Valley Ford, California
Encyclopedia
Valley Ford is an unincorporated
community and census-designated place
(CDP) in western Sonoma County
, California
, United States
. It is located on State Route 1
in an area of rolling hills about 75 minutes north of San Francisco by automobile. Like all of Sonoma County, Valley Ford is included in both the San Francisco Bay Area
and the Redwood Empire.
The village lies just north of the Estero Americano
, about 5 mi (8 km) from the Pacific Ocean
. It is 7 mi (11 km) north of Dillon Beach
, 9 mi (14 km) east of the town of Bodega Bay
and 20 mi (32 km) southeast of Jenner
.
and Pomo people
people hunted, fished, and gathered in the area. A Miwok village named Ewapalt has been documented in the Valley Ford area.
Europeans explored the coastline in the early 17th century but did not settle until 1812, when Russia
n fur traders came south from Alaska
and built Fort Ross
about 22 mi (35.4 km) northwest of Valley Ford. The Russians remained until 1841, when the area came under Mexican rule. In 1850, the year California became a U.S.
state, the area was made part of Sonoma County.
Valley Ford had a grain mill in the mid-19th century. Starting in the 1870s, Valley Ford was a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad
connecting Cazadero
to the Sausalito
ferry, enabling local ranchers and fishers to export produce to San Francisco.
In 1976, Christo and Jeanne-Claude
's installation art piece Running Fence
passed through Valley Ford on its way from Cotati
to Bodega Bay
.
Open from 1856 to 1967, Watson School
once served as Valley Ford's school, and is located in a Sonoma County Regional Parks Department historic park about 3.5 miles north of Valley Ford.
, the CDP covers an area of 2.6 square miles (6.8 km²), all of it land.
was 55.6 people per square mile (21.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 71.4% White, 0.7% African American, 22.4% from other races
, and 5.4% from two or more races. 35.4% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.
There were 57 households, out of which 18 (31.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 26 (45.6%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 8 (14.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1 (1.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 6 (10.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 3 (5.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 13 households (22.8%) were made up of individuals and 5 (8.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58. There were 35 families
(61.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.20.
The population was spread out with 35 people (23.8%) under the age of 18, 12 people (8.2%) aged 18 to 24, 42 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 35 people (23.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 23 people (15.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females there were 116.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.4 males.
There were 67 housing units at an average density of 25.4 per square mile (9.8/km²), of which 47.4% were owner-occupied and 52.6% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.1%. 39.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 60.5% lived in rental housing units.
Moore-Doors (a vendor of hand-crafted wooden screen doors) and the headquarters of capo
manufacturer Shubb
are also in Valley Ford.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
community and census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in western Sonoma County
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located on State Route 1
California State Route 1
State Route 1 , more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.Highway 1 does not run...
in an area of rolling hills about 75 minutes north of San Francisco by automobile. Like all of Sonoma County, Valley Ford is included in both the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and the Redwood Empire.
The village lies just north of the Estero Americano
Americano Creek
Americano Creek is a long westward-flowing stream in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin, which flows into the Estero Americano, a long estuary, and thence to the Pacific Ocean. This article covers both watercourses.-Course:...
, about 5 mi (8 km) from the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It is 7 mi (11 km) north of Dillon Beach
Dillon Beach, California
Dillon Beach is a census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. Dillon Beach is located west of Tomales, at an elevation of 89 feet . The population was 283 at the 2010 census...
, 9 mi (14 km) east of the town of Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay, California
Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast....
and 20 mi (32 km) southeast of Jenner
Jenner, California
Jenner is a small coastal town and census-designated place with a population of about 136 in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the Russian River. State Route 1 runs through the town and State Route 116 runs nearby, along the Russian River...
.
History
Prior to its settlement by Europeans, the indigenous Coast MiwokCoast Miwok
The Coast Miwok were the second largest group of Miwok Native American people. The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Point and eastward to Sonoma Creek...
and Pomo people
Pomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...
people hunted, fished, and gathered in the area. A Miwok village named Ewapalt has been documented in the Valley Ford area.
