Mendocino, California
Encyclopedia
Mendocino is a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 (CDP) in Mendocino County
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Mendocino is located 9.5 miles (15 km) south of Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, California
Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...

, at an elevation of 154 feet (47 m). The population was 894 at the 2010 census, up from 824 at the 2000 census.

Despite its small size, the town's scenic location on a headland surrounded by the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 has made it extremely popular as an artist colony and with vacationers. Because it is less than four hours by car from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

, it is a popular weekend getaway spot for Bay Area residents.

History

Prior to 1850, a Pomo
Pomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...

 settlement named Buldam
Buldam, California
Buldam is a former Pomo settlement in Mendocino County, California. It was located on the north bank of Big River and east of Mendocino; its precise location is unknown....

 was located near Mendocino on the north bank of the Big River
Big River, California
Big River is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 1,327 at the 2010 census, up from 1,266 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

. The town was founded in 1850 as a logging community, and was originally named Meiggsville after Henry Meiggs
Henry Meiggs
Henry Meiggs , was a promoter/entrepreneur and railroad builder. He was born in Catskill, New York. He came to New York City in 1835 and began a lumber business, but was ruined by the Panic of 1837. He restarted his business, this time in Brooklyn, but again met with failure...

. The first post office opened in 1858. Many of its early settlers were New Englanders, as was true with many older Northern California logging towns. Its economy declined after 1940, and it became a somewhat isolated village with a declining population. The revitalization of the town began in the late 1950s with the founding of the Mendocino Art Center by artist Bill Zacha
Bill Zacha
Bill Zacha was an artist and entrepreneur who founded the in Mendocino, California and by doing so started the artistic revival of Mendocino....

.

Since 1987, Mendocino has been the site of the Mendocino Music Festival
Mendocino Music Festival
The Mendocino Music Festival is a diverse concert series held in late July. Started in 1987 by Allan Pollack, Susan Waterfall and Walter Green, the festival is a blend of established music groups invited for nightly performances in the village of Mendocino, California...

, a classically-based but musically diverse series of concerts that is held annually in a huge circus type performance tent on the town's Main Street in the Mendocino Headlands State Park
Mendocino Headlands State Park
Mendocino Headlands State Park is a California State Park in Mendocino, California. It consists of of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets surrounding the town of Mendocino, two beaches , and the much larger Big River Unit stretching for eight miles along both banks of the nearby Big River.The...

.

Most of the town was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Mendocino County, California in 1971 as the Mendocino and Headlands Historic District
Mendocino and Headlands Historic District
The Mendocino and Headlands Historic District is a nationally recognized and locally protected historic district in Mendocino, California. It is bounded roughly by the Pacific Ocean on the west and south, Little Lake Street on the north and California State Route 1 on the east...

.
Mendocino Presbyterian Church
Mendocino Presbyterian Church
The Mendocino Presbyterian Church is an historic Carpenter Gothic style Presbyterian church building located at 44831 Main Street, in Mendocino, California, It was designed by architects S. C. Bugbee & Son of San Francisco and between 1867-1868 it was built of redwood at a cost of $10,000 by ...

 on Main Street, dedicated on July 5, 1868, is one of the oldest continuously-used Protestant churches in California, and is designated as California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...

 #714. In addition, the Temple of Kwan Tai on Albion Street, California Historical Landmark #927, may be as old as 1854 and is one of the oldest Chinese houses of worship in California.

The town's name comes from Cape Mendocino
Cape Mendocino
Cape Mendocino located on the Lost Coast entirely within Humboldt County, California, USA, is the westernmost point on the coast of California. It has been a landmark since the 16th century when the Manila Galleons would reach the coast here following the prevailing westerlies all the way across...

, named by early Spanish navigators in honor of Antonio de Mendoza
Antonio de Mendoza
Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco, Marquis of Mondéjar, Count of Tendilla , was the first viceroy of New Spain, serving from April 17, 1535 to November 25, 1550, and the second viceroy of Peru, from September 23, 1551 to July 21, 1552...

, Viceroy of New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...

.

Geography

Mendocino is located at 39°18′28"N 123°47′58"W.

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the CDP has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²), of which, 2.3 square miles (6 km²) of it is land and 5.2 square miles (13.5 km²) of it (69.58%) is water.

