Willow Creek, California

For the California wine region, see Willow Creek AVA.

Willow Creek
—  census-designated place  —
Location in Humboldt County and the state of California
Coordinates: 40°56′22″N 123°37′53″W / 40.93944°N 123.63139°W / 40.93944; -123.63139Coordinates: 40°56′22″N 123°37′53″W / 40.93944°N 123.63139°W / 40.93944; -123.63139
Country	United States
State	California
County	Humboldt
Area[1]
- Total	30.610 sq mi (79.281 km2)
- Land	30.310 sq mi (78.504 km2)
- Water	0.300 sq mi (0.777 km2)  0.98%
Elevation[2]	610 ft (186 m)
Population (2010)
- Total	1,710
- Density	55.9/sq mi (21.6/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	95573
Area code(s)	530
FIPS code	06-85642
GNIS feature ID	1660182
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Willow Creek, California

Willow Creek (formerly, China Flat)^[3] is a census-designated place (CDP) in Humboldt County, California, United States. The population was 1,710 at the 2010 census, down from 1,743 at the 2000 census.

Willow Creek sits along the Trinity River. Residents of this small mountain town are commonly referred to as "Willow Creekers". It is the Bigfoot capital of the world, and holds an annual festival in honor of the creature. Willow Creek is described as a “rugged mountain community nestled in the heart of the Six Rivers National Forest.” This area of California is located in the Trinity/Shasta/Cascade Region, near the Oregon border, and is easily reached via State Routes 96 and 299. The upper Trinity River offers a classic Class III run with moderate rapids, followed by the Burnt Ranch Gorge, which is one of the toughest runs in the entire state.

The region is the location of the Willow Creek American Viticultural Area. Organic gardens and vineries abound and welcome travelers to try their wares.

Willow Creek was served for many decades by the weekly Kourier newspaper, which closed in 2006 and was quickly replaced by the Bigfoot Valley News also based in Willow Creek. Bigfoot Valley News has since closed but the regional newspaper, Two Rivers Tribune (www.tworiverstribune.com) , opened in 1994 and still going strong. Two Rivers Tribune's news coverage area is from Burnt Ranch all the way to Happy Camp.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 30.6 square miles (79 km²), of which, 30.3 square miles (78 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) of it (0.98%) is water.

At the census of 2000, the CDP was considerably larger with a total area of 204.5 square miles (530 km²), of which, 204.4 square miles (529 km²) of it being land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (0.07%) water.

History

Willow Creek's first non-indigenous settlers were Chinese laborers from the mining and lumber camps, which earned the town the name China Flat.^[3] The China Flat post office opened in 1878, and changed its name to Willow Creek in 1915.^[3]

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[4] reported that Willow Creek had a population of 1,710. The population density was 55.9 people per square mile (21.6/km²). The racial makeup of Willow Creek was 1,375 (80.4%) White, 6 (0.4%) African American, 167 (9.8%) Native American, 14 (0.8%) Asian, 6 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 29 (1.7%) from other races, and 113 (6.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 108 persons (6.3%).

The Census reported that 1,699 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 11 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 812 households, out of which 161 (19.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 353 (43.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 63 (7.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 32 (3.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 75 (9.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 283 households (34.9%) were made up of individuals and 94 (11.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09. There were 448 families (55.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.65.

The population was spread out with 287 people (16.8%) under the age of 18, 100 people (5.8%) aged 18 to 24, 366 people (21.4%) aged 25 to 44, 642 people (37.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 315 people (18.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.5 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.

There were 1,108 housing units at an average density of 36.2 per square mile (14.0/km²), of which 525 (64.7%) were owner-occupied, and 287 (35.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 1,087 people (63.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 612 people (35.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 1,743 people, 772 households, and 481 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 8.5 people per square mile (3.3/km²). There were 1,099 housing units at an average density of 5.4 per square mile (2.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 81.81% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 9.52% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 5.79% from two or more races. 5.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 772 households out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $27,276, and the median income for a family was $35,720. Males had a median income of $33,375 versus $27,955 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,664. About 10.3% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the state legislature Willow Creek is located in the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Noreen Evans, and in the 1st Assembly District, represented by Democrat Wesley Chesbro. Federally, Willow Creek is located in California's 1st congressional district.

References

1. ^ U.S. Census
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Willow Creek, California
3. ^ ^{a b c} Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Quill Driver Books. p. 168. ISBN 9781884995149. 
4. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.