St. Helena, CA
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

St. Helena ( ;
Wappo The Wappo (endonym: ''Micewal'') are an indigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are in Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River valley. They are distantly related to the Yuki ...
: ''Anakotanoma'') is a city in Napa County, in the
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 resorts, ...
of California. Located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the population was 5,814 at the 2010 census. St. Helena is a popular tourist destination, owing to its vineyards and culinary scene. The city is the center of
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 constitu ...
American Viticultural Area (AVA), which expands of the Napa Valley with over 400 vineyards encompassing of cultivation. St. Helena is the location of
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone is a branch campus of the private culinary college the Culinary Institute of America. The Greystone campus, located on State Route 29/ 128 in St. Helena, California, offers associate degrees and tw ...
and a campus of Napa Valley College.


History

St. Helena was first inhabited by a native American group known as the
Wappo The Wappo (endonym: ''Micewal'') are an indigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are in Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River valley. They are distantly related to the Yuki ...
people. They spoke Yukian and are believed to have first settled in St. Helena as early as 2000 B.C. The
Wappo The Wappo (endonym: ''Micewal'') are an indigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are in Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River valley. They are distantly related to the Yuki ...
name for the area is ''Anakotanoma'', meaning "Bull Snake Village". The area was likely named after a nearby mountain known as
Mount St. 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 F ...
. The locale became renown when White Sulphur Springs was discovered in 1848 and established an operating resort in 1852. During the later 19th century, affluent San Franciscans traveled here by steamer across the
Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
, and then four miles by stage and later by train. At its prime, California's oldest resort was able to accommodate 1000 guests in its grand hotels which were later lost to local wildfires. The site is recognized as a National Historic Landmark. The town of St. Helena was founded by Henry Still, who bought land from the Edward Bale family in 1855. By 1858 there was a school house and a little Baptist church. Four years later Professor William Brewer of the Whitney party called it a "pretty little village with fifty or more houses . . .nestled among grand old oaks." It officially became a town on March 24, 1876, and by 1886 the population grew to 1,800 inhabitants. Shortly after in 1868, the first railroad was created in St. Helena allowing for shipment of resources such as fruit and mining products. The newly built train tracks also brought in tourists. Ellen White, co-founder of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, had a home called
Elmshaven Elmshaven is a historic house museum at 125 Glass Mountain Lane in St. Helena, California, United States. Also known as Ellen White House or Robert Pratt Place, it was the home of Ellen G. White from 1900 until her death in 1915. She was notable ...
near St. Helena, beginning in 1900. She died there in 1915, and the site is now a National Historic Landmark. Both the
Beringer Vineyards Beringer Vineyards is a large winery in St. Helena, California. Founded in 1876, Beringer Vineyards is "the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley", and is listed under both the National Register of Historic Places and as a Cali ...
and the
Charles Krug Winery The Charles Krug Winery is a winery founded by Charles Krug in 1861. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1974. History Historically, Charles Krug introduced innovative ideas in California winemaking. He began ...
are California Historical Landmarks. St. Helena's community center was built as a Carnegie library; it served as the city library from 1908 to 1978.


Geography

St. Helena has a total area of , of which is land and (0.81%) is water.


Climate

The National Weather Service has a cooperative weather station in St. Helena. Winters are cool and wet, while summers have hot days and cool nights with little precipitation. Average temperatures in December, the coldest month, range from to . Average temperatures in July and August, the warmest months, range from to . There are an average of 55.7 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 34.7 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record high temperature was on July 13, 1972, and the record low temperature was on December 11, 1932. Average annual precipitation is . There are an average of 68 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1976 with . The wettest month on record was February 1986 with . The most rainfall in 24 hours was on January 21, 1967. Although snow rarely falls in St. Helena, there is an annual average snowfall of . The most snowfall in one month was , recorded in January 1974 and again in March 1976. The most snowfall in 24 hours was on March 2, 1976.


