Calistoga, California | |
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.JPG) .jpeg) _(cropped).jpg)  Clockwise from top left:Castello di Amorosa; downtown Calistoga;Chateau Montelena; downtown Calistoga | |
 Seal | |
 Location of Calistoga in Napa County, California | |
| Coordinates:38°34′53″N122°34′58″W / 38.58139°N 122.58278°W /38.58139; -122.58278 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Napa |
| Incorporated | January 6, 1886[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Donald Williams |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.59 sq mi (6.72 km2) |
| • Land | 2.58 sq mi (6.67 km2) |
| • Water | 0.019 sq mi (0.05 km2) 0.70% |
| Elevation | 348 ft (106 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,228 |
| • Density | 2,028.9/sq mi (783.36/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (Pacific) |
| ZIP code | 94515 |
| Area code | 707 |
| FIPS code | 06-09892 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 277482,2409963 |
| Website | www |
Calistoga (Wappo:Nilektsonoma) is a city inNapa County, California, United States. Located in theNorth Bay region of theSan Francisco Bay Area, the city had a population of 5,228 as of the2020 census.
Calistoga was founded in 1868 when theCalifornia Pacific Railroad was built, establishing the town as a tourist destination for itsCalistoga Hot Springs.[4] Today, Calistoga continues as a popular tourist destination in Wine Country, owing to its vineyards and historic landmarks.
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The Upper Napa Valley was once the home of a significant population of Indigenous People, called theWappo, during the Spanish colonial era of the late 18th century. With abundantoak trees providingacorns as a food staple and the natural hot springs as a healing ground Calistoga (Wappo:Nilektsonoma, meaning "Chicken Hawk Place")[5] was the site of several villages. FollowingMexican Independence, mission properties were secularized and disposed of by the Mexican government with much of the Napa Valley being partitioned into large ranchos in the 1830s and 1840s. The firstAnglo settlers began arriving in the 1840s, with several taking up lands in the Calistoga area.
Samuel Brannan was the leader of a Mormon settlement expedition on the shipBrooklyn landing in Yerba Buena (San Francisco) in 1846. He published San Francisco's first English-language newspaper, theCalifornia Star. Following the discovery ofgold inColoma, Brannan became California's first millionaire. Fascinated by Calistoga's natural hot springs, Brannan purchased more than 2,000 acres (8 km2) with the intent to develop a spa reminiscent ofSaratoga Springs inNew York.
The name ofCalistoga was given to the place in the fall of 1867, by Mr. Brannan, who has been reported and quoted as saying that the name came from aslip of the tongue that transformed "Saratoga of California" into "Calistoga of Sarafornia".[6][7][8] The place had already been previously calledHot Springs by the few Americans, andAgua Caliente by the Spaniards and Indians.[9]
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Brannan's Hot Springs Resort surrounding Mt. Lincoln with the Spa/Hotel located at what is now Indian Springs Resort and Brannan Cottage Inn, opened to California's rich and famous in 1862. TheNapa Valley Railroad Company's track was completed to Calistoga in 1868, providing an easier connection forferry passengers traveling fromSan Francisco, as well as transforming Calistoga into a transportation hub for the upper Napa Valley and a gateway toLake andSonoma Counties.
Calistoga's economy was based on mining (silver andmercury) agriculture (grapes, prunes and walnuts) and tourism (the hot springs). One of the early visitors wasRobert Louis Stevenson, who wrote theSilverado Squatters while honeymooning with his wifeFanny Vandegrift at a cabin near Silverado Mine onMount Saint Helena.
In 1920, Giuseppe Musante, a soda fountain and candy store owner in Calistoga, was drilling for a cold water well at the Railway Exchange when he tapped into a hot water source. In 1924 he set up a bottling line and began selling Calistoga Sparkling Mineral Water. The company became a major player in the bottled water business after Elwood Sprenger bought the small bottling plant in 1970 known today asCalistoga Water Company.
Calistoga was named a Distinctive Destination by theNational Trust for Historic Preservation in 2001.[10]
In 2017, theTubbs Fire, which killed at least 19 people, started off Highway 128 and Bennett Lane in Calistoga. The fire led to the evacuation of almost the entire population of Calistoga. The 2017 Tubbs Fire took exactly the same path as the 1964Hanly Fire. In 2020, theGlass Fire forced an evacuation of the city for the second time in four years. Since then,PG&E has several times pre-emptively cut electrical power to Calistoga in dangerous weather conditions to prevent its power lines from sparking a wildfire. In 2024, the utility funded the construction of theCalistoga Resiliency Center, a backup electricity generation facility (microgrid) equipped with six hydrogen fuel cells that will be able to provide power to the city for at least 48 hours.[11][12]
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According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2), 99.30% of it land and 0.70% of it water.
