Capay is an unincorporated community in Yolo County, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located on Cache Creek

Cache Creek

Cache Creek may refer to:*Cache Creek , a stream in the Thompson Country of British Columbia, Canada*Cache Creek, British Columbia, a town in British Columbia, Canada, named after the creek...

 2 miles (3.2 km) west-northwest of Esparto

Esparto, California

Esparto is a census-designated place in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, in the Capay Valley

Capay Valley

Capay Valley is a mostly rural valley west of the Capay Hills, and northwest of Sacramento in Yolo County, California, United States.Cache Creek flows through the valley and the Capay Valley AVA...

, in the northwestern part of the county. Capay's ZIP Code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 95607 and its area code 530

Area code 530

North American area code 530 is a California telephone area code that covers Auburn, Chico, Colfax, Davis, Grass Valley, Marysville, Oroville, Placerville, Redding, Red Bluff, Susanville, Truckee, Woodland, Yuba City and South Lake Tahoe....

. It lies at an elevation of 210 feet (64 m). The name Capay comes from the Southern Wintun

Wintun

Wintun is the name generally given to a group of related Native American tribes who live in Northern California, including the Wintu , Nomlaki , and Patwin tribes. Their range is from approximately present-day Lake Shasta to San Francisco Bay, along the western side of the Sacramento River to the...

 Indian word for "stream".

History

Capay is located on the Mexican land grant Rancho Canada de Capay

Rancho Cañada de Capay

Rancho Cañada de Capay was a Mexican land grant in present day Yolo County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to the three brothers Santiago, Nemicio, and Francisco Berreyesa. "Cañada de Capay" means "valley of the Capay" in Spanish. "Capay" comes from the Southern Wintun Indian word...

. Capay was originally named Munchville after one of the first white settlers, a man named Munch, who built a house on the Cache Creek at the site in 1857. Mr. Empyre and Mr. Munch built a two-story building in the area. The town acquired the name Langville after John A. Lang. In 1870 Lang operated a hotel and owned a brick yard and a store. Langville grew enough to have a town plat filed on January 1, 1875, which renamed the town as Capay.

A post office opened in Capay in 1868.