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 St. Helena had a population of 5,814. The population density was . The racial makeup of St. Helena was 4,525 (77.8%) White, 25 (0.4%) African American, 35 (0.6%) Native American, 98 (1.7%)
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 ...
, 9 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 978 (16.8%) from other races, and 144 (2.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or
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 1,914 persons (32.9%). The Census reported that 98.3% of the population lived in households and 1.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters. There were 2,401 households, out of which 694 (28.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,118 (46.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 223 (9.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 99 (4.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 96 (4.0%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...
, and 20 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 805 households (33.5%) were made up of individuals, and 411 (17.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38. There were 1,440 families (60.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.03. The population was spread out, with 1,280 people (22.0%) under the age of 18, 453 people (7.8%) aged 18 to 24, 1,333 people (22.9%) aged 25 to 44, 1,627 people (28.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,121 people (19.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. There were 2,776 housing units at an average density of , of which 55.4% were owner-occupied and 44.6% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%. 51.4% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 46.9% lived in rental housing units.


Economy

Major employers in St. Helena include
Trinchero Family Estates Trinchero is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Daniele Trinchero (born 1968), Italian engineer and inventor *Luigi Trinchero Luigi Trinchero (June 9, 1862 in Acqui Terme – February 6, 1944 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was ...
,
Beringer Vineyards Beringer Vineyards is a large winery in St. Helena, California. Founded in 1876, Beringer Vineyards is "the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley", and is listed under both the National Register of Historic Places and as a Cali ...
, and The Culinary Institute of America. The city is distinct in its regulation against chain restaurants; only one exists in the city - an A&W - established before the legislation was enacted. The
St. Helena AVA St. Helena is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located within Napa Valley, centered in and around the town of St. Helena, California. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on October 11, 1995, after the ATF ...
was designated in 1995 for the valley region surrounding the town.
Duckhorn Vineyards The Duckhorn Portfolio Inc. is an American wine company producing varietal labelled and blended red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines from California and Washington State. The main winery, Duckhorn Vineyards, is outside St. Helena, California. ...
, Newton Vineyard,
Charles Krug Winery The Charles Krug Winery is a winery founded by Charles Krug in 1861. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1974. History Historically, Charles Krug introduced innovative ideas in California winemaking. He began ...
,
Brown Estate Brown Estate Vineyards is a winery in Napa Valley, California, United States. It produces zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and petite sirah varieties. Founded in 1995 by siblings Deneen, David and Coral Brown, Brown Estate produced it ...
and numerous other vineyards and wineries exist near St. Helena. Adventist Health St. Helena is located in neighboring
Deer Park, California Deer Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 1,267 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Napa, California Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its area code is 707. Its zip code is 94576. It ...
.


Government

St. Helena is a
general law city In the systems of local government in some U.S. states, a general-law municipality, general-law city, code city,
which lacks its own charter. It operates under a council–manager form of government. In the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
, St. Helena is in , and in . In the United States House of Representatives, St. Helena is in .


Education

Saint Helena Unified School District is the local school district.
St. Helena High School Saint Helena High School or more commonly, St. Helena High, is an American public high school located in St. Helena, California in the Napa Valley of California. St. Helena High serves grades 9-12 and is the only source of secondary education in t ...
serves students in grades 9-12. Saint Helena Primary school teaches grades kindergarten through second grade. Saint Helena Elementary School teaches grades three through five It is ranked #2 best public school in the Napa Valley Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School teaches grades six through eight Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School is ranked #1 best public middle school in the Napa Valley and has a teacher to student ratio of 13:1. Saint Helena High School teaches grades nine through twelve Saint Helena High School is ranked #1 best public school in the Napa Valley. The city has two tertiary campuses, one is the Upper Valley Campus of Napa Valley College; the other is
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone is a branch campus of the private culinary college the Culinary Institute of America. The Greystone campus, located on State Route 29/ 128 in St. Helena, California, offers associate degrees and tw ...
, a branch campus of the main institution in Hyde Park, New York.


