Fort Bragg, California
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Fort Bragg is a city along the North Coast of
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 ...
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 ...
. The city is west of Willits, at an elevation of . Its population was 6,983 at the 2020 census. Fort Bragg is a tourist destination because of its views of the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Among its points of interest are Glass Beach and the California Western Railroad (popularly known as the "Skunk Train"). A
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
, Fort Bragg was founded in 1857 prior to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
as a military
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
rather than a
fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
. It was named after army officer
Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...
, who at the time had served the U.S. in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
(and would later serve in the
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...
during the Civil War). The city was incorporated in 1889.


History

The area known as Fort Bragg was home to Native Americans since before Western expansion, most of whom belong to the
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 ...
tribe. They historically were
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s who lived along the northern coast of California.


1855–1867

In 1855, an exploration party from the
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
visited the area looking for a site on which to establish a reservation; in the spring of 1856, the Mendocino Indian Reservation was established at Noyo. It was in size, and its boundary extended north from what became Simpson Lane to Abalobadiah Creek and east from the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
to Bald Hill. In the summer of 1857, 1st Lt. Horatio G. Gibson, then serving at the
Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...
, established a military post on the reservation, approximately north of the Noyo River, and named it for his former commanding officer Capt.
Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...
, who later became a General in the Army of the Confederacy. Gibson and Company M, 3rd Artillery, left Fort Bragg in January 1859 to be replaced by Company D, 6th Infantry, which stayed for two years and continued to build up the post. In June 1862, Company D, 2nd California Infantry, were ordered to
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
the post and remained until 1864. In October of that year, the Fort Bragg garrison was loaded aboard the steamer ''Panama'' and completed the evacuation and abandonment of Mendocino County's first military post. The Mendocino Indian Reservation was discontinued in March 1866, and the land was opened for settlement three years later. The last remaining building of the Fort Bragg military post is located at 430 North Franklin Street. It may have been the
Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
's storehouse and commissary or surgeon's quarters or hospital. The approximate boundaries of the fort extend from the south side of Laurel, east from the railroad depot to the carriage road behind Franklin, down the lane to a point south of Redwood Avenue, west on Redwood to just beyond the Georgia-Pacific Corporation company offices, then north to connect with the Laurel Street border at the railroad station.


1867–1892

By 1867, the reservation and military outpost at Fort Bragg were abandoned. By 1869, small lumber mills were being built at the mouth of every creek. Ranches were settled. By 1873, Fort Bragg had an established lumber port at Noyo. In 1869, after the fort was abandoned, and the land surveyed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the land of the reservation was returned to the public and offered for sale at $1.25 per acre to settlers. In 1885, C. R. Johnson who, with partners Calvin Stewart and James Hunter, had been operating a sawmill in Mill Creek on the Ten Mile River, moved their mill machinery to Fort Bragg to take advantage of the harbor for shipping. The company incorporated in 1885 as the Fort Bragg Redwood Company. In 1891, after merging with the Noyo River Lumber Company, it was renamed the Union Lumber Company. The Fort Bragg Railroad was founded to haul logs to the mill. The first rails were run up Pudding Creek and, in 1887, reached Glen Blair. A San Francisco streetcar was purchased to carry loggers and their families on Sunday excursions to the woods. Fort Bragg was incorporated in 1889 with C. R. Johnson as its first mayor, and Calvin Stewart drafting its plat maps. Built in Fort Bragg for Horace Weller in 1886, the Weller House is the oldest existing house in the city. Since 1999, this house, converted into a hotel, has welcomed tourists from around the world.


