Hopland, California

Hopland (formerly Sanel) is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located on the west bank of the Russian River  south-southeast of Ukiah, in the Sanel Valley, at an elevation of . The population was 661 at the 2020 census, down from 756 at the 2010 census.

Hopland is located at the start of the North Coast or Redwood Coast region of Northern California. It is  north of San Francisco along U.S. Route 101 and a 30-minute drive ( east along State Route 175) to California's largest natural lake, Clear Lake. Hopland is a rustic farming community situated among oak-covered coastal foothills. Summer temperatures can exceed .

Historic buildings in town include the old Hopland High School (c. 1923–1965), as well as the Thatcher Hotel, built in the late 1800s and recently reopened after undergoing a complete renovation.

Approximately  east of Hopland is the University of California's Hopland Research and Extension Center (formerly called the "Hopland Field Station"), a  research and education facility that UC has operated since 1951.

Geography
Hopland is in southeastern Mendocino County, along U.S. Route 101, which leads north-northwest  to Ukiah, the county seat, and southeast  to Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County seat. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Hopland CDP covers an area of , 98.65% of it land, and 1.35% of it water. The Russian River flows southward through the eastern side of the community, separating the main village of Hopland from Old Hopland, also part of the CDP, on the eastern side of the river.

Climate

History
The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, or Sho-Ka-Wah are Central Pomo people who have lived in Hopland since "the beginning of time".  The Sho-Ka-Wah lived their lives hunting, gathering, making, practicing spirituality and generally living their lives.  Their main village, population 1500, was called "Shanel".  After the settlers came, they were forced to move, and then to move again.  Today most of the Sho-Ka-Wah people live in the Hopland reservation 5 miles east of Hopland.  They have a gambling facility and other businesses to support their community.  The community also engages in spirituality, dance traditions, and caring for the land.

The settlement that became Hopland was originally called "Sanel". Over the years it was centered on either side of the Russian River. Sanel began on the west bank of the river in 1859. In 1874, the town moved to the east bank to be connected to the toll road built to there. When the railroad arrived on the west side of the river, the town moved back to its original site, leaving Old Hopland () on the east bank.

The Sanel post office opened in 1860, closed for a time in 1869, moved and changed its name to Hopland in 1879, reverted to its original site and name in 1890, and finally changed its name back to Hopland in 1891. The town gets its name from the fact that from the 1870s to the mid-1950s, much of the region's economy was based on the growing and drying of bitter hops, a key flavoring and preservative in beer. This began in 1868 when L.F. Long established the first hop farm some  east, where the railroad station called Largo (Spanish for "long") was later located. Downy mildew pushed hops out of the area completely by the late 1950s.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Hopland had a population of 756. The population density was . The racial makeup of Hopland was 521 (68.9%) White, 4 (0.5%) African American, 38 (5.0%) Native American, 10 (1.3%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 142 (18.8%) from other races, and 41 (5.4%) from two or more races.  Hispanic or Latino of any race were 263 persons (34.8%).

The Census reported that 739 people (97.8% of the population) lived in households, 17 (2.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 263 households, out of which 94 (35.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 117 (44.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 37 (14.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 29 (11.0%) had a male householder with no wife present.  There were 28 (10.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 4 (1.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 56 households (21.3%) were made up of individuals, and 12 (4.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81.  There were 183 families (69.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.27.

The population was spread out, with 195 people (25.8%) under the age of 18, 77 people (10.2%) aged 18 to 24, 211 people (27.9%) aged 25 to 44, 216 people (28.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 57 people (7.5%) who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 34.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 124.3 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.6 males.

There were 287 housing units at an average density of , of which 109 (41.4%) were owner-occupied, and 154 (58.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.1%.  272 people (36.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 467 people (61.8%) lived in rental housing units.

Government
In the state legislature, Hopland is in , and .

Federally, Hopland is in .

Media
 KORB 88.7 MHz, the only FM broadcast station licensed to Hopland

See also
 Northwestern Pacific Railroad

References

Census-designated places in Mendocino County, California
Census-designated places in California