Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente 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, suc ...

(CDP) in

Sonoma Valley Sonoma Valley is a valley located in southeastern Sonoma County, California, in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the birthplace of the California wine industry, the valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards a ...

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa. It is to the north of Marin County and the south of Mendocino ...

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 ...

, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,144. The name Agua Caliente translates into English, from Spanish, as ''hot water'', referring to the

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

historically found in the area.

Geography

Generally considered separate from one another, Fetters Hot Springs and Agua Caliente are adjacent communities located along the Sonoma Highway ( State Route 12), approximately northwest of Sonoma, California, and immediately north of Boyes Hot Springs and El Verano. Over time, the boundaries between these four communities became blurred and they are often grouped together and referred to collectively as "the Springs" area of

. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total area of , all land.

History

The area was first occupied by Indigenous peoples who discovered and used the hot springs that the area is named after. The

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republ ...

deeded 50,000 acres to Lazaro Piña as Rancho Agua Caliente, a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

long on the east side of

Sonoma Creek , name_etymology = , image = Beaver Dam Sonoma Creek, Sonoma Thanksgiving 2009.jpg , image_caption = Beaver dam on Sonoma Creek at Maxwell Farms Regional Park in Sonoma, California, 2009 , image_size = 300 , ma ...

, in 1840. In 1849 Thaddeus M. Leavenworth acquired 320 acres of the Rancho in what became present-day Agua Caliente, Fetters Hot Springs, Boyes Hot Springs, and part of Maxwell Farm. In 1889, property was being sold in the area as being near the "celebrated old Indian Medicine Spring." George and Emma Fetters opened the Fetters Hot Springs resort in 1908. Flamboyant restaurateur Juanita Musson opened her second Sonoma Valley restaurant in the old Fetters hotel around 1970, but it burned to the ground five years later. The land stood vacant for almost forty years until the Fetters Apartments, built as

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on af ...

for sixty families, opened in 2017.

Gallery

File:Fetters Hot Springs city sign, facing south.JPG, Fetters Hot Springs File:Agua Caliente Park .jpg, Agua Caliente Park File:Agua Caliente city sign, facing north.JPG, Agua Caliente October 2021 California rainstorm - Sonoma - 2021-10-24 - Sarah Stierch 06.ogg, Flooding in Aqua Caliente during the October 2021 California storm

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente had a population of 4,144. The population density was . The racial makeup of Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente was 2,926 (70.6%) White, 25 (0.6%) African American, 39 (0.9%) Native American, 68 (1.6%) Asian, 8 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 895 (21.6%) from other races, and 183 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,925 persons (46.5%). The census reported that 99.6% of the population lived in households and 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters. There were 1,419 households, 570 (40.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 709 (50.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 175 (12.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 86 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 90 (6.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 30 (2.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 327 households (23.0%) were one person and 108 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.91. There were 970 families (68.4% of households); the average family size was 3.46. The age distribution was 1,137 people (27.4%) under the age of 18, 409 people (9.9%) aged 18 to 24, 1,070 people (25.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,148 people (27.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 380 people (9.2%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 34.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. There were 1,585 housing units at an average density of , of which 58.1% were owner-occupied and 41.9% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%. 51.4% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 48.2% lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 2,505 people, 885 households, and 584 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 929 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the CDP was 82.55% White, 0.96% African American, 1.12% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 8.70% from other races, and 5.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.90%. Of the 885 households 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 25.5% of households were one person and 6.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.32. The age distribution was 27.3% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males. The median household income was $44,097 and the median family income was $48,641. Males had a median income of $37,143 versus $28,304 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,269. About 5.5% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

, Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente is in , and in . Federally, Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente is in .

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Sonoma County, California Sonoma Valley Census-designated places in California