Mendocino experiences a cool summer Maritime Mediterranean
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 climate. Summers are characterized by frequent fog and highs mostly in the upper sixties and lows in the fifties. Winters rarely, if ever, see frost or snow, due to close proximity to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. Mendocino averages about 43 inches of rain per year concentrated mainly in fall, winter, spring, and early summer.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Mendocino had a population of 894. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 120.5 people per square mile (46.5/km²). The racial makeup of Mendocino was 834 (93.3%) White, 5 (0.6%) African American, 8 (0.9%) Native American, 13 (1.5%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 6 (0.7%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 27 (3.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 42 persons (4.7%).

The Census reported that 830 people (92.8% of the population) lived in households, 64 (7.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 447 households, out of which 62 (13.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 177 (39.6%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 22 (4.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 15 (3.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (6.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....

, and 6 (1.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 178 households (39.8%) were made up of individuals and 83 (18.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.86. There were 214 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...

 (47.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.41.

The population was spread out with 93 people (10.4%) under the age of 18, 58 people (6.5%) aged 18 to 24, 166 people (18.6%) aged 25 to 44, 333 people (37.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 244 people (27.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56.1 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.7 males.

There were 617 housing units at an average density of 83.1 per square mile (32.1/km²), of which 271 (60.6%) were owner-occupied, and 176 (39.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. 520 people (58.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 310 people (34.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 824 people, 424 households, and 220 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 363.8 people per square mile (140.2/km²). There were 549 housing units at an average density of 242.4 per square mile (93.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.51% White, 0.36% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 0.73% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.

There were 424 households out of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.9% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.51.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 15.5% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 20.6% from 25 to 44, 38.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females there were 78.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,107, and the median income for a family was $59,167. Males had a median income of $41,667 versus $29,875 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the CDP was $29,348. About 6.3% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Mendocino is home to a large number of bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...

s. It has a small downtown with a number of art shops and small restaurants.

Politics

In the state legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...

 Mendocino is located in the 2nd Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

 District, represented by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Noreen Evans
Noreen Evans
Noreen Evans is an American politician in the California State Senate. She is a Democrat representing the 2nd district, encompassing Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, and Napa counties, as well as parts of Sonoma and Solano counties....

, and in the 1st Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 District, represented by Democrat Wesley Chesbro
Wesley Chesbro
Wesley P. Chesbro is a Democratic politician from California. He is currently the Assembly member for the 1st Assembly district in California. Previously, Chesbro served as a State Senator from California's 2nd district from 1998 until 2006...

. Federally, Mendocino is located in California's 1st congressional district
California's 1st congressional district
California's 1st congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California and presently consists of the northern coastline and includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino and Napa counties and parts of Sonoma and Yolo counties.The district is currently...

, which has a Cook PVI
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...

 of D +10 and is represented by Democrat Mike Thompson
Mike Thompson
Michael C. Thompson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties as well as parts of Yolo and Sonoma Counties....

.

Movie and TV filming

Many movies have been filmed in and around Mendocino and Mendocino County, including Dying Young, The Russians Are Coming
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming is an American comedy film. Based on the Nathaniel Benchley novel The Off-Islanders, the film was directed by Norman Jewison and adapted for the screen by William Rose....

; Overboard (actually filmed in Fort Bragg); The Dunwich Horror
The Dunwich Horror (film)
The Dunwich Horror is a 1970 B-movie from American International Pictures directed by Daniel Haller and produced by Roger Corman. The film was based on the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft with a script co-written by future Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson. This was the...

; The Karate Kid, Part III
The Karate Kid, Part III
The Karate Kid, Part III is a 1989 martial arts film, and the second sequel to the hit motion picture The Karate Kid . The film stars Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Thomas Ian Griffith, Robyn Lively, and Martin Kove. Like the first two films, it was directed by John G. Avildsen and written...

; Dead & Buried
Dead & Buried
Dead & Buried is a 1981 horror film directed by Gary Sherman, starring Melody Anderson and James Farentino. With a screenplay written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the movie was initially banned as a "Video Nasty" in the UK in the early 80s, but was later acquitted of obscenity charges and...

