Willits, California | |
|---|---|
 .jpg)   Top: Masonic Temple (left) and Gateway to the Redwoods (right); Carnegie Library (left) and Mendocino County Museum (right) | |
 Location in Mendocino County and California | |
  Willits Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:39°24′35″N123°21′20″W / 39.40972°N 123.35556°W /39.40972; -123.35556 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Mendocino |
| Incorporated | November 19, 1888[1] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | Saprina Rodriguez |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.82 sq mi (7.3 km2) |
| • Land | 2.82 sq mi (7.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0 km2) 0.17% |
| Elevation | 1,391 ft (424 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 4,988 |
| • Density | 1,770.7/sq mi (683.7/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code | 95490 |
| Area code | 707 |
| FIPS code | 06-85600 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1652654[3] |
| Website | cityofwillits |
Willits (formerlyLittle Lake andWillitsville) is a city inMendocino County,California, United States.[3] It is located about 20 miles (32 km) north-northwest ofUkiah,[5] at an elevation of 1,391 feet (424 m).[3] The population was 4,988 at the 2020 census.[4] Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and at the beginning of the county's extensiveredwood forests as approached byHighway 101 from the south.
An arch stands in the center of Willits featuring the slogans "Gateway to the Redwoods" and "Heart of Mendocino County".[6] The arch is the repurposed second version of theReno Arch. Reno donated the arch to Willits in 1995.[7]
Hiram Willits arrived fromIndiana in 1857 to settle in the Little Lake Valley.[8] Kirk Brier founded the settlement on Willits' land.[5] Willits was originally called "Willitsville".[5] Later, when the post office opened in 1861, it was called "Little Lake".[5] The name changed to Willits in 1874.[5] The community incorporated in 1888.[5]
Little Lake was the scene of a legendary feud between the Frost and Coates families. The Frost family supported theConfederacy during theAmerican Civil War, and the Coates family supported theUnion. Both families were passionate in their beliefs. On October 16, 1867, Election Day, the long-running feud came to a head. A brawl turned into a shootout in front of Baechtel's store, leaving Abraham Coates, Henry Coates, Albert Coates, Thomas Coates and Elisha Frost dead on the street. Three others were wounded.[9]
In 1879, three men were charged withpetty larceny, having been accused of stealing a saddle and harness. The three, it was later reported, had for years been involved in stealing, robbing smokehouses, drinking, and reckless discharging of their firearms. They were taken to Brown's Little Lake Hotel to await the arrival of the circuit court judge. Following a meeting at Willits'Masonic Temple, 30 masked temple members seized the prisoners, and they were hanged from a nearby bridge. A newspaper reported there was no proof the murdered men were guilty of the charges.[10][11][12]
Willits became a boomtown due to thetanbark industry.[13] The 1970s "back to the land"homesteading movement paved the way for Willits' reputation as thesolar capital of the world in the 1980s.[13]
The Willits area is the final home of the racehorseSeabiscuit.Ridgewood Ranch, where Seabiscuit trained, recuperated, lived out his retirement and was buried, is located a few miles south of the city.[14]
Beginning in 1996, the city and many residents became embroiled in lawsuits against theWhitman Corporation (later acquired byPepsiCo, Inc.), alleging thathexavalent chromium pollution left by a chrome plating plant, which operated in Willits from 1964 to 1995, was responsible for several local health problems.[15] ActivistErin Brockovich, known for the eponymous movie about her work in a similar case, participated in a lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs. By 2003, plans were put into place to inject a solution into strategic wells at the site to neutralize the chromium and remediate the pollution on site. These plans successfully reduced the pollution, and further injections and a monitoring plan were implemented in 2005 and 2008.[16][17] In 2011, various lawsuits were combined into a single suit involving paying for the site cleanup and payouts to affected individuals; most lawsuits were resolved in 2012.[18]
Located at the center of Mendocino County in the Little Lake Valley, Willits is 23 miles (37 km) north ofUkiah and the same distance south ofLaytonville onU.S. Route 101 (otherwise known as theRedwood Highway). It is on the west side of the Little Lake Valley, a 6-by-3-mile (10 by 5 km) area surrounded by theCalifornia Coast Ranges.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), 99.96% of it land.[2] Willits is located about halfway on the futureGreat Redwood Trail, a multi-userail trail project.[19]
Under theKöppen climate classification Willits has a dry-summer subtropical ormediterranean climate.[20]
The mountains to the west along with a significant influence of mildPacific air cause Willits to have a cool winter and hot day/cool night summer climate. Average January temperatures range from 32 to 55 °F (0 to 13 °C). Average July temperatures range from 47 to 85 °F (8 to 29 °C). There are an average of 26.9 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher, and an average of 95.1 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record maximum temperature was 112 °F (44 °C) on July 24, 1902, and the record minimum temperature was 5 °F (−15 °C) on December 9, 1972.[21]
