Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 census, Woodland had a population of 61,032.
Woodland's origins date to 1850 when California gained statehood and Yolo County was established. The area was well irrigated due to the efforts of James Moore, which drew people into farming as the soil was very fertile. The city gained a federal post office in 1861 with the help of Missourian Frank S. Freeman. A year after this, in 1862, the county seat was moved from Washington (present day West Sacramento) to Woodland after Washington was flooded. The addition of a railroad line to Sacramento, and the more recent addition of Interstate 5, helped the city to thrive.
History
Indigenous culture Before its settlement by people of European descent, the Woodland area was inhabited by the Patwin, a subgroup of the Wintun Native Americans, further divided into the River and Coastal Patwin. Woodland's indigenous roots stem from the River Patwin, who tended to stay closer to the Sacramento River, as opposed to the Coastal Patwin who lived in small valleys in hills and ranges. The Yolotoi, a tribelet of the Patwin, occupied area near Woodland, and settled a village northwest of Woodland, as well as area close to present-day Knights Landing. Although they did not have a permanent settlement in present-day Woodland, it is believed that the River Patwin occupied the Woodland area in seasonal camps for hunting and seed gathering. The Yolotoi and their neighboring tribelets had a main trading trail which followed Cache Creek. The exchange of goods between the neighboring tribes of the Nomlaki to the north, the Nisenan to the east, and the Pomo to the west also served as a way of cultural and social interchange between all the tribes. The simultaneous enslavement and spread of disease through the Patwin by the Spanish missionaries quickly had dramatic effects; a malarial epidemic in 1830–33 and a smallpox epidemic in 1837 killed much of the surviving natives. However, some of the first farm hands in the earliest farms in Woodland were Patwin.
Beginnings In 1851, the year after California became a state and Yolo County was formed, "Uncle Johnny" Morris settled at what is now the corner of First and Clover Streets in Woodland. Two years later Henry Wyckoff arrived and built a store he named "Yolo City". The new Yolo City might have stayed a singular store if Frank S. Freeman, the man responsible for the establishment of the post office, had not bought it and acquired of land in 1857. Freeman began to develop a town that he hoped would be a trading center for one of the richest crop-growing areas in America. He gave land to anyone who would clear it and build a home. In 1859, Freeman suggested that the town be called Woodland, which the post office accepted.Erwin, Gudde (2004). California Place Names: The origin and etymology of current geographical names. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 426. On July 5, 1861, the Woodland Post Office was established and Freeman became Postmaster. He lost no time in developing the town by leasing or selling commercial buildings.
The 1860s were a time of opportunity. The county seat was permanently moved to Woodland after Washington, California (now a part of West Sacramento) flooded. Schools, homes, churches, and a cemetery were built. The town's newspaper, the Daily Democrat and a rail line was built. In 1869, the California Pacific Railroad Company constructed a line between Davisville (now Davis) and Marysville with a Woodland station in the area of College Street and Lincoln Avenue. The rail line expanded and was eventually acquired by Southern Pacific Railroad. The track was then relocated from College Street to East Street, the eastern edge of the city at that point. The addition of the railroad led to the expansion of Woodland. Before the railroad came, people were building primarily from Main Street northward. Later expansion headed west and south.
In 1870 the population of Woodland was estimated to be 1,600 people, 647 of whom were registered voters. Signatures were collected to petition for the incorporation of the town. The City of Woodland was incorporated in 1871 and its residents soon had regular train and telegraph operations, telephone services, gas, water, electricity, street lights, and graveled streets. Byron Jackson, inventor of the centrifugal pump, opened a machine shop in Woodland in 1872. The business moved to San Francisco in 1879, supplying highly efficient pumps for ground water irrigation which transformed agriculture and industry in California.Multiple sources: Established by Sarah Huston in 1891, initially, The Home Alliance newspaper was the only publication in the state that fought the legalized liquor traffic.
20th century
Woodland's Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1900. During this time public activism helped Woodland get a library, a city park, and an improved cemetery. In 1910 Woodland was the most populous city in the county, with a population of 3,187. For the next forty years Woodland grew slowly but steadily, based on agriculture-related businesses: three rice mills, a sugar beet refinery, and a tomato cannery were built.
