Oakville is a

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 the of

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 ...

, northern

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 ...

. The population was 71 at the 2010 census. Oakville's ZIP Code is 94562, and it is located in

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 Francis ...

. The local economy is based on

Napa Valley wine Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

production, and Oakville was formally declared a distinct

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

within the Napa Valley AVA in 1993. There are currently 24 wineries and over of vineyard located within the boundary of the Oakville AVA, among them are the

Robert Mondavi Robert Gerald Mondavi (June 18, 1913 – May 16, 2008) was an American winemaker. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi promoted label ...

Winery, the

Opus One Winery Opus One Winery is a winery in Oakville, California, United States. The wine was called napamedoc until 1982 when it was named Opus One. The winery was founded as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschi ...

, and wineries of Heitz Wine Cellars and Screaming Eagle.

History

Oakville started life in the 1860s as a

water stop A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where steam trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as a "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines when large amounts of ...

for the

steam train A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

owned by The Napa Valley Railroad Company. The railroad, founded by early California pioneer

Samuel Brannan Samuel Brannan (March 2, 1819 – May 5, 1889) was an American settler, businessman, journalist, and prominent Mormon who founded the '' California Star'', the first newspaper in San Francisco, California. He is considered the first to publici ...

in 1864, shuttled tourists between ferry boats that docked in Vallejo to the resort town of Calistoga. The village gained its name from the dense groves of dark green valley oaks of the area. H. W. Crabb turned Oakville from untamed country to wine country after his 1868 purchase of close to 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 ...

. Crabb established a

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

and

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

naming it ''To Kalon'', which in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

means "the beautiful." By 1877 Crabb had planted and was producing 50,000 gallons of wine per year and by 1880, his vineyard had increased to . In 1903 the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

established an experimental vineyard station in Oakville. This vineyard known as "Oakville Station" is operated by the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

. Formally declared a Napa

in 1993 there are currently 24 wineries and over of vineyard located within the boundary of the Oakville AVA. The

Winery is located between Oakville and

Rutherford, California Rutherford is a census-designated place (CDP) in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 164 at the 2010 census. Rutherford is located in the Rutherford AVA (American Viticultural Area) which is located in the larger Napa Valle ...

(though its corporate headquarters are in nearby

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

). To Kalon was part of Mondavi's original inventory when it was established in 1965. Another Mondavi venture in Oakville is

. Heitz Wine Cellars' Martha's Vineyard is also located within the Oakville appellation. Modern day tourists traveling on State Route 29 often include a stop at Oakville Grocery, one of the area's few non-winery business, in order to purchase picnic supplies. The

Napa Valley Wine Train The Napa Valley Wine Train is a privately operated excursion train that runs between Napa and St. Helena, California. Much of the rail line parallels State Route 29 after leaving the City of Napa and passes the towns of Yountville, Rutherfor ...

runs through Oakville on the same route that the original steam train ran on in the 19th century.

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 CDP covers an area of 1.4 square miles (3.5 km), all of it land. Historically, Oakville has been the location of a lode of quicksilver.

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 Oakville had a population of 71. The population density was . The racial makeup of Oakville was 26 (36.6%)

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 ...

, 0 (0.0%)

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 ...

, 1 (1.4%) Native American, 1 (1.4%) Asian, 1 (1.4%)

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 ...

, 38 (53.5%) 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 4 (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 45 persons (63.4%). The Census reported that 71 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 27 households, out of which 10 (37.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 13 (48.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3 (11.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2 (7.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2 (7.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7 households (25.9%) were made up of individuals, and 3 (11.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63. There were 18

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 ...

(66.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.28. The population was spread out, with 20 people (28.2%) under the age of 18, 9 people (12.7%) aged 18 to 24, 15 people (21.1%) aged 25 to 44, 18 people (25.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 9 people (12.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males. There were 44 housing units at an average density of , of which 9 (33.3%) were owner-occupied, and 18 (66.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 18.2%. 16 people (22.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 55 people (77.5%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

On the Napa County Board of Supervisors Oakville is in District 3 and is represented by Diane Dillon. In the California State Legislature, Oakville 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 ...

, Oakville is in .

References

External links