Mendocino, California, is one of the states oldest counties. Founded in 1850, it did not receive a separate government until nine years later because of its small population. Until that time, it was under Sonoma County's administration. Unfortunately, the county suffered the extermination of many Native tribes from the area, such as the Yuki, Pomo, Cahto, and Wintun. Hundred of Indians were killed in 1859 during the Mendocino War. Today, Native Americans still fight for their rights to land, after a segregation that continued well into the 20th century. The Mendocino, California business directory and yellow pages will show you a long list of Indian reservations. Although the Native American population had been quite large in Mendocino, the Mexican population was not so large, although the state borders Mexico. The only Spanish or Mexican influences in the county are that in the southern portions of Mendocino, where there are two Mexican land grants
Mendocino is 3,878 square feet, 369 square miles of which is water, while the rest is land. In July 2008, it had a populous of 86,221. In addition to whites, being the race with the highest percent of the county's residents, Mendocino has its fair share of Black or African American, Hispanic, German, Irish, Native American, Asian, English, and Italian ethnic groups, all with a fair share of percentage ratings in the county census.
Mendocino is largely a Democratic county. The last Republican to win a majority vote was Ronald Regan in both 1980 and 1984. 69.8 percent of the countys residents were Democrats as far as the 2008 census told, while 26.9 percent were Republicans. Over the last twenty years, there has been a fluctuation, from the Democrats and Republicans being almost divided exactly in half, to 1996 which gave rise to the Republicans and Independents beating Democrats out as a team as far as percentage yet being divided between themselves, giving the Democrats the majority again. By 2004, the Democrats outweighed the Republicans and Independents by a landslide. In 2008, Mendocino voted over 63 percent against a ballot measure that banned same sex marriages in the state of California. There has also been a heated voting debate concerning marijuana being used for medicinal or personal uses.
Written by Lyndsey Morgan