1893–1916

The Union Lumber Company was incorporated in 1891 by absorbing some of the smaller lumber companies in the area. Some of the new company lands were in the Noyo River watershed east of Fort Bragg making removal of logs difficult by rail, unless a tunnel was built. Johnson hired experienced Chinese tunnel builders from San Francisco. After completion of the tunnel, most of the Chinese settled in Fort Bragg and Mendocino. A six-walled Chinese town was built at Redwood and McPherson. Older residents say that eventually most of the Chinese children moved elsewhere. In 1901, the Union Lumber Company incorporated the National Steamship Company to carry lumber, passengers and supplies. As the only link to manufactured creature comforts, staples like sugar and coffee were delivered by steamship. In 1905, the California Western Railroad and Navigation Company was established and plans were pushed to get the rail line all the way to Willits, where train connections to the Northwestern Pacific would link to San Francisco. The 1906 earthquake resulted in a fire that threatened the saw mill and the city. Within Fort Bragg itself, all brick buildings were damaged. Only two were not destroyed completely. Many frame houses were knocked off their piers. The fire downtown burned the entire block bordered by Franklin, Redwood and McPherson Streets, plus the west side of Franklin. The west Franklin block burned down to approximately one half a block beyond the intersection of Redwood and Franklin. After the earthquake, most downtown reconstruction was completed within 12 months. Coincidentally, the earthquake brought prosperity to Fort Bragg as the mills furnished lumber to rebuild San Francisco, and the lumber ships returning from San Francisco were ballasted with bricks used for rebuilding Fort Bragg. With the new prosperity, the rail line to Willits was completed and in 1912 the first tourists came to Fort Bragg. By 1916 Fort Bragg had become a popular place to visit—and to settle.


Since 1916

Commercial fishing has also played an important role in the economic base of the community. Once a major commercial fishing port, Fort Bragg was well known for producing quality fish products that were distributed to major metropolitan markets. In 1916, the Union Lumber Company built a railroad from the South Fork of Ten Mile River to Fort Bragg, where its operations were. By 1929, what lumber could not be sent by rail to the company mill at Fort Bragg was handled by the mill at Pudding Creek owned by the Glen Blair Redwood Company. The Union Lumber Company established its own post office on Churchman Creek to service its logging camps there in 1931, but it operated only until 1932. The railroad was removed in 1945 as rail transport was replaced by truck haulage; nowadays it is a recreational corridor in MacKerricher State Park. In 1969, the Union Lumber Company was purchased by Boise Cascade and John Quincy and it became Georgia Pacific Lumber Company in 1973. The mill was shut down in 2002 after being identified as a nonperforming asset. The piece of property within the city limits takes up almost the entire coastline of Fort Bragg, including Fort Bragg Landing. , the mill site was sold and is undergoing redevelopment, including removal of toxic waste.


Calls to rename the city

In 2015, members of the California Legislative Black Caucus petitioned Fort Bragg to change its name due to Braxton Bragg's links to the Confederacy. The mayor of Fort Bragg at that time, Lindy Peters, stated that there was not really much interest among the residents, and cited the costs that every company and institution in the area would have to pay to change all of the addresses. There were further calls to change the name in June 2020, following the
murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...
. On June 22, the Fort Bragg City Council considered whether to put a proposition on the November ballot asking its residents if they would like a name change, but decided instead to form an ad hoc committee to explore options for the city's name. They estimated the cost to change the name would be $271,000. Among the alternative options that were explored was to simply rededicate the city to a different notable person named Bragg. By late January 2022, the commission announced that it could not come to a consensus on a name change. Meanwhile in 2022, the active military fort of the same name in
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
was renamed to Fort Liberty. The military fort has been renamed back to Fort Bragg since 2025, although officially named for Roland L. Bragg, a World War II US Army paratrooper.


Geography

Fort Bragg has an average elevation of above sea level. 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 city has a total area of , of which is land and , comprising 1.44%, is water.


