticulturist Luther Burbank had gardens in this region. The city hosts an annual Apple Blossom Festival in April, Gravenstein Apple Fair in August, and is home to the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival.
History
Etymology
The settlement was originally named Pine Grove. The name change to Sebastopol has historically been attributed to a bar fight in the late 1850s, which was allegedly compared by a bystander to the long Allied siege of the seaport of Sevastopol during the Crimean War of 1853–1856. The original name survives in the name of the Pine Grove General Store downtown.Indigenous history and early settlers
The area's first known inhabitants were the native Coast Miwok and Pomo peoples. The town currently sits atop multiple village sites. The town of Sebastopol formed in the 1850s with a U.S. Post Office and as a small trade center for the farmers of the surrounding agricultural region. As California's population swelled after the westward migration and the California Gold Rush of 1848–1855, more and more settlers drifted into the fertile California valleys north of San Francisco to try their hand at farming. Sebastopol's early settlers included immigrants from a variety of national origins, including a substantial Chinese population that formed a Chinatown in the present-day downtown core beginning in the 1880s.Gravenstein era, incorporation and 1906 earthquake
Sebastopol became known as the "Gravenstein Apple Capital of the World." The apple industry brought a steady rural prosperity to the town. In 1890 the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad connected Sebastopol to the national rail network. The town was incorporated in 1902, with schools, churches, hotels, canneries, mills, wineries, and an opera house to its credit. The 1906 earthquake reduced most of these early buildings to rubble , but as elsewhere in the county, the town was rebuilt. Contemporary research from the U.S. Geological Survey found that Sebastopol experienced the highest intensity shaking during the earthquake.The Enmanji Japanese Buddhist Temple was dedicated in 1934. Originally built by the Manchurian Railroad Company and exhibited in the Chicago World's Fair of 1933, the Kamakura-style temple was dismantled and shipped to Sebastopol, where it was reconstructed without the use of nails.
In the second half of the 20th century, the apple industry struggled to compete with other apple-producing regions and gradually declined in economic significance. With greater personal mobility and the rise of larger shopping centers in other Sonoma County communities, many residents now often commute to work and shop in the neighboring towns, and a majority of local vehicle trips end in Santa Rosa.
Railways and highways
Sebastopol once had working railroad trains on Main Street, and the tracks were removed in the late 1980s. Passenger service had ceased in the 1930s, and regular freight service ended in the late 1970s. This was documented by Analy High School students in a 1979 video Our Train Down Main: a History of the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad. The canneries and apple-processing plant are gone from downtown, and vineyards and housing developments have replaced many apple orchards, reducing the demand for freight service. The region's last remaining apple processing plant, Manzana Products, announced in 2024 that they would relocate operations to the Yakima Valley of Washington by early 2026.Around the time of the removal of rail tracks, the Gravenstein Highway was redesigned with a pair of one-way streets. Main Street and Petaluma Avenue were designated one-way streets in the 1980s in an attempt to deal with the town's perennial traffic problem.
Environmental innovation
In 1985, the city passed an ordinance declaring Sebastopol a nuclear-free zone. The town does not use pesticides in city landscaping. Sebastopol became the second city in California to require solar panels on all new homes in 2013, a requirement implemented statewide by 2020. The neighboring city of Petaluma passed the first ban in the world on new gas stations in 2021; Sebastopol also imposed a ban along with the North Bay cities of American Canyon, Calistoga, and Rohnert Park.Housing and growth limits
Sebastopol adopted an urban growth boundary in its 1994 general plan to restrict urban development outside the boundary. The boundary was formally adopted by a ballot initiative in 1996, and was renewed and extended with additional ballot initiatives as recently as 2016.After decades of minimal development and stagnating population, the city has responded locally to the larger California housing shortage with affordable housing for low-income residents and people experiencing homelessness. In 2007, the city purchased land on the banks of the Laguna de Santa Rosa to operate Park Village, a city-owned mobile home park for both long-term residents and people exiting homelessness. In partnership with the County of Sonoma and using Project Homekey funds, the former Sebastopol Inn was converted to supportive housing during the COVID-19 pandemic and renamed Elderberry Commons. An 84-unit affordable housing development, including 48 units for farmworkers funded through USDA Rural Development, was approved under a Senate Bill 35 streamlined approval process in 2022.
