Lake County has been inhabited byPomo Native Americans for over ten thousand years. Pomos had been fishermen and hunters, known especially for their intricate basketry made from lakeshore tules and other native plants and feathers. Pomo people continue to live in Lake County.[10]
The area hadEuropean American settlers since at least the 1840s. Lake County was created in 1861 from parts ofNapa andMendocino counties.[11] The eastern boundary of Lake County, which was not clearly specified in the 1861 act, was clarified by legislative acts passed in 1864 and 1868.[12] A major effect of the 1868 act was to include in Lake County the entire watershed ofNorth Fork Cache Creek, which had previously been claimed byColusa County.[13]
The 1911California Blue Book lists the major crops asBartlett pears and beans. Other crops include grain, alfalfa, hay, prunes, peaches, apples, grapes and walnuts. Stockraising included goats, hogs, turkeys and dairying.[14]
Some vineyards were planted in the 1870s by European Americans, but the first in the state were established in the 18th century by Spanish missionaries. By the early 20th century, the area was earning a reputation for producing some of the world's greatest wines. However, in 1920, nationalprohibition essentially ended Lake County's wine production. With authorized cultivation limited to sacramental purposes, most of thevineyards were ripped out and replanted with walnut and pear orchards.
Clear Lake is believed to be the oldest warmwater lake inNorth America, due to a geological fluke. The lake sits on a huge block of stone which slowly tilts in the northern direction at the same rate as the lake fills in withsediment, thus keeping the water at roughly the same depth. Thegeology of the county is chaotic, being based onFranciscan Assemblage hills. Numerous smallfaults are present in the south end of the lake as well as many oldvolcanoes, the largest beingCobb Mountain. The geologic history of the county shows events of great violence, such as the eruption ofMount Konocti and Mount St. Helena and the collapse ofCow Mountain, which created the hills around the county seat ofLakeport.Blue Lakes, Lake Pillsbury, and Indian Valley Reservoir are the county's other major bodies of water.
In the late 19th century, the worldwide popularity of mineral water for the relief of myriad physical ailments resulted in the development of mineral resorts around Clear Lake.[16]
Greene Bartlett discoveredBartletthot springs in 1870. The springs were developed into a resort and by 1900 included a mineral water bottling plant. The resort burned down in 1934.[17]
Harbin Hot Springs was developed by settlers in the 1860s and burned to the ground in the Valley Fire of 2015. The resort partially reopened in January 2019, including the main pools and sauna, and a limited cafeteria service.[18]
Highland Springs opened in 1891 and was destroyed by fire in 1945. During its time, Highland had an elegant dining room and a spacious hotel.[16]
Saratoga Springs Resort was opened by J. J. Liebert in 1873 with several cabins, and within two decades had room for 350 guests.[19]
Witter Springs Resort opened in 1873 with a hotel and guest cottages.[19]
Lake County has aMediterranean climate with hot summer daytime temperatures in its lower elevations. Nighttime temperatures remain cool year-round, somewhat moderating average temperatures and relieving the summer heat.
Climate data for Clearlake, California (1981–2010 normals)
Lake County has been ranked by the American Lung Association as having the cleanest air in the nation, including in 2013, 2014 and 2015.[21] Lake County has also been ranked 24 times as having the cleanest air in California.[21] Currently, the American Lung Association's website gives Lake County air a "C" grade for high ozone days and an "A" grade for particle pollution.[22]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 68,163. The median age was 45.0 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.2 males age 18 and over.[30]
59.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 40.8% lived in rural areas.[32]
There were 27,622 households in the county, of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[30]
There were 34,220 housing units, of which 19.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.5% were owner-occupied and 32.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%.[30]
Lake County, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
There were a total of 34,031 homes in Lake County in 2005. This county has gone through a growth in housing units, adding a sum of 1,414 residential structures since 2001, a change of 4.3 percent. Lake County ranks 978 of 3,141, compared to change in residential structure growth in counties throughout the Unities States.