Europeans explored the coastline in the early 17th century but did not settle until 1812, when Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n fur traders came south from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and built Fort Ross
Fort Ross, California
Fort Ross is a former Russian establishment on the Pacific Coast in what is now Sonoma County, California, in the United States. It was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlements in North America in between 1812 to 1841...
about 22 mi (35.4 km) northwest of Valley Ford. The Russians remained until 1841, when the area came under Mexican rule. In 1850, the year California became a U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state, the area was made part of Sonoma County.
Valley Ford had a grain mill in the mid-19th century. Starting in the 1870s, Valley Ford was a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad
North Pacific Coast Railroad
The North Pacific Coast Railroad was a common carrier narrow gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad and which rebuilt the southern section into a standard gauge electric railroad.The NPC operated in the northern California...
connecting Cazadero
Cazadero, California
Cazadero is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in western Sonoma County, California, United States with a population of 354 as of the 2010 Census. Nearby towns include Jenner, Annapolis, Stewart's Point, Duncans Mills, Villa Grande, Rio Nido, Guerneville, Monte Rio, and The Sea Ranch...
to the Sausalito
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
ferry, enabling local ranchers and fishers to export produce to San Francisco.
In 1976, Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Christo and Jeanne-Claude were a married couple who created environmental works of art...
's installation art piece Running Fence
Running Fence
Running Fence was an installation art piece by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which was completed on September 10, 1976. The builders removed it 14 days later, leaving no visible trace....
passed through Valley Ford on its way from Cotati
Cotati, California
Cotati is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., located about north of San Francisco in the 101 corridor between Rohnert Park and Petaluma....
to Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
.
Open from 1856 to 1967, Watson School
Watson School
Watson School is a Sonoma County Regional Parks Department historic park, covering approximately , located about east of Bodega, California, on the south side of the road, at 15000 Bodega Highway in Sonoma County, California, United States....
once served as Valley Ford's school, and is located in a Sonoma County Regional Parks Department historic park about 3.5 miles north of Valley Ford.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP covers an area of 2.6 square miles (6.8 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Valley Ford had a population of 147. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 55.6 people per square mile (21.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 71.4% White, 0.7% African American, 22.4% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 5.4% from two or more races. 35.4% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.
There were 57 households, out of which 18 (31.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 26 (45.6%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8 (14.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1 (1.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 6 (10.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons 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 cohabitation in American households....
, and 3 (5.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 13 households (22.8%) were made up of individuals and 5 (8.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58. There were 35 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(61.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.20.
The population was spread out with 35 people (23.8%) under the age of 18, 12 people (8.2%) aged 18 to 24, 42 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 35 people (23.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 23 people (15.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females there were 116.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.4 males.
There were 67 housing units at an average density of 25.4 per square mile (9.8/km²), of which 47.4% were owner-occupied and 52.6% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.1%. 39.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 60.5% lived in rental housing units.
Businesses
Valley Ford is home to antique stores, art galleries, curio shops and restaurants:- Valley Ford Hotel, one of the few remaining buildings dating from the 19th century, now houses Rocker Oysterfeller's Kitchen & Saloon and six guest rooms.
- West County Design, a gallery for wood tables, polished concrete and other products of Sonoma County artisans, and
- Gabby Girl, a gift shop.
- Valley Ford Construction Corporation, Valley Ford Construction Corporation, General Engineering
Moore-Doors (a vendor of hand-crafted wooden screen doors) and the headquarters of capo
Capo
A capo is a device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. It is frequently used on guitars, mandolins, and banjos. G.B...
manufacturer Shubb
Shubb
Shubb is the name of a company that specialises in producing top-quality capos for all kinds of stringed instruments. The company was formed in 1974 by Rick Shubb and Dave Coontz. Both are practising banjoists.-Capo Design:...
are also in Valley Ford.