Napa is the largest city and

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 ...

Napa County Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original c ...

and a principal city of

Wine Country Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resort ...

in Northern California. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the city had a population of 77,480 as of the end of 2021. Napa is a major tourist destination in California, known for its wineries, restaurants, and arts culture.

History

The name "Napa" was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose native people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago.

Mexican era

At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the majority of the inhabitants consisted of Native American Indians. Padre José Altimira, founder of

Mission San Francisco Solano Mission San Francisco Solano was the 21st, last, and northernmost mission in Alta California. It was named for Saint Francis Solanus. It was the only mission built in Alta California after Mexico gained independence from Spain. The difficulty o ...

in Sonoma, led the expedition. Spanish priests converted some natives; the rest were attacked and dispersed by Mexican soldiers. The first now American immigrants began arriving in area in the 1830s.

Post-Conquest era

Prior to the American Conquest of California, Napa Valley was in California's District of Sonoma. At the time, its boundaries also included Lake County to the north. By this time, the indigenous people were either working as field laborers or living in small bands in the hills surrounding the valley. Tensions between the white settlers and Native Americans broke into war in 1850, resulting in soldiers hunting down and killing all the natives they could find, driving the remainder north toward Clear Lake. By 1870, the Native American population consisted of only a few laborers and servants working for the white settlers. The City of Napa was founded by

Nathan Coombs Nathan Coombs (June 12, 1826 – December 26, 1877) was a California pioneer and Democratic politician who served in the California State Assembly and is best known for founding the city of Napa, California. Life Nathan Coombs lived in Massach ...

in 1847. General

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don (honorific), Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californios, Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of ...

had paid to survey for a township downriver at Soscol Landing where riverboats could turn around prior to Napa's founding. Instead, the Napa town site was surveyed on property Coombs had received from Nicolas Higuera, original holder of the Rancho Entre Napa, a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

. The first record of a ship navigating the river was the ''Susana'' in 1842, though by 1850 the ''Dolphin'' became the first passenger steamship to navigate the

Napa River The Napa River is a river approximately long in the U.S. state of California. It drains a famous wine-growing region called the Napa Valley, in the mountains north of the San Francisco Bay. Milliken Creek and Mt. Veeder watersheds are a few ...

in order to open another path of commerce. In the mid-1850s, Napa's Main Street rivaled that of many larger cities, with as many as 100 saddle horses tied to the fences on an average afternoon. John Patchett opened the first commercial winery in the county in 1859. The ''

Napa Valley Register The ''Napa Valley Register'' is a daily newspaper located in Napa, California. The paper began publication on August 10, 1863. By 1864, the newspaper had dropped “Valley” from its name, becoming simply the ''Napa Register'', until returning ...

'', founded by J.I. Horrell and L. Hoxie Strong, made its debut on August 10, 1863, with weekly publications until becoming a daily newspaper in 1872. The California Gold Rush of the late 1850s expanded Napa City. A tent city was erected along Main Street. Many cattle ranches were maintained, and the lumber industry had greatly expanded. Sawmills in the valley were in operation cutting up timber that was hauled by team to Napa, and then shipped out on the river to Benicia and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In 1858 the great silver rush began in Napa Valley, and miners eagerly flocked to the eastern hills. In the 1860s, mining carried on, in a large scale, with quicksilver mines operating in many areas of Napa County. The most noted mine was the Silverado Mine, near the summit of

Mount Saint Helena Mount Saint Helena (Wappo: Kanamota, "Human Mountain") is a peak in the Mayacamas Mountains with flanks in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties of California. Composed of uplifted 2.4-million-year-old volcanic rocks from the Clear Lake Volcanic Fiel ...