Fiscal crisis
In April 2021, $1.2 million was stolen from the city’s reserves account in email-based cyber fraud. The fraud came as the city was already facing a looming budget deficit, estimated at $2.9 million by 2024. Initial actions to curb the fiscal crisis included a 37% water and sewer rate increase in 2024. The rate hike generated controversy, with the mayor indicating that she was “utterly shocked” that the city would charge interest on an internal loan transferring money between the general fund and wastewater fund.Local residents passed a ½ cent sales tax in the 2024 general election to prevent further deficit spending. The tax would push Sebastopol’s sales tax over the state cap of 10.25% to 10.5% if approved by the California Attorney General, and would become the highest local sales tax in the state outside of Alameda County.
Modern agricultural economy
Sebastopol is home to national food and beverage producers including Guayakí, Redwood Hill Creamery, Traditional Medicinals, and Bachan’s.Cideries have grown in Sebastopol in celebration of the Gravenstein apple legacy. Ace Cider was founded in 1993, and Golden State Cider, which started with apples from a Sebastopol orchard, established a tasting room in The Barlow District in 2019.
Sebastopol is in the Russian River Valley AVA, and a variety of wineries and tasting rooms are located in the area. Several local producers and establishments specialize in natural wine, including The Punchdown, an Oakland-originated natural wine bar nominated for a James Beard Award in 2022.
As of 2024, Sebastopol has two restaurants with Bib Gourmand recognition in the annual Michelin Guide: Khom Loi and Ramen Gaijin.
Geography
The downtown intersection of State Route 12 and State Route 116 is approximately west of U.S. Route 101.Sebastopol is situated on the edge of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, which is fed by Santa Rosa Creek and other tributaries, including three minor tributaries within the city limits: Zimpher Creek, Calder Creek and Witter Creek. The Laguna is a wetland area that is home to many species of wildlife and vegetation and divides the town from neighboring Santa Rosa. The Laguna frequently floods during the winter, cutting off State Route 12, and often flooding the low-lying businesses and homes on the eastern side of Sebastopol. The Pitkin Marsh lily and White sedge are two rare species of plants that are found in the vicinity of Sebastopol.
The city has a total area of, all land.
Demographics
| Racial and ethnic composition | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
| White | 85.35% | 81.87% | 74.66% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 9.26% | 11.99% | 14.36% |
| Two or more races | 2.32% | 2.59% | 6.18% |
| Asian | 1.49% | 1.57% | 2.43% |
| Other | 0.23% | 0.19% | 0.96% |
| Black or African American | 0.64% | 0.92% | 0.82% |
| Native American | 0.62% | 0.62% | 0.40% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.09% | 0.24% | 0.19% |
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Sebastopol had a population of 7,521. The population density was. The racial makeup of Sebastopol was 78.0% White, 0.9% African American, 1.1% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 5.7% from other races, and 11.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.4% of the population.The census reported that 98.5% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.1% were institutionalized.
There were 3,411 households, out of which 25.2% included children under the age of 18, 36.7% were married-couple households, 7.5% were cohabiting couple households, 38.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 35.0% of households were one person, and 22.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.17. There were 1,910 families.
The age distribution was 17.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% aged 18 to 24, 20.7% aged 25 to 44, 27.0% aged 45 to 64, and 29.0% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 50.0years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males.
There were 3,562 housing units at an average density of, of which 3,411 were occupied. Of these, 52.7% were owner-occupied, and 47.3% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $99,600, and the per capita income was $52,441. About 3.6% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line.