Lake County had a median home value in the year 2005 of $255,300, according to the American Community Survey. This median is less than the overall California 2005 home median value of $477,700 and greater than median home value of $167,500 for the rest of the nation in that year. In 2005, the American Community Survey reported that 14.4% of Lake County's owner-occupied dwellings are valued over a half a million dollars.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $49,627, and the median income for a family was $55,818. Males had a median income of $45,771 versus $44,026 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $43,825. About 6.9% of families and 4.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 22.8% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
According to official estimates based on the 2000 Census, 30% of housing units in Lake County were manufactured housing units.[41] This was the highest percentage of any California county.[42]
In its early history, Lake County leanedDemocratic inPresidential andcongressional elections. It supported every Democratic presidential candidate between 1864 and 1916 exceptAlton B. Parker in his1904 landslide defeat.[43] Nonetheless, between 1920 and 1984 Lake County tended towards leaning Republican and was won by just four Democratic nominees –Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936,Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 andJimmy Carter in 1976.Ronald Reagan in1984 won a majority in the county, which later reverted to leaning Democratic.[43] In 2016, Republicans broke 40% of the vote for the first time since 2004, and Democrats failed to win 50% of the vote for the first time since 1996. Democrats broke 50% again in 2020, increasing their margin of victory, although Republicans still increased their percentage of the vote.[44] In 2022, the county was won by Republicans in several statewide races.[45] In2024,Donald Trump won Lake County by 367 votes, marking the first time since Reagan's 1984 run that a Republican candidate won the presidential race in Lake County.[46]
On November 4, 2008, Lake County voted 52.6% for Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.[47] In November 2024,Proposition 3, titled Constitutional Right to Marry, which effectively repealed Proposition 8, received 57.04% of "Yes" votes in the county.[46]
United States presidential election results for Lake County, California[44]
The table below includes the number of actual offenses (including attempts) as reported by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense (crime for the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake is not included, being listed in separate table further below).
The only significant manufacturing operations in Lake County are Stokes Ladders inKelseyville, which builds orchard and industrial ladders,[54] and Reynolds Systems inMiddletown, which specializes indetonators,igniters, precision initiating couplers, leads and boosters for theaerospace industry.
Lake County's economy is largely driven by agriculture. The main crops in 2022 were:[55][56]
The first vineyards in Lake County were planted in the late 19th century, butProhibition and the county's remoteness dealt a blow to the area'sviticulture. A reemergence of the wine industry began in the 1970s, although most of the region's grapes are still trucked to neighboringNapa,Sonoma andMendocino counties forvinification. The county saw its vineyard acreage increase from fewer than 100 acres (40 ha) in 1965 to more than 11,000 acres (4,500 ha) in 2023[58]
Lake Transit serves all areas around Clear Lake. Local routes serve Lakeport, Clearlake and Lower Lake. Connections are also provided to St. Helena (in Napa County) and Ukiah (in Mendocino County). Some routes operate on weekdays only; no service is provided on Sundays and observed public holidays.[59][60]
Lampson Field (IATA:CKE,ICAO:LID,FAALID:1O2) is the county's public airport. A 4,000 foot (1,200 m) airstrip is located in Gravelly Valley, north ofLake Pillsbury.[61] There are also several private airstrips located throughout the county. The county was once host to thePaul Hoberg Airport in theCobb area, which by the early 1980s was considered abandoned.[62]
In 1888 theVaca Valley and Clear Lake Railroad reachedRumsey, but the planned line to Clear Lake was never built. The Clear Lake Railroad started work on a line fromHopland to Lakeport: "In November 1911 first ground was broken for the Hopland-Clear Lake railroad to Hopland. Mrs Harriet Lee Hammond, wife of the president of the road started construction. ... There were six miles of track out of Hopland ...", but this was also abandoned.[63][64][65]
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties.Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^"Clear Lake Is Unique".Official Website of the County of Lake. County of Lake. September 13, 2013.Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. RetrievedOctober 9, 2015.
^"2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012.Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 26, 2015.
^abSanderson, Marcia (2005).Lake County. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 39–52.ISBN978-0-7385-3030-7.
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