Annual precipitation averages 49.23 inches (1,250 mm).[22] The wettest "rain year" on record was from July 1903 to June 1904 with 86.60 inches (2,199.6 mm) and the driest from July 1990 to June 1991 with 28.08 inches (713.2 mm).[21] The most precipitation in one month was 31.41 inches (797.8 mm) in December 1964. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 8.80 inches (223.5 mm) on December 22, 1964. There are an average of 94.8 days with measurable precipitation.[21][22]
There are occasional snowfalls in Willits each year, with an average of 3.6 inches (9.1 cm) of snow annually. The most snow in one month was 20.0 inches (51 cm) in December 1964.[21]
| Climate data for Willits, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1902–2012 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 77 (25) | 84 (29) | 90 (32) | 98 (37) | 100 (38) | 105 (41) | 112 (44) | 107 (42) | 105 (41) | 102 (39) | 90 (32) | 85 (29) | 112 (44) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 53.7 (12.1) | 56.3 (13.5) | 59.0 (15.0) | 61.8 (16.6) | 68.9 (20.5) | 75.5 (24.2) | 83.5 (28.6) | 83.3 (28.5) | 81.9 (27.7) | 72.4 (22.4) | 59.9 (15.5) | 53.0 (11.7) | 67.4 (19.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 43.5 (6.4) | 45.2 (7.3) | 47.3 (8.5) | 49.5 (9.7) | 54.6 (12.6) | 59.9 (15.5) | 65.8 (18.8) | 64.5 (18.1) | 62.0 (16.7) | 54.6 (12.6) | 47.6 (8.7) | 42.6 (5.9) | 53.1 (11.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.3 (0.7) | 34.1 (1.2) | 35.5 (1.9) | 37.3 (2.9) | 40.2 (4.6) | 44.2 (6.8) | 48.0 (8.9) | 45.6 (7.6) | 42.1 (5.6) | 36.9 (2.7) | 35.3 (1.8) | 32.3 (0.2) | 38.7 (3.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 12 (−11) | 13 (−11) | 19 (−7) | 20 (−7) | 21 (−6) | 20 (−7) | 25 (−4) | 29 (−2) | 20 (−7) | 17 (−8) | 13 (−11) | 5 (−15) | 5 (−15) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 9.17 (233) | 8.63 (219) | 7.07 (180) | 3.44 (87) | 1.78 (45) | 0.50 (13) | 0.04 (1.0) | 0.05 (1.3) | 0.37 (9.4) | 2.57 (65) | 5.77 (147) | 9.84 (250) | 49.23 (1,250.7) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | trace | 0.8 (2.01) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 15.9 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 10.6 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 6.1 | 12.2 | 14.0 | 94.8 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Source 1: NOAA (snow/snow days 1981–2010)[22][23] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[21] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 431 | — | |
| 1870 | 946 | 119.5% | |
| 1880 | 153 | −83.8% | |
| 1890 | 815 | 432.7% | |
| 1900 | 791 | −2.9% | |
| 1910 | 1,153 | 45.8% | |
| 1920 | 1,468 | 27.3% | |
| 1930 | 1,424 | −3.0% | |
| 1940 | 1,625 | 14.1% | |
| 1950 | 2,691 | 65.6% | |
| 1960 | 3,410 | 26.7% | |
| 1970 | 3,091 | −9.4% | |
| 1980 | 4,008 | 29.7% | |
| 1990 | 5,027 | 25.4% | |
| 2000 | 5,073 | 0.9% | |
| 2010 | 4,888 | −3.6% | |
| 2020 | 4,988 | 2.0% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 4,844 | [24] | −2.9% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[25] 1870 Census[26] | |||
| Racial and ethnic composition | 2000[27] | 2010[28] | 2020[29] |
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 78.14% | 71.36% | 62.35% |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 14.69% | 20.62% | 24.42% |
| Two or more races (non-Hispanic) | 2.72% | 2.86% | 6.4% |
| Native American (non-Hispanic) | 2.68% | 3.01% | 3.49% |
| Asian (non-Hispanic) | 1.12% | 1.29% | 1.8% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 0.47% | 0.65% | 0.8% |
| Other (non-Hispanic) | 0.14% | 0.1% | 0.62% |
| Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) | 0.04% | 0.1% | 0.12% |
The2020 United States census reported that Willits had a population of 4,988. The population density was 1,770.7 inhabitants per square mile (683.7/km2). The racial makeup of Willits was 66.5%White, 0.9%African American, 4.9%Native American, 1.9%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 12.1% fromother races, and 13.7% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24.4% of the population.[30]
The census reported that 97.6% of the population lived in households, 1.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.2% were institutionalized.[30]
There were 2,019 households, out of which 32.3% included children under the age of 18, 33.1% were married-couple households, 9.5% werecohabiting couple households, 37.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 32.3% of households were one person, and 16.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.41.[30] There were 1,205families (59.7% of all households).[31]
The age distribution was 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% aged 18 to 24, 25.3% aged 25 to 44, 24.7% aged 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males.[30]
There were 2,147 housing units at an average density of 762.2 units per square mile (294.3 units/km2), of which 2,019 (94.0%) were occupied. Of these, 42.9% were owner-occupied, and 57.1% were occupied by renters.[30]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $55,971, and theper capita income was $33,006. About 7.0% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line.[32]
