Ukiah, California


Ukiah is the county seat of and the largest city in Mendocino County, in the North Coast region of California. Ukiah had a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves as the city center for Mendocino County and much of neighboring Lake County.
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History

The region has been inhabited by the Pomo for thousands of years. The modern area of Ukiah derives its name from the Pomo village of Yokáya, meaning "deep valley" or "south valley".

Russian era

Russian American company led by commander Ross visited Ukiah and the Russian River in 1750, during their exploration of the Alaskan Northwest and Hawaii. Eventually Point Cabrillo was visited and named by the Spanish explorers, although Cabrillo only visited San Diego Bay and never visited the point. The land was inhabited by Pomo natives who lived as hunter gatherers until the time. Some Chinese explorers visited as well during the early times of Chinatown San Francisco and the building of the railroad lines.

Mexican era

Ukiah is located within Rancho Yokaya, one of several Spanish colonial land grants in what their colonists called Alta California. The Yokaya grant, which covered the majority of the Ukiah valley, was named for the Pomo word meaning "deep valley." The Pomo are the indigenous people who occupied the area at the time of Spanish colonization.
Later European-American settlers adopted "Ukiah" as an anglicized version of this name for the city.
Cayetano Juárez was granted Ukiah by Alta California. He was known to have a neutral relationship with the local Pomo people. He sold a southern portion of the grant to the Burke brothers. The first Anglo settler in the Ukiah area was John Parker, a vaquero who worked for pioneer cattleman James Black. Black had driven his stock up the Russian River valley and took over a block of grazing land at that locale. A crude blockhouse was constructed for Parker so he could have shelter to protect the herd from the hostile indigenous local people, who resented the squatters on their land. The blockhouse was located just south of present-day Ukiah on the banks of what was known as Wilson Creek. Following the U.S. Conquest of California, the region passed from Mexican to American sovereignty.

Early American era

In 1865, Samuel Lowry built a log cabin approximately on the corner of today's East Perkins and North Main streets. Lowery sold his claim to A.T. Perkins in the spring of 1857, and the latter moved his family into the valley. They were the first Anglo-American pioneer family of the township. Six others followed to make their home there that same year. The first United States post office opened in 1858. By 1859, the population of Ukiah had grown to about 100 people, making it a community sufficient in size to serve as the county seat. Before this, administrative duties for Mendocino County had been handled by Sonoma County.
Initially visitors could reach town only by stagecoach, or private horses. A short rail line from San Francisco terminated in Petaluma, nearly to the south. In 1870 the remainder of the trip to Ukiah took another two days by horse. In subsequent years the rail line was extended further northward to Cloverdale. Although the stagecoach portion was reduced to , the community was still relatively isolated and slow to develop.
Ukiah was incorporated in 1876. It was not until 1889 that the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad completed its line from Cloverdale to Ukiah, linking the Mendocino County seat to the national rail network.
Ukiah has been the hub of an agricultural and business community. Over the decades various commodity crops have been grown in the Ukiah Valley. They include pears, green beans, hops, apricots, and grapes. As part of California's Wine Country, grapes have become the predominant agricultural product.
Hops were once a major crop grown around Ukiah. The beer flavoring agent was first grown there in 1868 when L.F. Long of Largo grew an initial experimental crop. The climate proved suitable for the crop and production expanded, peaking in 1885. It declined in the last years of the 1880s as prices dropped. Mendocino County remained the third-largest producer of hops in the state of California in 1890, with well over under cultivation. Production continued well into the 20th century. A refurbished hop kiln can be seen at the north end of Ukiah east of Highway 101, where many of the old fields were located.

20th century

Ukiah's 20th-century population developed in relation to the lumber boom of the late 1940s. Logging of redwoods was once a major industry. Activists have worked to preserve areas of redwood forest, which became endangered due to overlogging. Young people entered the area from the 1960s, seeking alternative lifestyles and, in some cases, artisan and rural living.

Geography

Ukiah is in southeastern Mendocino County in the valley of the Russian River, a south-flowing river which reaches the Pacific in Sonoma County. Via U.S. Route 101, Ukiah is north of Santa Rosa and south of Eureka. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city covers an area of, of which, or 0.93%, are water.