. At this time, the first wave of rural, foreign laborers from coastal villages of China's Canton province arrived in California, and at Napa County mines. A settlement for Chinese laborers in Napa was established in the early 1860s. At its peak from the 1880s to the early 1900s the Chinese population grew to a population of over 300 people. In 1869, F. A. Sawyer established Sawyer Tanning Company in Napa and was joined in the business by his father B. F. Sawyer a year later. It went on to become the largest tannery west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. The world-famous

Nappa leather Napa leather (often called Nappa leather) is a leather noted for its soft feel, derived as it is from calves, lambs, and kid goats, which have soft hides. It is a generic term in the leather field and has no distinct test for characterization. A ...

or Napa leather was invented by Emanuel Manasse in Napa in 1875 while working at the Sawyer Tanning Company. Napa was incorporated on March 23, 1872, and reincorporated in 1874 as the City of Napa. The

Napa State Hospital Napa State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Napa, California, founded in 1875. It is located along California State Route 221, the Napa- Vallejo Highway, and is one of California's five state hospitals. Napa State Hospital holds civil and for ...

received its first patients in 1876. The Napa Valley Opera House became popular after its debut on February 13, 1880, with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''

HMS Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which ...

'' but, it later languished and was closed for many years. It was reestablished in the 1980s.

Modern era

Napa had become the primary business and economic center for the Napa Valley by the dawn of the 20th century. The

San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway The San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway, later briefly reorganized as the San Francisco and Napa Valley Railroad, was an electric interurban railroad in the U.S. state of California. Construction In 1901, Col. J.W. Hartzell and his brother ...

was established in 1905 for passenger and freight service. The railroad carried passengers from ferry boats in Vallejo to stops in Napa and other locations in the valley. As agricultural and wine interests developed north of the city limits, much of the light industry, banking, commercial and retail activity in the county evolved within the city of Napa and in earlier times along the Napa River through the historic downtown. Napa Glove Factory was established in 1903 and was the largest plant of its kind west of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen invented the moving-coil loudspeaker in 1915 in their Napa workshop while working on an improvement for the telephone receiver. Pridham and Jensen went on to found the

Magnavox Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics company that since 1974 has been a subsidiary of the Dutch electronics corporation Philips. The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and ...

Company in 1917. In the late 19th century and early 20th century Napa was known for having a sizable red-light district, with brothels primarily concentrated on and around Clinton Street. Following studies made by the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...

in 1930-40s, the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

authorized channel improvements on Napa River and construction of a dam on Conn Creek as part of the

Flood Control Act of 1944 The Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act of 1944 (P.L. 78–534), enacted in the 2nd session of the 78th Congress, is U.S. legislation that authorized the construction of numerous dams and modifications to previously existing dams, as well as levees acros ...

, though funding was never approved. The City of Napa funded and built the dam in order to create the water conservation reservoir Lake Hennessey in 1948, however flooding continued to be a problem. Grove_-_Stierch_-_April_2019_02

The 1986 Napa River flood revived public interest in finding a remedy. After a plan to widen the river channel proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers was presented in 1995 and roundly rejected, a group of special interests called Friends of the River formed, which built consensus on a "living river" plan. Voters in the County of Napa narrowly approved an increase of sales tax in a March 1998 election to fund the Napa River Flood Project. In 2005, the Napa River again flooded the entire downtown area and destroyed 1,000 homes across the county. An ambitious redevelopment plan encompassing several blocks of downtown Napa's retail property was undertaken by the city in the early 1970s, though it did little to improve the city's economy. Downtown Napa finally began to recover and emerge from a long economic slumber in the 2000s, triggered by a significant growth in Main Street restaurants and hotels. The redevelopment of First and Main streets and the Napa Mill complex helped to stimulate investments along the Napa riverfront. The Napa area was struck by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake centered northwest of nearby

American Canyon American Canyon (previously known as Napa Junction) is a city located in southern Napa County, California, northeast of San Francisco, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2020 census reported the city's population as 21,837. Its ZIP Code ...