The2010 United States census[33] reported that Willits had a population of 4,888. The population density was 1,743.7 inhabitants per square mile (673.2/km2). The racial makeup of Willits was 3,862 (79.0%)White, 34 (0.7%)African American, 216 (4.4%)Native American, 68 (1.4%)Asian, 5 (0.1%)Pacific Islander, 479 (9.8%) fromother races, and 224 (4.6%) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1,008 persons (20.6%).[34]
The Census reported that 4,794 people (98.1% of the population) lived in households, 52 (1.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 42 (0.9%) were institutionalized.[34]
There were 1,914 households, out of which 667 (34.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 693 (36.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 320 (16.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 143 (7.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 163 (8.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 11 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 609 households (31.8%) were made up of individuals, and 281 (14.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50. There were 1,156families (60.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.13.[34]
The population dispersal was 1,270 people (26.0%) under the age of 18, 412 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 1,191 people (24.4%) aged 25 to 44, 1,273 people (26.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 742 people (15.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males. There were 2,073 housing units at an average density of 739.5 units per square mile (285.5 units/km2), of which 843 (44.0%) were owner-occupied, and 1,071 (56.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 2,215 people (45.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,579 people (52.8%) lived in rental housing units.[34]
Major employers in Willits include theAdventist Health Howard Memorial Hospital and METALfx.[35]
Willits High School is located on the north end of Willits. The North County Center ofMendocino College is also in Willits.
Every July, Willits hosts theFrontier Days & Rodeo, the oldest continuousrodeo andIndependence Day celebration in California. It is also home to the Roots of Motive Power Locomotive Museum,[36] the Mendocino County Museum, and the Willits Center for the Arts.
Willits uses a council–manager form of government with a city council consisting of five council members. As of December 2022, the current mayor of Willits is Saprina Rodriguez.[37]
In the state legislature, Willits is inthe 2nd senatorial district, represented byDemocrat Mike McGuire,[38] andthe 2nd Assembly district, represented byDemocrat Chris Rogers.[39]
Federally, Willits is inCalifornia's 2nd congressional district, represented byDemocrat Jared Huffman.[40]
Willits is served by local and regional newspapers as well as a low-power community radio station. The community radio station is KLLG, operated out of the Little LakeGrange. Local papers includeThe Mendocino Voice,[41]Willits News,[42] andWillits Weekly.[43]
Willits is the eastern terminus of theCalifornia Western Railroad (otherwise known as the "Skunk Train"), running through theCoast Redwood forests to coastalFort Bragg. The old redwoodWillits Depot was built in 1915 by theNorthwestern Pacific Railroad, a subsidiary of theSouthern Pacific. It is registered as a National Historic Place.[44][45]
TheAmtrak Thruway 7 bus provides daily connections to/from Willits (with a curbside stop at 298 East Commercial Street),Martinez to the south, andArcata to the north. AdditionalAmtrak connections are available from Martinez station.[46]
Willits Municipal Airport (also known as Ells Field) is a publicgeneral aviation airport with one runway, located 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the city.[47]
U.S. Route 101 is the major highway through the Little Lake Valley, passing just east of the Willits city limits, connectingEureka to the north andSan Francisco to the south.State Route 20 forks off of US 101 at a point just south of Willits, enters the city on South Main Street, and then heads west, running parallel to and several miles south of the Skunk Train's route, toFort Bragg. In an effort to reduce traffic congestion in the city, especially on all of Main Street, the Willits Bypass project opened to traffic on November 3, 2016, despite the controversy related to its route through protected wetlands.[48]
Some notable names from Willits includeJudi Bari, labor leader and environmental activist, who fought to save the redwoods. Over 1,000 people attended her Willits funeral in 1997.Tré Cool, drummer forGreen Day, lived in Willits during his teen years in the 1980s. Mona Gnader, the bass player forSammy Hagar, also resided in Willits. Stagecoach bandit Charles Bolles (a.k.a.Black Bart) stole multiple Wells Fargo boxes and mail from stagecoaches traveling through Willits.[49]
Phil Jordon, the first National Basketball Association player ever to have played prep basketball in the Redwood Empire area (coastal Northern California & coastal Southern Oregon), did so while at Willits High School.[50]
Edith Ceccarelli, once the oldest person in the United States, was born in Willits.[51]
Municipalities and communities ofMendocino County, California,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| Geographic | |
