Lakeport, California

Lakeport is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, California, United States. at an elevation of .

The first business in Lakeport was established in 1855, trading goods to the local Indians in exchange for their wares and baskets. The business was run by a man named Johnson, but he did not have a store location. The first shop built in the Lakeport area was constructed by Dr. Boynton.

It was William Forbes and James Parrish, however, who created the first shop in the main Lakeport area. Parish was a blacksmith and Forbes was a wagon maker. Forbes was also a pioneer undertaker. It was this investment as well as the land grant Forbes bestowed upon the county, which earned Lakeport its first name: Forbestown.

William Forbes came to the area in 1858. He purchased on which to build his home and farm. When the county was investigating land to put the local county seat, Forbes offered of his property on which they could build the county office. The electorate thanked Forbes for his generosity by naming the town after him. Although the town no longer bears his name, other landmarks still retain their name association to him.

On June 14, 1861, Forbestown was officially renamed to Lakeport. Some locations still bear the Forbes name, however, such as Forbes Creek and Forbes Street.

In 1850, Captain Nathaniel Lyon led an attack in the Bloody Island massacre. Lyon later died fighting for the Union in the Civil War.

The first post office, called Big Valley, opened at the site in 1858, and changed its name to Lakeport in 1861.

In 1872, a sighting of the legendary "Monster of Blue Lakes" or "Devil Fish" caused Indians from all around to gather at Temescal to await an expected calamity.

In 1882, Black Bart robbed the stagecoach traveling between Lakeport and Cloverdale. During this time period, over 450 Chinese immigrants were employed to work the area's quicksilver mines.

In 1883, William "Digger" Jones was hanged at Lakeport jail. He was wrongfully hanged two days after the sheriff had received a pardon for him.

In 1888, Lakeport was incorporated. For nearly a century, it was the only incorporated city in Lake County.

In 1892, Lakeport got its first telephone.

Geography

thumb|right|Historic Courthouse

Lakeport is located at .

There is a potentially active rupture zone (defined as a fault that has been active during quaternary time – the last 2,000,000 years) existing immediately east of the City limits running parallel and adjacent to the shoreline of Clear Lake. Within the past 200 years, no major potentially damaging earthquakes have occurred along any faults within Lake County, including the Big Valley fault adjacent to the eastern City boundaries. Geologically, recent faulting is indicated, however, by the apparent displacement of quaternary earth materials along the Big Valley fault.

The largest earthquake to affect the City was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake which had a magnitude of 8.3. Although shaking was severe, overall damage in Lakeport was comparatively minor and generally limited to the fall of decorative masonry and chimneys.

The city relies on wells for the majority of its potable water supply. In periods of high rainfall, flooding from Clear Lake, Scotts Creek and Forbes Creek has caused historic property damage.

Climate

Lakeport, like all of the Clear Lake area, has hot, mostly dry summers and cool, wet winters. The average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . The average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 77.5 days with highs of or higher and an average of 75.5 days with lows of . The record high temperature was on August 10, 1971, and September 13, 1972. The record low temperature was on December 9, 1972. Its climate can be classified as hot-summer Mediterranean climate according to the Köppen climate classification system.

Average annual precipitation is . There are an average of 66 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1973 with and the driest year was 2013. The most precipitation in one month was in February 1986. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on December 10, 1937.

Snow is relatively rare in Lakeport, but common in the surrounding mountains. Average annual snowfall is . The most snow in one month was in January 1937.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Lakeport had a population of 5,026. The population density was . 98.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.2% lived in rural areas. The census reported that 96.9% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2.6% were institutionalized.

The age distribution was 19.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% aged 18 to 24, 22.3% aged 25 to 44, 26.3% aged 45 to 64, and 26.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.7 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.3 males age 18 and over.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census

Income and poverty

The median household income in 2023 was $59,294, and the per capita income was $42,105. About 13.7% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, Lakeport had a population of 4,753. The population density was . The racial makeup of Lakeport was 3,932 (82.7%) White, 46 (1.0%) African American, 147 (8.1%) Native American, 99 (2.1%) Asian, 5 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 337 (7.1%) from other races, and 187 (3.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 799 people (16.8%).

The census reported that 4,616 people (97.1% of the population) lived in households, 11 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 126 (2.7%) were institutionalized.

There were 2,002 households, 563 (28.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 803 (40.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 260 (13.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 110 (5.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 177 (8.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 16 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 665 households (33.2%) were one person and 328 (16.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.31. There were 1,173 families (58.6% of households); the average family size was 2.93.

The age distribution was 1,031 people (21.7%) under the age of 18, 352 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 1,033 people (21.7%) aged 25 to 44, 1,384 people (29.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 953 people (20.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 44.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

There were 2,395 housing units at an average density of 748.8 per square mile, of the occupied units 1,198 (59.8%) were owner-occupied and 804 (40.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%. 2,661 people (56.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,955 people (41.1%) lived in rental housing units.

Given the fact that the Lakeport area has an economy that is based somewhat on agricultural activities occurring in the Big Valley and Scotts Valley area which involve the growing and harvesting of food and nut crops as well as the increasing wine industry, there are a significant number of transient and seasonal farm workers. The need for housing, health care services, child care, and other services is clearly evident in this segment of the population. Insufficient data is available to quantify the total number of seasonal or transient farm laborers that are living or working in the Lakeport area.

Education

College and Universities

Mendocino College operates a center named the Lake Center and is a branch of the Mendocino Lake Community District. The Lake Center offers various courses for the fall, spring, and summer semesters. The Lake Center has student service and assistance on it's campus.

Primary and Secondary Schools

Public schools are run by the Lakeport Unified School District. Lakeport Unified School District governs, Clear Lake High School established in 1901, Lakeport Alternative Education Center, Lakeport Elementary School established in 1868, and Terrace Middle School.

Arts and culture

Entertainment

The Lakeport Auto Movies Drive-In is one of only fifteen drive-ins remaining in California. The location is behind the Lakeport Cinema 5.

Initially named the Lakeport Theater, the Soper Reese Theatre, purchased in 1997 by Jillian Billester, Jim Soper, and Florence Soper, hosts performing art and community events.

The Lake County Fairgrounds host the annual Lake County Fair every Labor Day Weekend. During the four day period the fair contains local artists performing, carnival rides, and local art exhibits. Outside of the annual Lake County Fair, the fairground host various seasonal events.

Konocti Vista Casino is Lakeport's only casino. Owned by the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the casino's construction started in 1994 and contains entertainment such as slot machines and an arcade.

Museum

Founded by Belle Davidson, the Historic Court House Museum is Lakeport's only museum. The museum holds information and exhibits about Lake County and Native American History.

Parks

Library Park is one of twenty nine administered public parks in Lake County. The park is three acres with outdoor recreation amenities.

Xabatin Community Park, opened on October 26th, 2023 contains outdoor recreation amenities such as a basketball court and skatepark. Xabatin Community Park is named after the original name for Clear Lake from the Pomo language.

Art

The "Mural Trail" are various murals across Lakeport with themes of culture and history of Lake County. Murals include "City Hall" mural by Robert Minuzzo, "Pomo" mural by Michael and Violet Divine, "Pan Ann" mural and "Only the Brave" mural by Ben vanSteenburgh, and "Wildlife" mural by Gloria Delacruz.

Xabatin Community Park contains a Pomo-inspired art installation, titled the Sheecome. The Sheecome was created by artists Wanda Quitiquit and Lisa Kaplan. The Sheecome is designed for seating and is in the art style of Pomo patterns and native species that are central to native life. The Sheecome is made up of a tile mosaic floor.