. In October 2017 the Atlas Fire and Partrick Fires burned several parts of Napa County. See also

October 2017 Northern California wildfires The October 2017 Northern California wildfires, also known as the Northern California firestorm, North Bay Fires, and the Wine Country Fires were a series of 250 wildfires that started burning across the state of California, United States, b ...

Geography

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 city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.69%) is water. Napa was the first location in California to be part of the North Coast American Viticultural Area. Renowned for its wine due to the Mediterranean climate, surprisingly only about 9% of Napa's acres are planted to grapes. The

traverses the city on its journey to the

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...

. The city has conducted a variety of waterfront development along the banks of the river, including certain fill operations governed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers regulations. The Napa River Flood Project has been in progress since the late 1990s, with the goal of mitigating the risk of flooding along a stretch of the river and of Napa Creek.

Climate

Napa has a

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 ...

similar to many other parts of Northern California. Winters are chilly and wet, and summers are warm and dry. During the summer months rain is rare. Occasionally there may be a day or two of light rain in June and September. Heat waves do occur with the temperatures rising above 100 °F. Wildfires are typically a problem during the summer months. The fall is pleasant and many people come to visit Napa at this time. The winters are quite wet and cool and flooding can be a major problem. Nighttime temperatures often drop below freezing. The rainy season is from October to April and occasionally into May. Snow is rare. The hottest temperature recorded in Napa was on September 6, 2022, while the coldest temperature recorded was on December 22, 1990. The most rainfall in one year was in 1983 and the least amount of rainfall was in 2013. The most rainfall in one month was in December 1955.

Demographics

2010

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 Napa had a population of 76,915. The population density was . The racial makeup of Napa was 57,754 (75.1%)

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 ...

, 486 (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 ...

, 637 (0.8%) Native American, 1,755 (2.3%)

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 ...

, 144 (0.2%)

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 ...

, 13,256 (17.2%) 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 2,883 (3.7%) 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 28,923 persons (37.6%). The Census reported that 75,678 people (98.4% of the population) lived in households, 568 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 669 (0.9%) were institutionalized. There were 28,166 households, out of which 9,826 (34.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 13,862 (49.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,201 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,571 (5.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,694 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 221 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7,457 households (26.5%) were made up of individuals, and 3,278 (11.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69. There were 18,634

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 ...

(66.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.25. The population was spread out, with 18,848 people (24.5%) under the age of 18, 6,724 people (8.7%) aged 18 to 24, 20,933 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 19,919 people (25.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,491 people (13.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males. There were 30,149 housing units at an average density of , of which 16,148 (57.3%) were owner-occupied, and 12,018 (42.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 41,591 people (54.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 34,087 people (44.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy

Napa flood risk reduction efforts (6189504003)

Napa's economy is characterized by its position as one of the principal cities of

, resulting in a significant portion of jobs in the city relating to wineries, restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality industries. The

is located in

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

, an unincorporated area bordering the city of Napa. The Napa Valley Business Park is located adjacent to the

Napa County Airport Napa County Airport (Napa Valley Airport) is a public airport five miles (8 km) south of Napa, in Napa County, California, United States. It has three runways. During 2008 the airport's 1960-era control tower received extensive radio, plum ...

in an unincorporated area of Napa County. Employers in the area include The Doctors Company and

Treasury Wine Estates Treasury Wine Estates is an Australian global winemaking and distribution business with headquarters in Melbourne. It was formerly the wine division of international brewing company Foster's Group. History Background Treasury Wine Estates traces ...

. ;Top employers Gordon_Building,_1130_1st_St

The town's

comprehensive annual financial report An Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, formerly called Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)) is a set of U.S. government financial statements comprising the financial report of a state, municipal or other governmental entity that compl ...

for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020, lists the top ten employers in the City of Napa as the following:

Government

In the California State Legislature, Napa is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Napa is in .