According toNational Weather Service records, Calistoga has cool, wet winters with temperatures dropping to freezing on an average of 35.6 days. Summers are usually very dry, with daytime temperatures regularly reaching 90 °F (32 °C) or higher on an average of 70.8 days, but nights are cool, dropping into the mid-fifties. Average January temperatures range from 58.8 to 39.4 °F (14.9 to 4.1 °C). Average July temperatures range from 89.5 to 54.7 °F (31.9 to 12.6 °C). The record high temperature of 118 °F (47.8 °C) occurred on September 6, 2022. The record low temperature of 10 °F (−12.2 °C) was recorded on December 11, 1932. Calistoga has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) according to theKöppen climate classification system.
Average annual rainfall is 38.58 inches (980 mm) with measurable precipitation falling on an average of 65.7 days each year. The wettest year was 1983 with 75.38 inches (1,915 mm) and the driest year was 2013 with 6.45 inches (164 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 32.06 inches (814 mm) in February 1986. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 8.10 inches (206 mm) on February 17, 1986. Snow often falls in the nearby mountains during the winter months, but is rare in Calistoga. On January 3, 1974, 3.0 inches (7.6 cm) of snow fell in the city.[13]
| Climate data for Calistoga, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1916–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 84 (29) | 88 (31) | 90 (32) | 102 (39) | 104 (40) | 108 (42) | 114 (46) | 111 (44) | 118 (48) | 106 (41) | 96 (36) | 87 (31) | 118 (48) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 72.4 (22.4) | 76.4 (24.7) | 81.2 (27.3) | 87.6 (30.9) | 92.9 (33.8) | 101.3 (38.5) | 102.8 (39.3) | 102.6 (39.2) | 101.9 (38.8) | 94.2 (34.6) | 81.6 (27.6) | 71.4 (21.9) | 106.0 (41.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 58.8 (14.9) | 61.7 (16.5) | 65.7 (18.7) | 70.3 (21.3) | 76.5 (24.7) | 84.5 (29.2) | 89.5 (31.9) | 89.1 (31.7) | 87.4 (30.8) | 78.6 (25.9) | 65.9 (18.8) | 57.7 (14.3) | 73.8 (23.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 49.1 (9.5) | 51.4 (10.8) | 54.2 (12.3) | 57.3 (14.1) | 62.5 (16.9) | 68.6 (20.3) | 72.1 (22.3) | 71.7 (22.1) | 69.8 (21.0) | 63.0 (17.2) | 53.8 (12.1) | 48.1 (8.9) | 60.1 (15.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 39.4 (4.1) | 41.1 (5.1) | 42.8 (6.0) | 44.3 (6.8) | 48.5 (9.2) | 52.7 (11.5) | 54.7 (12.6) | 54.3 (12.4) | 52.2 (11.2) | 47.4 (8.6) | 41.7 (5.4) | 38.5 (3.6) | 46.5 (8.0) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 26.9 (−2.8) | 28.5 (−1.9) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 33.6 (0.9) | 38.0 (3.3) | 41.9 (5.5) | 45.6 (7.6) | 45.9 (7.7) | 42.6 (5.9) | 35.4 (1.9) | 29.4 (−1.4) | 25.5 (−3.6) | 23.1 (−4.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 17 (−8) | 17 (−8) | 19 (−7) | 20 (−7) | 18 (−8) | 32 (0) | 32 (0) | 38 (3) | 32 (0) | 27 (−3) | 21 (−6) | 10 (−12) | 10 (−12) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 7.94 (202) | 7.07 (180) | 5.89 (150) | 2.32 (59) | 1.37 (35) | 0.29 (7.4) | 0.01 (0.25) | 0.03 (0.76) | 0.12 (3.0) | 1.83 (46) | 3.76 (96) | 7.95 (202) | 38.58 (981.41) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 11.6 | 11.1 | 8.7 | 6.3 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 6.3 | 12.4 | 65.7 |
| Source 1: NOAA[14] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[13] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 407 | — | |
| 1900 | 690 | — | |
| 1910 | 751 | 8.8% | |
| 1920 | 850 | 13.2% | |
| 1930 | 1,000 | 17.6% | |
| 1940 | 1,124 | 12.4% | |
| 1950 | 1,418 | 26.2% | |
| 1960 | 1,514 | 6.8% | |
| 1970 | 1,882 | 24.3% | |
| 1980 | 3,879 | 106.1% | |
| 1990 | 4,468 | 15.2% | |
| 2000 | 5,190 | 16.2% | |
| 2010 | 5,155 | −0.7% | |
| 2020 | 5,228 | 1.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[15] | |||
The2020 United States census reported that Calistoga had a population of 5,228. The population density was 2,028.7 inhabitants per square mile (783.3/km2). The racial makeup of Calistoga was 48.8%White, 0.5%African American, 1.6%Native American, 1.7%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 27.2% fromother races, and 20.2% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51.6% of the population.[16]
The census reported that 99.7% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.[16]
There were 2,108 households, out of which 29.3% included children under the age of 18, 45.6% were married-couple households, 6.6% werecohabiting couple households, 31.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 30.4% of households were one person, and 19.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47.[16] There were 1,313families (62.3% of all households).[17]
