Willow Creek, California

History

The indigenous people from here are part of the Tsnungwe or South Fork Hupa and are speakers of the Hupa Language. Willow Creek's first non-indigenous settlers were Chinese laborers from the mining and lumber camps, which earned the town the name China Flat. The China Flat post office opened in 1878, and changed its name to Willow Creek in 1915.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 30.6 sqmi, which include 30.3 sqmi of land and 0.3 sqmi of water.

The CDP in 2000, according to the United States Census Bureau, was larger with a total area of 204.5 sqmi, which included 204.4 sqmi of land and 0.2 sqmi of water.

Climate

This region experiences much warmer summers than locations near the coast, such as county seat Eureka, but retains high winter rainfall associated with coastal locations. Daytime highs in summer represent areas with hot-summer-Mediterranean climates but are moderated by cool nights, causing high diurnal temperature variation. On climate maps, Willow Creek has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). Summer highs are extremely hot compared to areas of the county affected by coastal fog. At the same time, winters are considerably colder, with light snowfall not unusual a few times per season.

|Jan record high F = 70 |Feb record high F = 76 |Mar record high F = 85 |Apr record high F = 96 |May record high F = 105 |Jun record high F = 112 |Jul record high F = 119 |Aug record high F = 115 |Sep record high F = 108 |Oct record high F = 99 |Nov record high F = 80 |Dec record high F = 65 |year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 59.6 |Feb avg record high F = 67.1 |Mar avg record high F = 76.6 |Apr avg record high F = 86.1 |May avg record high F = 93.7 |Jun avg record high F = 100.1 |Jul avg record high F = 105.6 |Aug avg record high F = 105.0 |Sep avg record high F = 99.9 |Oct avg record high F = 86.2 |Nov avg record high F = 69.3 |Dec avg record high F = 58.8 |year avg record high F = 107.8

|Jan avg record low F = 29.0 |Feb avg record low F = 28.9 |Mar avg record low F = 31.1 |Apr avg record low F = 33.2 |May avg record low F = 37.2 |Jun avg record low F = 41.5 |Jul avg record low F = 46.6 |Aug avg record low F = 46.3 |Sep avg record low F = 42.2 |Oct avg record low F = 34.1 |Nov avg record low F = 31.0 |Dec avg record low F = 28.3 |year avg record low F = 24.6

|Jan record low F = 17 |Feb record low F = 13 |Mar record low F = 22 |Apr record low F = 24 |May record low F = 27 |Jun record low F = 29 |Jul record low F = 34 |Aug record low F = 39 |Sep record low F = 32 |Oct record low F = 22 |Nov record low F = 19 |Dec record low F = 5 |year record low F =

|access-date = November 27, 2022 |access-date = November 27, 2022

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1860–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Willow Creek first appeared as a census designated place in the 1990 U.S. census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Willow Creek had a population of 1,720, all of whom lived in households. The population density was 56.7 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup was 1,231 (71.6%) White, 10 (0.6%) African American, 183 (10.6%) Native American, 19 (1.1%) Asian, 4 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 54 (3.1%) from other races, and 219 (12.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 147 persons (8.5%).

There were 776 households, out of which 168 (21.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 308 (39.7%) were married-couple households, 83 (10.7%) were cohabiting couple households, 194 (25.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 191 (24.6%) had a male householder with no partner present. 276 households (35.6%) were one person, and 115 (14.8%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.22.

The age distribution was 347 people (20.2%) under the age of 18, 72 people (4.2%) aged 18 to 24, 391 people (22.7%) aged 25 to 44, 458 people (26.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 452 people (26.3%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 47.5years. For every 100 females, there were 110.3 males.

There were 984 housing units at an average density of 32.5 /mi2, of which 776 (78.9%) were occupied. Of these, 511 (65.9%) were owner-occupied, and 265 (34.1%) were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $43,056, and the per capita income was $29,595.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Willow Creek had a population of 1,710. The population density was 55.9 PD/sqmi. 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 /mi2, of which 812 were occupied, 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.

Government

Politics

In the state legislature, Willow Creek is in , and .

Federally, Willow Creek is in .

Media

Willow Creek was served for many decades by the weekly Klamity Kourier newspaper, which closed in 2006 and was quickly replaced by the Bigfoot Valley News. The Bigfoot Valley News has since closed, but the regional newspaper, Two Rivers Tribune (www.tworiverstribune.com), opened in 1994 and is still going strong. Its news coverage area is from Burnt Ranch to Happy Camp, 97.5 mi (by Routes 299 and 96) to the north.

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{gnis. 1660182
3. "Explore Census Data".
4. "Big Foot Days Willow Creek California".
5. [https://2075a3e3-b3ae-464a-a7a6-9fbb9755721a.filesusr.com/ugd/089640_47891ce71441427b88e6b0ec214252f1.pdf Tsnungwe Place Names, by Tsnungwe Tribal Elders, 1994]
6. {{California's Geographic Names. 168
7. "Willow Creek, California Koppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".
8. "Decennial Census by Decade".
9. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County".
10. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County".
11. "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions".
12. "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions".
13. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California".
14. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
15. "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California".
16. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
17. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
18. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
19. "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California".
20. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
21. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
22. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
23. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
24. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
25. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Willow Creek, CDP, California".
26. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Willow Creek, CDP, California".
27. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Willow Creek, CDP, California".
28. "Willow Creek CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
29. "Willow Creek CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
30. "Willow Creek CDP, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles".
31. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Willow Creek CDP". U.S. Census Bureau.
32. "Senators". State of California.
33. "Members Assembly". State of California.
34. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 2
35. "''Bigfoot Valley News''".
36. "Two Rivers Tribune".
37. Per Google Maps