After President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized military commanders to exclude "any or all persons" from certain areas in the name of national defense, the Western Defense Command began ordering Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to "evacuate" from the newly created military zones. This included many Woodland farming families. At Woodland, was a Woodland Civil Control Station, for check-in, with no overnight accommodations.mansell.com DeWitt Final Report, fig 15
The post-war era spurred growth in Woodland; between 1950 and 1980, Woodland's population tripled. In the 1950s Woodland had the most millionaires per capita of any city in California. Industrial plants and distribution centers grew in the northeast, with new subdivisions and shopping centers around the town. Since the late 1960s, there has been greater interest in preserving the town's historic buildings, and many have been restored as homes, offices, stores and museums. Woodland's "Stroll Through History," an annual event, began in 1989 to showcase many of the Victorian homes and other historical sites throughout the city.
In the 1970s Interstate 5 was completed, curving around Woodland, with a business routing along Main Street and Road 98. Over time, I-5 and State Route 113 replaced the railroads as major transportation arteries.
21st century Woodland has continued to grow in the early 21st century, with many additions to the community. Subdivisions have been built (mainly on the east side of town) and several major chain stores opened. This economic growth has encouraged more people to invest in the community and continue its expansion. In 2023, City Manager Ken Hiatt stated an estimate of 161.5 million dollars in public and private investments were to be directed to the city for further development. Woodland has even been named as one of the top 100 places to live in America, ranking at number 55.
Pioneer High School opened for the 2003–04 school year.
In 2018, thanks in part to the establishment of the new community near Pioneer High School, Spring Lake Elementary was created. This makes eleven elementary school in Woodland alone.
Main Street has revived with new restaurants, a new court house, and the expansion of the Old State Theater into a 10-screen multiplex. With rumors spreading about the possible future of a Woodland Research and Technology Park, a hub dedicated to serving research and technology companies from surrounding areas, surely the population will continue to grow.
Geography and climate
Woodland is located on flat land in the Central Valley (California), with the Yolo Bypass and the Sacramento River to the east and the Capay Valley and the Coast Range to the west. Woodland is a part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area but it retains a "small town" feeling partly due to the mileage between the city and the neighboring cities. It is located just southeast of the county's geographical center, and is one of the largest cities north of Sacramento along Interstate 5 until Redding. Interstate 5 enters the city from the east and curves northward over the remainder of Woodland, exiting northwest. SR 113 enters the city from the south as a controlled access freeway and merges with the I-5, then diverges leaving the city northward as a standard two-lane road. The city is surrounded by farmland.
Woodland calls itself the "City of Trees". Valley oaks are the predominant native species planted around the city.
Climate Woodland has a Mediterranean climate with dry, hot summers and cool, relatively wet winters, as with the rest of California's Sacramento Valley. The rainy season is generally from October through April. In the hottest month, July, the average high temperature is 94 °F; in January the average high is 56 °F. Average lows range from 58 °F in July to 38 °F in December and January. January is typically the wettest month with about of rain. All-time extremes for Woodland are 15 °F and 114 °F.
Woodland has a zone 9b botanical plant hardiness climate zone, typical of the Sacramento Valley.
Summer brings warm days, with temperatures frequently in the upper 90s, but the "Delta Breeze" that blows into the valley through the Carquinez Strait usually makes for comfortable evenings and nighttime temperatures in the upper 50s. Occasional heat waves raise the temperature above 100 degrees. During late fall and throughout the winter months, Woodland experiences cooler temperatures, rain from storms originating in the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Alaska, tule fog, and a few mornings of frost and freezing conditions. When the chilling fog does not burn off, daytime highs may remain in the 40s or low 50s for several consecutive days. Snow is extremely rare in Woodland; the last measurable snowfall occurred on January 28, 2002. The Sierra Nevada mountains, about 60 miles to the east of Woodland, receive significant amounts of snow each winter, contributing to the cool weather. Precipitation becomes much less frequent in April and May as the days gradually get warmer.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Woodland had a population of 61,032. The population density was .
The age distribution was 24.2% under the age of 18, 9.2% aged 18 to 24, 27.2% aged 25 to 44, 24.4% aged 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.5 males age 18 and over.
The census reported that 98.6% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.9% were institutionalized. In addition, 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 20,971 households, of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.2% were married-couple households, 7.0% were cohabiting couple households, 15.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87. There were 14,939 families (71.2% of all households).
There were 21,647 housing units at an average density of . Of these, 20,971 (96.9%) were occupied and 676 (3.1%) were vacant. Of occupied units, 57.2% were owner-occupied and 42.8% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 2.4%.