Climate

Ukiah has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. Average rainfall for the area is per year. Measurable precipitation occurs on an average of 77.1 days per year. The greatest monthly precipitation was in January 1909 and the greatest 24-hour precipitation was on December 22, 1964. The wettest "rain year" was from July 1997 to June 1998 with and the driest from July 1976 to June 1977 with. Light snowfall occurs about every other year. The greatest recorded snowfall was on March 2, 1976, while the most in a month was in March 1896 and January 1952. Temperatures reach on an average of 61.0 afternoons annually and on an average of 8.7 afternoons. Due to frequent low humidity, summer temperatures normally drop into the fifties at night. Freezing temperatures occur on an average 33.6 mornings per year. The record high temperature was on September 6, 2022, and July 6, 2024. The record low temperature was on January 12, 1898.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition200020102020
White (non-Hispanic)72.4%62.87%54.04%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)19.31%27.73%32.78%
Two or more races (non-Hispanic)2.57%2.84%5.56%
Asian (non-Hispanic)1.64%2.46%3.0%
Native American (non-Hispanic)3.03%2.75%2.9%
[African American|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)]0.89%0.98%1.04%
Other 0.06%0.19%0.54%
Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)0.09%0.16%0.16%

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Ukiah had a population of 16,607. The population density was. The racial makeup of Ukiah was 58.8% White, 1.1% African American, 4.2% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 18.1% from other races, and 14.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.8% of the population.
The census reported that 96.2% of the population lived in households, 1.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2.1% were institutionalized.
There were 6,584 households, out of which 30.9% included children under the age of 18, 34.9% were married-couple households, 8.2% were cohabiting couple households, 36.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 35.5% of households were one person, and 18.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43. There were 3,753 families.
The age distribution was 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% aged 18 to 24, 27.4% aged 25 to 44, 22.6% aged 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 38.2years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males.
There were 6,952 housing units at an average density of, of which 6,584 were occupied. Of these, 42.7% were owner-occupied, and 57.3% were occupied by renters.

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 13.3% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 73.9% spoke only English at home, 21.9% spoke Spanish, 1.3% spoke other Indo-European languages, 2.9% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 84.4% were high school graduates and 22.9% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income was $67,122, and the per capita income was $36,541. About 10.7% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

Economy

Major employers in Ukiah include:

Major products

Ukiah is known for wine production. Some very large production wineries, including Brutocao, Fife, Parducci, Frey, and Bonterra, have become established here since the late 20th century.
Ukiah was previously a major producer of pears. Alex R. Thomas & Company owned hundreds of acres of Bartlett pear orchards on the east side of the Ukiah Valley. For nearly 90 years, many local residents and migrant workers have been employed packing the pears for domestic and foreign consumption. On December 1, 2008, the company announced it would be shutting down major operations at the end of the year due to bankruptcy. Several acres of orchard have been torn down and replaced with vineyards since the packing shed closed its doors. As of 2011, the main facility was slated to reopen as a composting and trash-sorting facility.

Arts and culture

Institutions of the arts include:

Recreation

  • Alex R. Thomas Plaza
  • Gardner Park
  • Giorno Park
  • Great Redwood Trail
  • Low Gap Park
  • McGarvey Park
  • Oak Manor Park
  • Observatory Park
  • Orchard Park
  • Riverside Park
  • Todd Grove Park
  • Ukiah Skate Park
  • Ukiah Sports Complex
  • Vinewood Park

Government

Ukiah uses a council–manager form of government in which policy is set by a five-member city council, elected at-large to four-year terms. The council appoints both the mayor and the city manager.
  • Mayor until December 2026 - Susan Sher
  • City council:
  • * Juan Orozco, Vice Mayor
  • * Heather Criss, Council Member
  • * Mari Rodin, Council Member
  • * Douglas Crane, Council Member
  • City Manager - Sage Sangiacomo
  • City Treasurer - Allen Carter
  • City Clerk - Kristine Lawler
  • City Attorney - David Rapport
In the California State Legislature, Ukiah is in, and.
In the United States House of Representatives, Ukiah is in.
The tribal headquarters of both the Pinoleville Pomo Nation and the Potter Valley Tribe are in Ukiah.

Transportation

The Amtrak Thruway 7 bus provides daily connections to/from Ukiah and Martinez to the south, to/from Arcata to the north. Additional Amtrak connections are available from Martinez station.

Education

Ukiah Unified School District

  • Ukiah High School
  • Calpella Elementary School
  • Eagle Peak Middle School
  • Nokomis Elementary School
  • Oak Manor Elementary School
  • Pomolita Middle School
  • South Valley High School
  • Yokayo Elementary School
  • Frank Zeek Elementary School
  • Tree of Life Montessori Charter School
  • Grace Hudson Elementary School
  • River Oak Charter School
  • Ukiah Independent Study Academy
  • Calpella Preschool
  • Preschool Village
  • Small Wonders State Preschool
  • Yokayo State Preschool
  • Ukiah Adult School

Other K–12 schools

Former K–12 schools

Colleges

Notable people

In popular culture