Sebastopol, California
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Postcard view of Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California over the orchards to the town
Sebastopol is a city located in Sonoma County, California, an hour north of San Francisco. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,774. It is a city located just 30 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, between Santa Rosa and Bodega Bay, and is known for its alternative lifestyle and small town charm. Once an apple growing region, wine grapes are quickly taking over. Prior to apples, plums reigned. World famous horticulturist Luther Burbank had gardens in this fertile region. The city hosts an annual Apple Blossom Festival and is the home of publisher O'Reilly Media, which publishes books on open-source software. Sebastopol is also home to Analy High School, Brook Haven Junior High School, Pine Crest Elementary and a Waldorf private school.
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History
The area's first known inhabitants were the native Miwok and Pomo peoples. The town of Sebastopol formed in the 1850s with a U.S. Post Office and as a small trade center for the farmers in the surrounding agricultural region. As California’s population swelled after the westward migration and the Gold rush of the 1850s, more and more settlers drifted into the fertile California valleys north of San Francisco to try their hand at farming.
The name of Sebastopol first came into use in the late 1850s as a result of a prolonged and lively fistfight in the newly formed town, which was likened to the long British siege of the Russian seaport of Sevastopol during the then-raging Crimean War. Britain, France, Sardinia and Turkey fought Russia in this war, one of the first wars to be directly reported by journalists and photographers. The Crimean War was also the origin of improved medical care of the wounded, primarily due to the efforts of Florence Nightingale, who formed a nursing corps to care for wounded British soldiers. Evidently, many Americans in the west sympathized more for the Russian than for the British cause as there were at one time four other Sebastopol’s in California; one in Napa County, renamed Yountville, one each in Tulare, Sacramento, and Nevada counties.
The apple industry brought a steady rural prosperity to the town and Sebastopol was incorporated in 1902 with schools, churches, hotels, canneries, mills, wineries, and an opera house to its credit. The 1906 earthquake reduced most of these early buildings to rubble, but as elsewhere in the county, the town was rebuilt.
In the second half of the Twentieth Century, the apple industry struggled to compete with other apple producing regions and gradually declined in its economic significance. With greater personal mobility and the rise of larger shopping centers in other Sonoma County communities, Sebastopol changed from a full-service town with a complete range of stores to one with a more limited range of goods and services.
Geography
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Location of Sebastopol, California
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²). 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 7,774 people, 3,250 households, and 1,953 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,596.6/km² (4,138.8/mi²). There are 3,321 housing units at an average density of 682.0/km² (1,768.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 89.85% White, 0.66% African American, 0.78% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 3.86% from other races, and 3.23% from two or more races. 9.26% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 3,250 households out of which 31.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% are married couples living together, 14.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% are non-families. 31.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.33 and the average family size is 2.95.
In the city the population is spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 81.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 75.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $46,436, and the median income for a family is $55,792. Males have a median income of $40,538 versus $32,399 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,881. 6.9% of the population and 4.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- Official City of Sebastopol Website (http://www.ci.sebastopol.ca.us/)
- www.summerfieldwaldorf.org - A private school located in Sebastopol
This school is located in nearby Santa Rosa, not Sebastopol. Summerfield Waldorf School 655 Willowside Road Santa Rosa, CA 95401 707-575-7194 sws@summerfieldwaldorf.org fax: 707.575.3217 Template:Geolinks-US-cityscale