Climate

Due to Fort Bragg's location on the shore of the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
, the city has very mild weather throughout the year compared to most inland places. Most of the rainfall occurs from November to April with some occasional drizzle or light showers during the summer. Fog and low overcast are common, especially during the night and early morning hours. The climate experienced in Fort Bragg is classified as 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 ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Csb''). Although formally known as dry-summer subtropical, Fort Bragg has very cool summer temperatures for a subtropical climate type. Its Mediterranean classification is due to the dry summers with very little rainfall. Freezing temperatures occur on an average of 11.6 days annually. The record maximum temperature was on October 5, 1987. The record minimum temperature was on December 21, 1990, and in 2016 there was an ice storm. Winter days always remain well above freezing. The coldest day on record was in 1972 and the coolest day of the year reached on average during the 1991–2020 normals. The warmest night of the year averages a moderate and no overnight low has ever been recorded above . Average annual precipitation is . The wettest "rain year" on record was from July 1997 to June 1998 with at least and the driest from July 1976 to June 1977 with . The maximum precipitation in one month was in January 1909. The maximum 24-hour rainfall was on February 6, 2015. Snow has only ever been recorded on three days, the largest recorded total being on December 6, 1913, the second being on January 6, 1907, and the third being on January 12, 1907. The extreme maritime effect of the Pacific Ocean is demonstrated by the fact that Fort Bragg has uniquely cool summers for cities on the 39th parallel north, both domestically and internationally. To illustrate the extremes of Fort Bragg, coastal climates with warmer summers than the city are found as far north as on the 66th latitude on the Bothnia Bay in between
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, a net latitudinal anomaly of 27 degrees. That is nearly one-third of the distance between the poles and the equator. In places some miles inland, consistently hotter summer temperatures are found, a phenomenon typical of the Californian coastline.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 7,273 people, 2,812 households, and 1,644 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,051 housing units at an average density of . The ethnic makeup of the city was 74.8% Caucasian, 16.0% Mestizo, 4.6% multiethnic, 2.2% Native American, 1.5%
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...
, 0.7%
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 ...
, and 0.2% Pacific Islands American. 31.8% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino of any ethnicity. There were 2,840 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,539, and the median income for a family was $36,000. Males had a median income of $25,833 versus $23,287 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $15,832. About 11.9% of families and 20.4% 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 26.5% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.


Parks and recreation

A trail that extends over a mile along the coast from the Noyo River Headlands north along the bluff over the Pacific Ocean reaches the former Georgia-Pacific mill site. It is accessible from Highway 1 (Main Street) at Cypress Street. The trail includes information signage about the area's pre-European residents, the Pomo Native Americans. The trail leads to a visitor center maintained by the Noyo Center for Marine Science. Offshore along the trail are rocks where harbor seals haul out and other sealife may be viewed.


Arts and culture

Built in 1892, the Guest House Museum served as lodging for the owners of Union Lumber Company, VIP visitors, and potential buyers of ULCO products. It has become the headquarters of the Fort Bragg-Mendocino Coast Historical Society, where visitors learn about the history of the area. The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is a garden along the coastal bluffs.


Glass Beach

Glass Beach is on the edge of Fort Bragg, along the ocean. In the early 20th century, Fort Bragg residents threw their household garbage over cliffs owned by the Union Lumber Company onto what is now Glass Beach, discarding
glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
, appliances, and even vehicles. Locals referred to it as "The Dumps". Fires were lit to reduce the size of the trash pile. In 1967, city leaders closed the area and various cleanup programs were brought on through the years to fix the damage. Over several decades the pounding waves wore down the discarded glass into the small, smooth pieces called
sea glass Sea glass are naturally weathered pieces of the glass, anthropogenic glass fragments of typically List of glassware#Drinkware, drinkwares, which often have the appearance of Tumble finishing, tumbled stones. Sea glass is physical weathering, phys ...
that coat the beach. The area along the beach at the end of Elm Street is now visited by tourists.


Other points of interest

* The Pudding Creek Trestle * Noyo Harbor * MacKerricher State Park * Russian Gulch State Park * Point Cabrillo Light Station


Transportation

Fort Bragg is the western terminus of the California Western Railroad (otherwise known locally as the "Skunk Train"). Steam passenger service was started in 1904, and then extended in 1911 through the Coast Redwood forests to the city of Willits, inland. Started in 1885 as a rail route for moving large logs to the mills, the Skunk Train now offers scenic tours through the redwoods. In 1925 self-powered, yellow "Skunk" rail cars were inaugurated. The little trains were quickly nicknamed for their original gas engines, which prompted folks to say, "You can smell 'em before you can see 'em." In 1965 the line reintroduced summer steam passenger service between Fort Bragg and Willits with Baldwin-built steam locomotives Nos. 45 and 46, calling the colorful train "The Super Skunk". That train was discontinued in 2001 due to owing to the embargo of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, then revived in September 2006 as a special event train, currently the most popular attraction for tourists in the Fort Bragg region. No.45 and 46 are now out of service waiting for overhaul. Trains continue with diesel locomotives used to power excursion trains from Fort Bragg as far as Northspur, the CWR's midpoint, on selected weekends from summer to early autumn. State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) passes through Fort Bragg, concurrent with and signed as Main Street within the city limits. It travels on two bridges while doing so, the Noyo River Bridge and the Pudding Creek Bridge. State Route 20's western terminus is in Fort Bragg at its junction with Route 1, traveling east it runs parallel and several miles south of the Skunk Train's route to Willits and beyond to Nevada City before terminating at a junction with
Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...
. The city also has a small private airport, with an paved runway.