The age distribution was 21.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% aged 18 to 24, 22.5% aged 25 to 44, 25.7% aged 45 to 64, and 24.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males.[16]
There were 2,392 housing units at an average density of 928.2 units per square mile (358.4 units/km2), of which 2,108 (88.1%) were occupied. Of these, 54.8% were owner-occupied, and 45.2% were occupied by renters.[16]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $84,892, and theper capita income was $60,684. About 6.9% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line.[18]
At the2010 census Calistoga had a population of 5,155. The population density was 1,972.4 inhabitants per square mile (761.5/km2). The racial makeup of Calistoga was 3,735 (72.5%) White, 27 (0.5%) African American, 21 (0.4%) Native American, 47 (0.9%) Asian, 10 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 968 (18.8%) from other races, and 347 (6.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,545 persons (49.4%).[19][20][21]
The census reported that 5,100 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 20 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 35 (0.7%) were institutionalized.
There were 2,019 households, 630 (31.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 927 (45.9%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 189 (9.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 99 (4.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 141 (7.0%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 20 (1.0%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 641 households (31.7%) were one person and 332 (16.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.53. There were 1,215 families (60.2% of households); the average family size was 3.23.
The age distribution was 1,167 people (22.6%) under the age of 18, 400 people (7.8%) aged 18 to 24, 1,341 people (26.0%) aged 25 to 44, 1,283 people (24.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 964 people (18.7%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
There were 2,319 housing units at an average density of 887.3 per square mile, of the occupied units 1,166 (57.8%) were owner-occupied and 853 (42.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%. 2,545 people (49.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,555 people (49.6%) lived in rental housing units.
Major employers in Calistoga includeSolage resort, Calistoga Joint Unified School District, Indian Springs Calistoga resort, and theCalistoga Spa Hot Springs.[22] Neighboring vineyards includeSterling Vineyards.
Calistoga is at the north end of the Napa ValleyCalistoga AVA, part ofCalifornia'sWine Country. There are numerous wineries within a short drive. The city allows visitors to see Wine Country as it was before freeways and fast food—only two-lane roads lead there, including those segments ofHighway 29 andHighway 128 that pass through Calistoga, and fast food franchises are banned by law.[23]
Calistoga itself is noted for itshot springs spas such asCalistoga Spa Hot Springs. A local specialty is immersion in hot volcanic ash, known as amud bath. Nearby attractions include an artificialgeothermalgeyser known as the "Old Faithful of California" or "Little Old Faithful". The geyser erupts from the casing of a well drilled in the late 19th century. According to Dr. John Rinehart, in his bookA Guide to Geyser Gazing (1976 p. 49), a man had drilled into the geyser in search for water. He had "simply opened up a dead geyser".[24]
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In theCalifornia State Legislature, Calistoga is inthe 3rd senatorial district, represented byDemocrat Christopher Cabaldon, and inthe 4th Assembly district, represented byDemocrat Cecilia Aguiar-Curry.[25]
In theUnited States House of Representatives, Calistoga is inCalifornia's 4th congressional district, represented byDemocrat Mike Thompson.[26]
The above districts are based on the 2021 Redistricting in California.
The mayor of Calistoga isDonald Williams, who was elected in 2022 by a 27-vote margin.[27] He defeated former fire chief Gary Kraus with 841 votes over Kraus's 814. Williams was sworn into office in December 2022.
During his tenure as mayor, Williams has focused on preserving Calistoga's small town character,[28] expensive water rates,[29] and the city's acquisition of theNapa County Fairgrounds.[30]
Scenes from the movieHot Rod were filmed in and around Calistoga. Scenes from theDisney movieBedtime Stories starringAdam Sandler were filmed in Calistoga in June 2008.[31] The Netflix movie,Wine Country used Calistoga's downtown as a filming location in May 2018.[32]
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