Transportation

CA-29 California's 29th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in the north central San Fernando Valley. The district is represented by . It includes t ...

runs through Napa, connecting to Vallejo and the

East Bay Area The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

to the south and the Napa Wine Country to the north. CA-12 runs to the south of the city, connecting to Fairfield and Interstate 80 to the east and Sonoma and US-101 to the west. Napa is also served by several airports: Oakland and San Francisco International to the south,

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 ...

northwest, and

Sacramento International Airport Sacramento International Airport is located northwest of Downtown Sacramento in Sacramento County, California, United States and covers . It serves the Sacramento Metropolitan Area, and it is run by the Sacramento County Airport System. The ...

northeast.

to the south, also serves as a small public airport. Valley Intercity Neighborhood Express, more commonly known by the acronym "VINE Transit", is the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

ation service for Napa as well as for Napa County. It is managed under the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency and is operated by

Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

ation. In addition to providing service to Napa, the VINE has extensive service throughout the county and has connections to other public transportation systems in the nearby counties. Evans Transportation provides daily service to and from Oakland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport daily from Napa at their main office on CA-29.

Notable people

Larry Allen Larry Christopher Allen Sr. (born November 27, 1971) is an American former American football, football Guard (gridiron football), guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. H ...

, former NFL player *

Alisa Bellettini Alisa Marie Bellettini (October 1, 1954 – February 16, 2016) was an American television producer. In 1989, Bellettini created the landmark MTV television series, '' House of Style''. The series, originally hosted by supermodel Cindy Crawford, ...

, television producer, creator of ''

House of Style ''House of Style'' is an MTV show that premiered in May 1989, focusing on America's growing fascination with the "supermodel" craze. The show focused on fashion, lives of models, the modeling industry, and topics such as eating disorders. Ove ...

'' *

Jerry Bohlander Jerry Bohlander (born February 12, 1974) is an American former mixed martial artist. He is most notable for his UFC appearances and was a former UFC champion, winning the first lightweight (under 200 lb) tournament at '' UFC 12''. He was a memb ...

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter * Phil Bonifield,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

driver * John Boyett, former NFL player *

Warren Brusstar Warren Scott Brusstar (born February 2, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played nine years in Major League Baseball (MLB), for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs. He is currently the pitch ...

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...

player * Cristina García, novelist * Mike Gibson, NFL player for the Arizona Cardinals * Steve Hendrickson, former NFL player * Adam Housley, Fox News correspondent * Josh Jackson, NBA player *

Joe Kmak Joseph Robert Kmak (born May 3, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player who played catcher in Major League Baseball from 1993 to 1995. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. He stands tall and weighs . He bats and ...

, MLB player for the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs *

Jim Landis James Henry Landis (March 9, 1934 – October 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player. Landis played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder on six teams from 1957 through 1967. While playing eight seasons for the Chicago ...

, MLB player * Ray Manzarek,

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

keyboard player *

Scott McCarron Scott Michael McCarron (born July 10, 1965) is an American professional golfer who was formerly a member of the PGA Tour but now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. McCarron was born in Sacramento, California and graduated from Vintage High School ...

, Professional Golfer * Peter Menzel, photographer *

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

, golfer *

Olivia O'Brien Olivia Gail O'Brien (born November 26, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. In 2016, after she collaborated with Gnash on the single " I Hate U, I Love U", the pair peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States ...

, musician * Donny Robinson, Olympic BMX bronze medalist * Andrew Talansky, Professional Cyclist for Cannondale-Garmin *

Shirley Walker Shirley Anne Walker (née Rogers; April 10, 1945 – November 30, 2006) was an American film and television composer and conductor. She was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood. Walker was one of the first female ...

, film score composer * Charles Woodson, former NFL player and Heisman Trophy winner.

Sister cities

Napa's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

are: * Casablanca, Chile * Iwanuma, Japan * Launceston, Australia

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1872 establishments in California Cities in Napa County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area County seats in California Incorporated cities and towns in California Napa Valley Populated places established in 1872