Albion is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. It is located south of

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, at an elevation of . Albion had a population of 153 at the 2020 census.

Toponym

Albion was named in 1844, as a reference to when

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ( ...

landed on the northern California coast and called it "New Albion".

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

was an ancient name for

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''albus'', meaning "white", a reference to the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposi ...

Geography

Albion lies directly on California's State Route 1 (Shoreline Highway) north of

Elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

and south of Mendocino and

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

. It lies just north of the intersection of State Route 1 with State Route 128. Albion Ridge Road leads east from the town center. The side roads on Albion Ridge Road are labeled from B through Q. The nearest beaches include Navarro Beach to the south and Handley Beach at the head of Albion Ridge Road. Vegetation includes coastal headlands, with California redwood forests and

pygmy forest In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a po ...

s nearby. Albion has two bridges, one spanning the

Albion River The Albion River is an river in Mendocino County, California. The river drains about on the Mendocino Coast and empties into the Pacific Ocean near the town of Albion, California, where California State Route 1 crosses it on the Albion River ...

and the other Little Salmon Creek. The

Albion River Bridge The Albion River Bridge is a wooden deck truss bridge crossing the Albion River in Mendocino County, California. It is the only remaining wooden bridge on California State Route 1;. dramatic views of the bridge are visible from the nearby town o ...

, built in 1944 when steel and concrete were in short supply, remains as the last wooden bridge still in use on State Route 1. The ZIP Code is 95410. The community is inside

area code 707 Area code 707 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the northwestern part of the U.S. state of California. It was created by a split of area code 415 on March 1, 1959. It serves part of the northern San Francisco ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP covers an area of , of which , or 2.0%, are water.

Schools

The town belongs to the Mendocino Unified School District and children attend Albion Elementary School or Mendocino K-8 School until third grade, then Mendocino K-8 School and Mendocino High School. The

Albion Biological Field Station The Albion Biological Field Station is a research and education facility near the Pacific coast of Mendocino County, California that is operated by Pacific Union College, a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Adventist Church and loc ...

, a facility of

Pacific Union College Pacific Union College (PUC) is a private university, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Angwin, California. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California, Napa County. It is a coeducational r ...

(a private

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

) is located in Albion, on the south bank of the Albion River; it offers college biology courses to Pacific Union students as well as shorter courses for elementary and high school students and seniors.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Albion had a population of 168. The population density was . The racial makeup of Albion was 150 (89.3%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1 (0.6%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 4 (2.4%) Native American, 5 (3.0%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0 (0.0%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 8 (4.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4 persons (2.4%). The Census reported that 156 people (92.9% of the population) lived in households, 12 (7.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 82 households, out of which 13 (15.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 20 (24.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 8 (9.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 5 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 8 (9.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 36 households (43.9%) were made up of individuals, and 15 (18.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.90. There were 33

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(40.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.55. The population was spread out, with 20 people (11.9%) under the age of 18, 10 people (6.0%) aged 18 to 24, 40 people (23.8%) aged 25 to 44, 64 people (38.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 34 people (20.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.5 males. There were 112 housing units at an average density of , of which 54 (65.9%) were owner-occupied, and 28 (34.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 17.6%. 105 people (62.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 51 people (30.4%) lived in rental housing units.

Politics

In the state legislature, Albion is in , and . Federally, Albion is in .

References

External links

Albion California Travel Directory

{{Authority Control Populated coastal places in California Census-designated places in Mendocino County, California Census-designated places in California