; Forever Young; Same Time Next Year
Same Time, Next Year (film)
Same Time, Next Year is a 1978 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Bernard Slade is based on his 1975 play of the same title.-Plot synopsis:...

; Racing with the Moon
Racing with the Moon
Racing with the Moon is a 1984 dramatic film starring Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, and Nicolas Cage. It was directed by Richard Benjamin and written by Steven Kloves. The original music score was composed by Dave Grusin.-Synopsis:...

(partially filmed in Fort Bragg); Pontiac Moon
Pontiac Moon
Pontiac Moon is a 1994 adventure film directed by Peter Medak, and produced by Robert Schaffel and Youssef Vahabzadeh.The film stars Ted Danson as Washington Bellamy, a "pigheaded" science teacher in a small California town, and Mary Steenburgen as his wife Katherine. Danson was also one of 3...

; and The Majestic (also partially filmed in Fort Bragg).
Mendocino was depicted as turn-of-the-20th-century Monterey in the James Dean classic East of Eden. "Summer of '42" starring Jennifer O'Neil included local Mendocino High School students.

However, the TV series Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...

has had the largest impact on the community. Murder, She Wrote was set in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. Nine episodes of the 264-episode program were filmed in Mendocino, while exterior shots throughout Mendocino were used in the remaining episodes. The program was broadcast for 12 seasons, from September 1984 until May 1996, and won many awards. Many local residents looked forward to the yearly filming, as over a hundred and fifty were chosen to play background parts. A lucky few were cast for speaking roles. Poet, playwright and actor Lawrence Bullock cites being cast in a speaking role as a "Townsperson" in the episode "Indian Giver" as giving him eligibility to join the Screen Actors' Guild. Locals Linda Pack, James Henderson and others were also cast in speaking roles. The main character Jessica Fletcher's home in the series was an actual home in Mendocino and is now a bed and breakfast under the name "Blair House."

While scenes for Murder, She Wrote were being filmed in Mendocino, residents say that it was not uncommon to see Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...

, who played Jessica Fletcher, stop to speak with a toddler, or for Tom Bosley
Tom Bosley
Thomas Edward "Tom" Bosley was an American actor. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham on the long-running ABC sitcom Happy Days. He also was featured in recurring roles on Murder, She Wrote, and Father Dowling Mysteries...

 to sign his autograph on a Glad Bag box presented by a shopper stepping out of the local grocery store. Murder, She Wrote also brought in more money to the town due to increased tourism — by some estimates, around $2,000,000. The local high school band appeared in one of the episodes and received enough money from the appearance to go on a band trip.

Mendocino is also the home of the Mendocino Film Festival which was first held in May 2006. Because the area is a haven for artists, the festival honors them with a special "artist category", in addition to the documentary, feature and short film categories.

Sister city

Mendocino is a sister city with Miasa, Japan
Miasa, Nagano
was a village located in Kitaazumi District, Nagano, Japan.On January 1, 2006 Miasa, along with the village of Yasaka, also from Kitaazumi District, was merged into the city of Ōmachi....

, a relationship that formed due to the friendship of Mendocino artist Bill Zacha
Bill Zacha
Bill Zacha was an artist and entrepreneur who founded the in Mendocino, California and by doing so started the artistic revival of Mendocino....

 and Japanese artist Tōshi Yoshida and that was formalized in 1980.
Every other year Miasa students visit Mendocino middle school students.

Local state parks

  • Mendocino Headlands State Park
    Mendocino Headlands State Park
    Mendocino Headlands State Park is a California State Park in Mendocino, California. It consists of of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets surrounding the town of Mendocino, two beaches , and the much larger Big River Unit stretching for eight miles along both banks of the nearby Big River.The...

  • Mendocino Woodlands State Park
    Mendocino Woodlands State Park
    The Mendocino Woodlands State Park is a group camping facility located at 39350 Little Lake Road, Mendocino County, California, seven miles inland from the town of Mendocino. It was built as a Recreational Demonstration Area by the Civilian Conservation Corps...

  • Russian Gulch State Park
    Russian Gulch State Park
    Russian Gulch State Park is a California State Park in coastal Mendocino County, California, two miles north of Mendocino and seven miles south of Fort Bragg.-Park features:...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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