Solano County, California

County of Solano
—  County  —
The Solano County Government Center in Downtown Fairfield
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region/Metro area	San Francisco Bay Area
Incorporated	1850
County seat	Fairfield
Largest city	Vallejo
Area
– Total	2,348.3 km2 (906.67 sq mi)
– Land	2,147.6 km2 (829.19 sq mi)
– Water	200.7 km2 (77.48 sq mi)
Population (2010)
– Total	413,344
– Density	176/km2 (455.9/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area code(s)	707
Website	www.co.solano.ca.us

Solano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. The county's population was reported by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010. The county seat is Fairfield and the largest city is Vallejo.

History

Solano County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Prior to statehood, it had been referred to as Benicia County.^{[citation needed]}

At the request of General Mariano Vallejo, the county derives its name directly from an Indian Chief, Chief Solano of the Suisunes, a Native American tribe of the region and Vallejo's close ally. Chief Solano at one time led the tribes between the Petaluma River and the Sacramento River. The chief was also called Sem-Yeto, which signifies "brave or fierce hand." The Chief was given the Spanish name Francisco Solano during baptism at the Catholic Mission, and is named after the Spanish Franciscan missionary, Father Francisco Solano. "Solano" is a common surname in the north of Spain, specially in Navarra, Zaragoza and La Rioja.

Travis Air Force Base is located just east of Fairfield.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 906.67 square miles (2,348.3 km²), of which 829.19 square miles (2,147.6 km²) (or 91.45%) is land and 77.48 square miles (200.7 km²) (or 8.55%) is water.^[1]

A portion of the South Campus at the University of California, Davis is in Solano County.

Cities and towns

• Benicia
• Dixon
• Fairfield
• Rio Vista
• Suisun City
• Vacaville
• Vallejo

Unincorporated communities

• Bahia
• Birds Landing
• Bucktown - within or just outside of NW Vacaville.
• Collinsville
• Cordelia - located within the city limits of Fairfield.
• Elmira
• Green Valley
• Maine Prairie
• Scandia - The name “Scandia” is part of the cultural landscape of Solano County. It means “Little Norway,” and refers to the Scandinavian pioneers who settled the area southeast of present-day Fairfield. In 1852, three Norwegian seafarers – Carl H. Thompson and his brother Dan, and Steve Larsen – purchased a small sailboat in San Francisco and headed up the Sacramento River. Apparently their destination was the gold fields of the Mother Lode region; however, they missed the main channel of the river and found themselves in Montezuma Slough which is located a few miles south of present-day Travis Air Force Base (AFB). They abandoned their boat there and walked inland to Calaveras County. After two years of work, and finding little gold, the three Norwegians returned to Montezuma Slough, built a small house, and raised sheep and cattle. Gradually other Scandinavians took up farming in the area, and ‘Little Norway’ became the accepted name of the area east and south of Denverton.

Adjacent counties

• Contra Costa County, California - south
• Sonoma County, California - west
• Napa County, California - west
• Yolo County, California - north
• Sacramento County, California - east

National protected area

• San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Environment

Endangered species

Solano county has a number of rare and endangered species including the beetle Elaphrus viridis, the wildflower Lasthenia conjugens, commonly known as Contra Costa goldfields and the annual plant Legenere limosa or False Venus' looking glass.

Solano County has several inactive cinnabar mines including the Hastings Mine and St. John's Mine,^[2] both of which are subject to ongoing environmental monitoring; these mines were worked in the first half of the twentieth century.

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

• Interstate 80
• Interstate 505
• Interstate 680
• Interstate 780
• State Route 12
• State Route 29
• State Route 37
• State Route 84
• State Route 113

Public transportation

Solano County is served by several transit agencies:

• SolTrans, formed as a merger between these two existing transit agencies:
  • Vallejo Transit, which also operates the Baylink Ferry to San Francisco
  • Benicia Breeze
• Fairfield Suisun Transit
• Vacaville City Coach
• Rio Vista Delta Breeze

Each agency interconnects with each other, enabling transit trips throughout the county. Service also connects with BART stations in Contra Costa County. Transit links are provided to Napa, Yolo and Sacramento counties as well.

Greyhound and Amtrak provide long-distance intercity service.

Airports

General aviation airports in Solano County which are open to the public are the Nut Tree Airport and Rio Vista Municipal Airport.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	580		—
1860	7,169		1,136.0%
1870	16,871		135.3%
1880	18,475		9.5%
1890	20,946		13.4%
1900	24,143		15.3%
1910	27,559		14.1%
1920	40,602		47.3%
1930	40,834		0.6%
1940	49,118		20.3%
1950	104,833		113.4%
1960	134,597		28.4%
1970	169,941		26.3%
1980	235,203		38.4%
1990	340,421		44.7%
2000	394,542		15.9%
2010	413,344		4.8%