Notable people

* Peter Newton, winemaker * David Duncan, vintner * Charles Krug, winemaker * Josephine Tychson, the first woman to build and operate a winery in the U.S. state of California * Michela Alioto-Pier, a former member of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...
*
Wayne Belardi Carroll Wayne Belardi (September 5, 1930 – October 21, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. The first baseman and native of St. Helena, California, appeared in 263 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of six seasons ...
, MLB player * Fred Hofmann, MLB player * Don Mossi, MLB player * Billy Orr, MLB player *
M. F. K. Fisher Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (July 3, 1908 – June 22, 1992) was an American food writer. She was a founder of the Napa Valley Wine Library. Over her lifetime she wrote 27 books, including a translation of ''The Physiology of Taste'' by Brillat-S ...
, food writer * William Hamilton, cartoonist and playwright *
Siegfried Horn Siegfried Herbert Horn (March 17, 1908 – November 28, 1993) was a Seventh-day Adventist archaeologist and Bible scholar. He is best known for his excavations at Heshbon in Jordan and Shechem in the West Bank. He was Professor of History of An ...
, archaeologist and Biblical scholar *
William B. Hurlbut William B. Hurlbutt is a Consulting Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University Medical Center. Born in 1945 in St. Helena, California, St. Helena, California, he grew up in Bronxville, New York, Bronxville, New York (state ...
, born in St. Helena, raised in NY, professor at
Stanford University Medical Center Stanford University Medical Center is a medical complex which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the United States and serves as a teaching hospital for the ...
. * Bob Marshall, CA politician * Fritz Maytag, businessman *
Donald C. McRuer Donald Campbell McRuer (March 10, 1826 – January 29, 1898) was an American politician from the Republican Party who served as U.S. Representative from California's 1st district from 1865 to 1867. McRuer was born March 10, 1826, in Bango ...
, congressman * Charles O'Rear, photographer *
Carl Osburn Carl Townsend Osburn (May 5, 1884 – December 28, 1966) was a United States Navy officer and sport shooter from Jacksontown, Ohio. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1906, Osburn went on to reach the rank of commander.
, Naval officer and sports shooter *
Frank K. Richardson Frank Kellogg Richardson (February 13, 1914 – October 5, 1999) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California, California Supreme Court. Early life and education Born in St. Helena, California, Richardson grad ...
, associate justice of the California Supreme court * Dave Smith, an engineer and musician *
Edwin R. Thiele Edwin R. Thiele (10 September 1895 – 15 April 1986) was an American Seventh-day Adventist missionary in China, an editor, archaeologist, writer, and Old Testament professor. He is best known for his chronological studies of the kingdoms of Ju ...
, a missionary, writer and archaeologist * Mike Thompson,
U.S. Representative 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 c ...
for , St. Helena native * Owen Wade, politician *
Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...
, author and pioneer.


In popular culture

*One of Disney's classic movies "
Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...
" was filmed on Railroad Avenune in Saint Helena in 1960. *The Elvis Presley 1961 release, " Wild in the Country", was filmed in a small Saint Helena house now known as a popular inn called The Ink House. *" A Walk in the Clouds" (1995) was filmed in northern Saint Helena. The movie depicts a love story involving a daughter of a vineyard owner. *"
Patch Adams Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adams (born May 28, 1945) is an American physician, comedian, social activist, clown, and author. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971. Each year he also organizes volunteers from around the world to travel to var ...
" (1989) starring Robin Williams had a scene filmed at the picturesque cemetery in St. Helena. *The "When Death Comes Calling" episode (S6.E2, 2013) of ''
My Ghost Story ''My Ghost Story'' is an American television series on the paranormal, which premiered on July 17, 2010, on the Biography Channel. The series features ghost stories told from a person's own supposed experience with the supernatural. Each episode ...
'' was filmed at a winery in the city.


See also

* List of cities and towns in California *
List of cities and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a metropolitan region surrounding the San Francisco Bay estuaries in Northern California. According to the 2010 United States Census, the region has over 7.1 million inhabitants and a ...
* Tree City USA


References


External links

*
St. Helena Chamber of Commerce

St. Helena Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Helena, California Cities in Napa County, California Napa Valley Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Incorporated cities and towns in California 1876 establishments in California Populated places established in 1876