Boonville, California

History

Boonville was founded by John Burgots in 1862. The place was originally called The Corners. Burgots built a hotel, and in 1864 Alonzo Kendall built another hotel. The town became known as Kendall's City. W.W. Boone bought a store in town and gave the place its current name.

The first post office opened in 1875, having been transferred from Anderson.

Culture

Boonville is in the Anderson Valley, 115 miles (185 km) north of San Francisco. Boonville is best known as the source of the Boontling folk language. Bottles from the local Anderson Valley Brewing Company are labeled with the motto "Bahl Hornin'" which means "It's good drinkin'" in Boontling.

An Alsatian Varietals wine festival is held at the fairgrounds each February. In early spring (April or May), the annual Legendary Boonville Beer Festival is held at the fairgrounds, featuring beers from about 50 craft breweries. A Pinot Noir Festival is held in May. In July, the Wool-growers' Barbecue and Sheepdog Trials is held at the fairgrounds. Boonville hosts the annual Mendocino County Fair in September. Boonville also hosts the long-running Sierra Nevada World Music Festival every summer solstice weekend in June.

Boonville, despite its small population, has a minor reputation among political leftists in the USA for countercultural ideals, including promotion of organic food. The town serves as the setting for the novel Boonville (2001) by Robert Mailer Anderson. Some commentators believe Boonville may be the setting for the novel Vineland (1990) by Thomas Pynchon.

The town is known to Unificationists as the site of the successful but ill-fated Creative Community Project.

The ZIP Code is 95415. The community is inside area code 707.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 5.5 square miles (14.4 km²), all of it land.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Boonville has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Boonville had a population of 1,035. The population density was 186.7 people per square mile (72.1/km²). The racial makeup of Boonville was 630 (60.9%) White, 9 (0.9%) African American, 18 (1.7%) Native American, 7 (0.7%) Asian, 2 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 340 (32.9%) from other races, and 29 (2.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 520 persons (50.2%).

The Census reported that 1,029 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 1 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 5 (0.5%) were institutionalized.

There were 372 households, out of which 139 (37.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 193 (51.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 46 (12.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 23 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 28 (7.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 4 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 77 households (20.7%) were made up of individuals and 28 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77. There were 262 families (70.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.12.

The population was spread out with 268 people (25.9%) under the age of 18, 90 people (8.7%) aged 18 to 24, 270 people (26.1%) aged 25 to 44, 275 people (26.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 132 people (12.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.8 years. For every 100 females there were 112.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.2 males.

There were 413 housing units at an average density of 74.5 per square mile (28.8/km²), of which 190 (51.1%) were owner-occupied, and 182 (48.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 479 people (46.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 550 people (53.1%) lived in rental housing units.

Education

Elementary school students in Boonville attend Anderson Valley Elementary School. Middle and high school students attend Anderson Valley Junior-Senior High School. Both schools are located in Boonville.

Politics

In the state legislature, Boonville is in the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Mike McGuire, and the 2nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Jim Wood.

Federally, Boonville is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.

Notable residents