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California State...
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California Counties
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California Counties
The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties.
On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were
Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties
of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was
renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro
to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename
Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.
The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907. |
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Solano County, California
Solano County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Fairfield
Year Organized: 1850
Square Miles: 828
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Court House: 675 Texas Street
County Court House
Fairfield, CA 94533-0000
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
The county derives its name indirectly from that of the
Franciscan missionary, Father Francisco Solano, whose name was given in baptism
to the chief of one of the Indian tribes of the region. Before receiving the
name Solano, the chief was called Sem-yeto, which signifies "brave or fierce
hand." At the request of General Mariano Vallejo, the county was named for Chief
Solano, who at one time ruled over most of the land and tribes between the
Petaluma Creek and the Sacramento River.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
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. The county seat is
Fairfield and the largest city is Vallejo.
Perhaps no county in the State has had so momentous a history as Solano, lying as she does in a sense
at the portal to the great interior valleys and the mining regions. She has had the vision of great
cities and of metropolitan importance. All these things were disappointments, however, and the county
has fallen back to not less solid, if less brilliant, advances in the way of fruit culture and the
growth of grain, while still her two cities of Vallejo and Benicia keep up the prestige that attaches
always to things naval or military.
A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California - Chicago, Lewis Publ.
Co., 1891
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 907 square miles (2,348 kmē), of
which, 829 square miles (2,148 kmē) of it is land and 77 square miles (201 kmē) of it (8.55%) is water.
A portion of the South Campus at the University of California, Davis is in Solano County.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Yolo County
- Northeast: Sacramento County
- South: Contra Costa County
- Southwest: San Francisco Bay
- Northwest: Sonoma County; Napa County
Cities and Towns:
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- American Canyon |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Benicia |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Dixon |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Fairfield
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Rio Vista |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Suisun City |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Vacaville |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Vallejo |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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