Sebastopol (California)
| Sebastopol | |||
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 Sebastopol, Main Street |
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| Location in California | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1902 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | California | ||
| County : | Sonoma County | ||
| Coordinates : | 38 ° 24 ′ N , 122 ° 50 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Pacific ( UTC − 8 / −7 ) | ||
| Residents : | 7,774 (as of 2000) | ||
| Population density : | 1,586.5 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 4.9 km 2 (approx. 2 mi 2 ) of which 4.9 km 2 (approx. 2 mi 2 ) are land |
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| Height : | 25 m | ||
| Postcodes : | 95472, 95473 | ||
| Area code : | +1 707 | ||
| FIPS : | 06-70770 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 277599 | ||
| Website : | www.ci.sebastopol.ca.us | ||
| Mayor : | Neysa Hinton | ||
Sebastopol is a city in Sonoma County , California, about 80 kilometers north of San Francisco . It is about 20 minutes by car from the Pacific coast, between Santa Rosa and Bodega Bay .
Sebastopol is one of three American cities in the international movement Cittàslow , which aims to improve the quality of life in cities.
history
The area of today's city was formerly settled by the Miwok and Pomo . In the 1850s, the city was founded with a branch of the United States Postal Service and a market that was supplied by farmers in the area. During the colonization of the west coast and the gold rush , numerous people settled north of San Francisco to cultivate the fertile soil there.
The city was first called Sebastopol in the late 1850s. The name is said to have emerged from a lively and long-lasting boxing match that was reminiscent of the British occupation of the Russian port of Sevastopol during the Crimean War . Four other California cities were also renamed Sebastopol at that time.
Sebastopol became famous as the world capital of the Gravensteiner apple variety . Fruit growing brought the city to modest wealth. In 1890, the Northwestern Pacific Railroad ran into the city. In 1902 the infrastructure was greatly expanded: schools, churches, hotels, canning factories, mills, wineries and an opera house were built. Just four years later, the great earthquake of 1906 destroyed much of the city, but like elsewhere, the city was rebuilt.
In the second half of the 20th century, apple cultivation lost its importance, especially due to competing regions. The large growth of other cities in Sonoma County, such as Rohnert Park or Santa Rosa , meant that many residents of Sebastopol looked for work there and also did their business. This meant that Sebastopol remains a small town even today.
geography
Sebastopol extends over 4.9 km² at an altitude between 20 and 76 meters. The center is located at the intersection of California State Routes 12 and 116, approximately 15 kilometers west of US Highway 101 . The city borders on the Laguna de Santa Rosa , a 658 km² large natural wetland , in the east of which lies Santa Rosa. The Laguna de Santa Rosa floods regularly in winter, which means that the eastern districts of Sebastopol and also parts of State Route 12 are flooded. In the marshland there are two rare plant species: Lilium pardalinum subsp. pitkinense , of which only around 200 to 300 individuals can be detected, and Carex albida .
economy
The region used to be known for growing plums and apples, but viticulture has now replaced many of these areas (see also the articles Russian River Valley AVA and Green Valley of Russian River Valley AVA ). The plant breeder Luther Burbank owned gardens in this region. Every year an apple blossom festival and an apple fair take place in Sebastopol.
Sebastopol is the home of O'Reilly Publishing , which publishes books on open source software.
Town twinning
Sebastopol has two twin cities: Yamauchi-Takeo in Japan and Tschyhyryn in Ukraine.
Personalities
In addition to Luther Burbank , Charles Schulz , Les Claypool , Jerry Garcia , Mickey Hart , Tom Waits , Nick Gravenites and Peter Krause as well as Cameron Britton are or were famous residents of the city.
