Garberville | |
|---|---|
Downtown Garberville has a retail district. | |
Location of Garberville in Humboldt County, California | |
| Coordinates:40°6′N123°48′W / 40.100°N 123.800°W /40.100; -123.800 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | |
| County | Humboldt County |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.737 sq mi (7.089 km2) |
| • Land | 2.680 sq mi (6.941 km2) |
| • Water | 0.057 sq mi (0.148 km2) 2.1% |
| Elevation | 535 ft (163 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 818 |
| • Density | 305/sq mi (118/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code | 95542 |
| Area code | 707 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 224036; 2611433 |
| U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Garberville, California;U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Garberville, California | |
Garberville is acensus-designated place[4] inHumboldt County,California.[2] It is located on the South Fork of theEel River 52 miles (84 km) south-southeast ofEureka,[5] at an elevation of 535 feet (163 m).[2] The population was 818 at the2020 United States census. It is approximately 200 miles (320 km) north ofSan Francisco, California, and within a fifteen-minute drive toHumboldt Redwoods State Park and a sixty-minute drive toEureka, the county seat. Garberville is the primary town in the area known as the Mateel Region, consisting of parts of theMattole andEel River watersheds in southern Humboldt and northernMendocino counties.
Prior to recorded history, the area was populated by southernSinkyone people.[6]
In 1853, a Spanish explorer, Antone Garcia, settled in the area near Town Gulch, which runs through modern-day Garberville.[7] The first post office in Garberville opened in 1874.[5] Jacob C. Garber, the townpostmaster, later named the town after himself[8][9] in 1879.[10]
Garberville is located at40°06′01″N123°47′42″W / 40.10028°N 123.79500°W /40.10028; -123.79500. The town is stretched out in a small forested valley bisected byU.S. Route 101, at an elevation of 535 feet (163 m). The nearbyKing's Peak rises to 4,087 feet (1,246 m).
The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate isCsb (Mediterranean climate), characterized by cold, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.[11]
| Climate data for Garberville, California | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 50 (10) | 55 (13) | 60 (16) | 64 (18) | 71 (22) | 78 (26) | 86 (30) | 87 (31) | 83 (28) | 70 (21) | 56 (13) | 49 (9) | 67 (19) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 37 (3) | 38 (3) | 39 (4) | 41 (5) | 45 (7) | 50 (10) | 53 (12) | 53 (12) | 49 (9) | 45 (7) | 41 (5) | 37 (3) | 44 (7) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 13.2 (340) | 10.3 (260) | 8.9 (230) | 4.5 (110) | 1.9 (48) | 0.6 (15) | 0.1 (2.5) | 0.4 (10) | 0.9 (23) | 3.9 (99) | 9.6 (240) | 13.7 (350) | 68 (1,700) |
| Source: Weatherbase[12] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 48 | — | |
| 2010 | 913 | — | |
| 2020 | 818 | −10.4% | |
| US Census[13] U.S. Census 1880-1980,[14] 1860–1870[15][16] 1880-1890[17] 1900[18] 1910[19] 1920[20] 1930[21] 1940[22] 1950[23] 1960[24] 1970[25] 1980[26] 1990[27]2000[28] 2010[29] | |||
Garberville first appeared as acensus designated place in the2010 U.S. census.[29]
| Racial and ethnic composition | 2010[30] | 2020[31] |
|---|---|---|
| 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 (non-Hispanic) | 0.11% | 2.08% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1.31% | 0.24% |
| Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) | 0.0% | 0.24% |
The2020 United States census reported that Garberville had a population of 818. The population density was 305.2 inhabitants per square mile (117.8/km2). The racial makeup of Garberville was 646 (79.0%)White, 2 (0.2%)African American, 21 (2.6%)Native American, 22 (2.7%)Asian, 2 (0.2%)Pacific Islander, 33 (4.0%) fromother races, and 92 (11.2%) from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 85 persons (10.4%).[32]
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.[32]
There were 396 households, out of which 59 (14.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 104 (26.3%) were married-couple households, 31 (7.8%) werecohabiting couple households, 131 (33.1%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 130 (32.8%) had a male householder with no partner present. 196 households (49.5%) were one person, and 81 (20.5%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.00.[32] There were 165families (41.7% of all households).[33]
The age distribution was 135 people (16.5%) under the age of 18, 47 people (5.7%) aged 18 to 24, 250 people (30.6%) aged 25 to 44, 205 people (25.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 181 people (22.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males.[32]
There were 456 housing units at an average density of 170.1 units per square mile (65.7 units/km2), of which 396 (86.8%) were occupied. Of these, 212 (53.5%) were owner-occupied, and 184 (46.5%) were occupied by renters.[32]
Marijuana cultivation has replaced timber as the economic driver of Garberville and neighboring Redway. There is a Cannabis College in Garberville,[34] and the town has been called "themarijuana heartland of the U.S." byBBC News.[34]
Reggae on the River, an annual music festival, is held near Garberville. Nearby, the 1925 Tudor RevivalBenbow Inn is on theNational 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.
TheGanjier 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.
In thestate legislature, Garberville is inthe 2nd senatorial district, represented byDemocrat Mike McGuire,[35] andthe 2nd Assembly district, represented byDemocrat Chris Rogers.[36]
Federally, Garberville is inCalifornia's 2nd congressional district, represented byDemocrat Jared Huffman.[37]
A proposal to incorporate Garberville as a city[38] 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.[38] A local chapter of theGreen Party was formed in 2006.[39]
The Southern Humboldt Unified School District was created from 19 separate school districts in 1948[40] and currently serves about 800 students in an area of 745 square miles (1,930 km2).[38] The district has five elementary, one middle school, one high school and one learning center.
Garberville is home to the weeklyRedwood Times, run byMedia News Group as a sister publication of the dailyTimes-Standard from Eureka.[48] A second weekly, the locally ownedHumboldt Independent,[38] was founded in 1997 and closed in 2024.[49][50] Redwood Community Radio,KMUD, broadcasts from Garberville at 91.1 FM.[51]
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 asTrinidad.
TheAmtrak Thruway 7 bus provides daily connections to/from Garberville (with a curbside stop at 924 Redwood Drive),Martinez to the south, andArcata to the north. AdditionalAmtrak connections are available from Martinez station.[52]
Garberville Airport is a public airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of town.[53]
Garberville'sZIP Code is 95542.[54] The community is insidearea code 707.[55]
The Garberville Fire Protection District, has three engines and a utility truck, self-contained breathing apparatuses and radios.[56] The Garberville Water Company supplies drinking water to residents and maintains 27 fire hydrants on its water lines.[56] The Garberville Sanitary District is not the same as the water company, but provides sewers in the core of the fire district.[56] Some releases of water have contained one or more toxins.[57]
The Jerold Phelps Community Hospital[38] is administered by the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District.[58]
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.