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Solano County had a population of 413,344. The racial makeup of Solano County was 210,751 (51.0%) White, 60,750 (14.7%) African American, 3,212 (0.8%) Native American, 60,473 (14.6%) Asian, 3,564 (0.9%) Pacific Islander, 43,236 (10.5%) from other races, and 31,358 (7.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 99,356 persons (24.0%).^[3]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Solano County	413,344	210,751	60,750	3,212	60,473	3,564	43,236	31,358	99,356
Incorporated cities and towns	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Benicia	26,997	19,568	1,510	135	2,989	102	895	1,798	3,248
Dixon	18,351	13,023	562	184	671	58	2,838	1,015	7,426
Fairfield	105,321	48,407	16,586	869	15,700	1,149	13,301	9,309	28,789
Rio Vista	7,360	6,003	372	53	359	15	288	270	914
Suisun City	28,111	10,805	5,713	196	5,348	340	2,898	2,811	6,753
Vacaville	92,428	61,301	9,510	846	5,606	532	8,136	6,497	21,121
Vallejo	115,942	38,064	25,572	757	28,895	1,239	12,759	8,656	26,165
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Allendale	1,506	1,239	49	22	42	2	79	73	235
Elmira	188	150	1	10	2	0	17	8	47
Green Valley	1,625	1,412	41	6	82	9	20	55	121
Hartley	2,510	1,956	70	24	70	16	248	126	510
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	13,005	8,823	764	110	709	102	1,757	740	4,027

2000

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 394,542 people, 130,403 households, and 97,411 families residing in the county. The population density was 476 people per square mile (184/km²). There were 134,513 housing units at an average density of 162 per square mile (63/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.37% White, 14.91% Black or African American, 0.79% Native American, 12.75% Asian, 0.78% Pacific Islander, 8.01% from other races, and 6.39% from two or more races. 17.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.5% were of German, 6.4% Irish and 6.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 75.7% spoke English, 12.1% Spanish and 6.6% Tagalog as their first language.

There were 130,403 households out of which 39.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 13.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.30% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.30% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $54,099, and the median income for a family was $60,597. Males had a median income of $41,787 versus $31,916 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,731. About 6.10% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.30% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Solano County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2008	34.9% 56,035	63.5% 102,095	2.1% 3,458
2004	41.9% 62,301	57.2% 85,096	1.0% 1,440
2000	39.2% 51,604	57.0% 75,116	3.8% 5,015
1996	34.7% 40,742	55.1% 64,644	10.1% 11,893
1992	29.4% 38,883	48.7% 64,320	21.9% 28,908
1988	47.4% 50,314	51.2% 54,344	1.4% 1,430
1984	54.5% 51,678	44.3% 41,982	1.2% 1,138
1980	50.7% 40,919	38.4% 30,952	10.9% 8,805
1976	42.4% 26,136	54.6% 33,682	3.0% 1,826
1972	54.0% 31,314	42.7% 24,766	3.3% 1,885
1968	34.7% 17,683	53.5% 27,271	11.8% 5,998
1964	30.4% 15,263	69.5% 34,930	0.1% 47
1960	40.9% 18,751	58.8% 26,977	0.3% 141
1956	41.7% 17,865	58.1% 24,903	0.2% 95
1952	42.4% 19,369	57.2% 26,130	0.5% 216
1948	33.7% 12,345	63.5% 23,257	2.8% 1,022
1944	29.8% 10,361	69.9% 24,335	0.3% 105
1940	28.5% 6,081	70.6% 15,054	0.9% 193
1936	20.9% 3,603	78.1% 13,459	1.1% 182
1932	30.3% 4,382	67.2% 9,712	2.5% 367
1928	52.3% 7,061	46.5% 6,278	1.2% 158
1924	48.0% 4,782	9.6% 957	42.4% 4,223
1920	64.8% 7,102	26.9% 2,954	8.3% 909

Solano is a strongly Democratic county in presidential and congressional elections, though it usually gives somewhat higher vote percentages to Republicans compared to the eight other Bay Area counties. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Solano is part of California's 3rd, 7th, and 10th congressional districts. The 3rd is represented by Republican Dan Lungren and the 7th by Democrat George Miller. The 10th has been vacant since Ellen Tauscher was appointed to be Undersecretary of State, and was filled in a special election on November 3, 2009 by Democrat John Garamendi. In the State Assembly Solano is in the 7th and 8th Assembly districts, which are held by Democrats Michael Allen and Mariko Yamada, respectively. In the California State Senate, Solano is part of the 2nd and 5th Senate districts, which are held by Democrats Noreen Evans and Lois Wolk, respectively.

On Nov. 4, 2008, Solano County voted 55.9% for Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. It was the only Bay Area county to approve the initiative. In the 2008 presidential election that day, Barack Obama carried the county by a 28.5% margin over John McCain, a larger margin than statewide (24%).^[5]

Trivia

• In 1985 Humphrey the humpback whale strayed off his migration route and ended up in Shag Slough north of Rio Vista at which point rescuers from The Marine Mammal Center and other volunteers after dismantling a county bridge were able to turn him around in the narrow slough.

See also

San Francisco Bay Area portal

• Hiking trails in Solano County
• List of school districts in Solano County, California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Solano County, California
• Solano County Library

References

1. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
2. ^ C.Michael Hogan, Marc Papineau et al., Environmental Assessment of the columbus Parkway Widening between Ascot Parkway and the Northgate Development, Vallejo, Earth Metrics Inc. Report 7853, California State Clearinghouse, Sept, 1989
3. ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau. http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/California/. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ U.S. Election Atlas

External links

• Solano County official website
• J. P. Munro-Fraser, History of Solano County...and histories of its cities, towns...etc., Wood, Alley & Co., East Oakland, 1879. Early History of Solano County

Coordinates: 38°16′N 121°56′W / 38.27°N 121.94°W / 38.27; -121.94