Calpella (

Pomo The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical 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. One small ...

: ''Kalpela'', meaning " Mussel bearer") is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 count ...

(CDP) in

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) 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. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. It is located on the Russian River, north of Ukiah. It is situated within the Ukiah Valley, at the intersection of U.S. Route 101 and State Route 20. The population was 799 at the 2020 census, up from 679 in 2010. The small town is the site of the

Mendocino Redwood Company The Mendocino Redwood Company (or MRC), is a California based forest products company, which operates one mill in Ukiah, California, Ukiah, with holdings of over , primarily in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County. Background This rela ...

mill and offices, which controls ten percent of the private land in the county.

History

Col. C.H. Veeder and James Pettus, Veeder's son-in-law, founded the town in 1858. It is named after Kalpela, the chief of the nearby

village of Chomchadila. His name comes from

Northern Pomo Northern Pomo is a critically endangered Pomoan language, spoken by the indigenous Pomo people in what is now called California. The speakers of Northern Pomo were traditionally those who lived in the northern and largest area of the Pomoan terr ...

''khál phíila'', meaning "carrying mussels down". For a time, it rivaled Ukiah in importance. The Calpella post office opened in 1860, closed in 1868, reopened in 1872, was discontinued for a time, and moved in 1920.

Geography

Calpella is in southeastern Mendocino County, north of Ukiah, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, south of Willits, and northwest of Lakeport. 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 t ...

, the Calpella CDP covers an area of , 99.07% of it land and 0.93% of it water. The Russian River flows north-to-south through the center of the community, and the CDP extends eastward to the west shore of Lake Mendocino, a reservoir on the East Fork of the Russian River. U.S. Route 101 passes through the western portion of the CDP, and

California State Route 20 State Route 20 (SR 20) is a state highway in the northern-central region of the state of California, running east–west north of Sacramento from the North Coast to the Sierra Nevada. Its west end is at SR 1 in Fort Bragg, from where it heads ...

forms the CDP's northern edge.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Calpella has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

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 servi ...

reported that Calpella had a population of 679. The population density was . The racial makeup of Calpella was 465 (68.5%)

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 o ...

, 3 (0.4%)

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 ...

, 25 (3.7%) Native American, 3 (0.4%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 145 (21.4%) 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 38 (5.6%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 256 persons (37.7%). The Census reported that 679 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 253 households, out of which 89 (35.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 121 (47.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 37 (14.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 19 (7.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 25 (9.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 56 households (22.1%) were made up of individuals, and 20 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68. There were 177

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. Ideal ...

(70.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.13. The population was spread out, with 171 people (25.2%) under the age of 18, 74 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 177 people (26.1%) aged 25 to 44, 188 people (27.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 69 people (10.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males. There were 272 housing units at an average density of , of which 124 (49.0%) were owner-occupied, and 129 (51.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.4%. 329 people (48.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 350 people (51.5%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

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

Notes and references