Calpella (

Pomo The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...

: ''Kalpela'', meaning "

Mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

bearer") is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

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 counte ...

(CDP) in

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

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 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 ''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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, south of Willits, and northwest of Lakeport. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, 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.

passes through the western portion of the CDP, and California State Route 20 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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Calpella has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Demographics

Calpella first appeared as 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 counte ...

in the 2010 U.S. Census.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Calpella had a population of 799. The population density was . The racial makeup of Calpella was 442 (55.3%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1 (0.1%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 28 (3.5%) Native American, 14 (1.8%) Asian, 2 (0.3%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 206 (25.8%) from other races, and 106 (13.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 348 persons (43.6%). The whole population lived in households. There were 279 households, out of which 101 (36.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 138 (49.5%) were married-couple households, 25 (9.0%) were cohabiting couple households, 62 (22.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 54 (19.4%) had a male householder with no partner present. 64 households (22.9%) were one person, and 34 (12.2%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.86. There were 195

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(69.9% of all households). The age distribution was 175 people (21.9%) under the age of 18, 79 people (9.9%) aged 18 to 24, 201 people (25.2%) aged 25 to 44, 216 people (27.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 128 people (16.0%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.5years. For every 100 females, there were 109.2 males. There were 299 housing units at an average density of , of which 279 (93.3%) were occupied. Of these, 151 (54.1%) were owner-occupied, and 128 (45.9%) were occupied by renters.

Government

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

, Calpella is in , and . Federally, Calpella is in .

Notes and references

{{authority control Census-designated places in Mendocino County, California Populated places established in 1858 1858 establishments in California Census-designated places in California