Mendocino County, California
County
County of Mendocino
Images, from top down, left to right: The community of Mendocino, the historic Grace Hudson Sun House, Point Arena Lighthouse, the Chandelier Tree, the "Skunk Train", a beach in MacKerricher State Park
Seal
Nickname:  "Mendo"
Interactive map of Mendocino County with markers for each of its four incorporated cities: Ukiah (red), Fort Bragg (purple), Point Arena (blue), and Willits (yellow)
Mendocino County's location within California
Coordinates (Geographic center of Mendocino County): 39°28′09″N 123°23′39″W / 39.4692°N 123.3942°W / 39.4692; -123.3942
Country	United States
State	California
Region	California North Coast
Incorporated	February 18, 1850; 174 years ago (1850-02-18)[1]
Named for	Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, 1535–42
County seat	Ukiah
Largest city	Ukiah
Government
• Type	Council–CEO
• Body	Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
• Chair	Glenn McGourty
• Vice Chair	Maureen Mulheren
• Board of Supervisors[2]	Supervisors Glenn McGourty Maureen Mulheren John Haschak Dan Gjerde Ted Williams
• Chief executive officer	Darcie Antle
Area
• Total	3,878 sq mi (10,040 km2)
• Land	3,506 sq mi (9,080 km2)
• Water	372 sq mi (960 km2)
Highest elevation [3]	6,958 ft (2,121 m)
Population  (2020)[4]
• Total	91,601
• Density	26/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code	707
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.mendocinocounty.org

Mendocino County (/ˌmɛndəˈsiːnoʊ/ ^ⓘ; Mendocino, Spanish for "of Mendoza")^[5] is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601.^[6] The county seat is Ukiah.^[7]

Mendocino County consists wholly of the Ukiah, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA) for the purposes of the U.S. Census Bureau. It is located approximately equidistant from the San Francisco Bay Area and California/Oregon border, separated from the Sacramento Valley to the east by the California Coast Ranges. While smaller areas of redwood forest are found further south, it is the southernmost California county to be included in the World Wildlife Fund's Pacific temperate rainforests ecoregion, the largest temperate rainforest ecoregion on the planet.^[8]

The county is noted for its distinctive Pacific Ocean coastline, its location along California's "Lost Coast", Redwood forests, wine production, microbrews, and liberal views about the use of cannabis and support for its legalization. In 2009, it was estimated that roughly one-third of the economy was based on the cultivation of marijuana.^[9]

The notable historic and recreational attraction of the "Skunk Train" connects Fort Bragg with Willits in Mendocino County via a steam-locomotive engine, along with other vehicles.

Mendocino is one of three Northern California counties to make up the "Emerald Triangle", along with Humboldt and Trinity counties.

History

Mendocino County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Due to an initially minor settler American population, it did not have a separate government until 1859 and was under the administration of Sonoma County prior to that.^[10] Some of the county's land was given to Sonoma County between 1850 and 1860.^[11]

The county derives its name from Cape Mendocino (most of which is actually located in adjacent Humboldt County), which was probably named in honor of either Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, 1535–1542 (who sent the Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Expedition to this coast in 1542),^[12] or Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, Viceroy from 1580 to 1583. Mendocino is the adjectival form of the family name of Mendoza.^[10]

Neither Spanish nor Mexican influence extended into Mendocino County beyond the establishment of two Mexican land grants in southern Mendocino County: Rancho Sanel in Hopland, in 1844 and Rancho Yokaya that forms the majority of the Ukiah Valley, in 1845.^[10][12]

In the 19th century, despite the establishment of the Mendocino Indian Reservation and Nome Cult Farm in 1856, the county witnessed many of the most serious atrocities in the extermination of the Californian Native American tribes who originally lived in the area, like the Yuki, the Pomo, the Cahto, and the Wintun. The systematic occupation of their lands, the reduction of many of their members into slavery and the raids against their settlements led to the Mendocino War in 1859, where hundreds of Indians were killed. Establishment of the Round Valley Indian Reservation on March 30, 1870, did not prevent the segregation that continued well into the 20th century. Other tribes from the Sierra Nevada mountains were also relocated to the Round Valley Indian Reservation during the "California Trail Of Tears", where the Natives were forced to march in bad conditions to their new home in Round Valley.^[13] Many of these tribes thrown together were not on good terms with the other tribes they were forced to live with on the reservation, resulting in tensions still evident today.

Boundary dispute with Trinity County

In the first half of the 1850's the California State Legislature established that the boundaries of Mendocino and Trinity Counties was the 40th parallel north. Both county board of supervisor's hired the surveyor W.H. Fauntleroy to survey the parallel, which he completed on October 30, 1872. The accuracy of the boundary was doubtful, and by 1891 the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors requested the California surveyor-general to survey the line and establish the boundaries between the two counties. The new line, as surveyed by Sam H. Rice and approved by the California Attorney General on December 18, 1891, was found to be 2 miles north of the common boundary surveyed by W.H. Fauntleroy, thereby resulting in Trinity County exercising jurisdiction two miles south of the 40th parallel north. Between 1891 and 1907, both counties claimed that the 2 mile wide strip of land belonged to themselves and not the other, with both counties attempting to levy and collect property tax land in said strip. In 1907, Trinity County sued Mendocino County in a Tehama County court to settle the dispute. The trial court in Tehama County ruled in favor of Trinity County, even though the land was situated south of the 40th parallel and state law stated that lands south of that parallel belonged to Mendocino County. The appellate court upheld the ruling of the trial court since Section 10 of the special act of March 30, 1872 (Stats. 1871-2, p. 766), which concerned this boundary and was the act under which Fauntleroy acted under, authorized the survey of the theretofore unknown location of the 40th parallel north, stated that "the lines run out, marked and defined as required by this act are hereby declared to be the true boundary lines of the counties named herein", thereby making the law in the political code which defined the boundary as the 40th parallel north only a suggestion and not a fact.^[14] The legislature subsequently affirmed this decision, with the modern statute defining the borders of the two counties referencing the survey of Fauntleroy as being the boundary between the two counties instead of the 40th parallel north.^[15]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,878 square miles (10,040 km²), of which 3,506 square miles (9,080 km²) is land and 372 square miles (960 km²) (9.6%) is water.^[16]

Adjacent counties

• Humboldt County - north
• Trinity County - north
• Tehama County - northeast
• Glenn County - east
• Lake County - east
• Sonoma County - south

Rivers

Beaches

National and state protected areas

Flora and fauna

Demographics

2020 census

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 can be of any race.

2011

Places by population, race, and income