Government


Municipal government

* Mayor: Bernie Norvell (Elected December 2020; term expires December 2024) * Vice Mayor: Jason Godeke (Elected December 2022; term expires December 2026) * Councilmembers: ** Tess Albin-Smith (Elected November 2022; term expires December 2026) ** Lindy Peters (Elected November 2022; Vice Mayor 2014–2016, Mayor 2016–2018; term expires December 2024) * City Manager: Tabatha Miller (hired March 2018)


State and federal representation

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 ...
, Fort Bragg is in , and . Federally, Fort Bragg is in .


Education

Children in Fort Bragg are served by the Fort Bragg Unified School District, typically attending Fort Bragg High School, Fort Bragg Middle School, Dana Gray Elementary and Redwood Elementary during their time in the public school system, though several alternative schools are available as well. In 2006, Three Rivers Learning Center, a charter school under the jurisdiction of Mattole Valley Charter School opened.


In popular culture

Several major movies have been filmed in and around Fort Bragg, including: * '' Johnny Belinda (1948)'', a drama, based on the Broadway hit of the same name, starring
Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...
* '' The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966)'', a comedy about a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
submarine that accidentally runs aground off the coast of New England, starring
Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...
and
Eva Marie Saint Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American retired actress. In a career that spanned nearly 80 years, she won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two British Academy Film Awa ...
* '' Racing with the Moon (1984)'', a drama starring
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...
,
Elizabeth McGovern Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination. Born in Evanston ...
, and
Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...
* '' Overboard (1987)'', a romantic comedy starring
Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received ...
and
Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor before transitioning to leading roles as an adult in various genres such as action adventures, science-fiction, westerns, romance films, co ...
* '' The Majestic (2001)'', a romantic period drama starring
Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...


Notable people

* Tom Hawkins, the probable writer of the '' Wanda Tinasky Letters'' * Cammie King, child actress best known for ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...
'', died in Fort Bragg in 2010 * Edward Norris, film actor who made over 70 films. Moved to Fort Bragg in 1997 and died there in 2002. * Ray Peterson, NFL player * Gregory E. Pyle, former chief of the
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw language, Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Indian reservation, Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation ...
. Relocated to Durant, Oklahoma. *
Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator, sports announcer, and podcaster, better known by the ring name Jim Ross (often shortened to JR). He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he ...
, professional wrestling commentator and former company executive of
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
. Current AEW commentator and executive. *
Cornelius Vander Starr Cornelius Vander Starr (October 15, 1892 – December 20, 1968), sometimes known as Neil Starr, was an American businessman and founder of C.V. Starr & Co. (later known as Starr Companies) in Shanghai, China, which became insurance giant AIG an ...
, founder of insurance giant
AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. As of 2023, AIG employed 25,200 people. The company operates through three core ...
and the Starr Foundation * Emily Jane White,
Neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrume ...
singer


Sister city

As a youth, Ken Sasaki noted that his home,
Ōtsuchi An is a large wooden war mallet used by the samurai class of feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord- ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, is located on the same latitude as Fort Bragg and in 2001 he contacted then-Mayor Lindy Peters and visited with a delegation to open discussions on a sister city agreement. Fort Bragg students visited Otsuchi in 2002 and the Sister City Proclamation was solidified in 2005 by Mayor Dave Turner. Other student exchanges were held in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and the next exchange was planned for July 2011. Following the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a  9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
devastation of Otsuchi, Mayor Turner ordered that city flags be flown at half staff until the end of March to honor the thousands of lives lost.


References


External links

*
Fort Bragg website
includes history, travel information, etc.

From trash to treasure: Unassuming coastal town home to glittering Glass Beach. By Susan C. Kim {{Authority control Cities in Mendocino County, California Company towns in California Bragg Bragg Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated coastal places in California Populated places established in 1857 Populated places established in 1889 1857 establishments in California 1889 establishments in California Braxton Bragg Bragg, Fort Bragg, Fort