Fort Bragg

Sister cities

• Otsuchi

History

The area known as Fort Bragg was home to Native Americans since before Western expansion, most of whom belong to the Pomo tribe. They historically were hunter-gatherers who lived along the northern coast of California. In 1855, an exploration party from the Bureau of Indian Affairs visited the area looking for a site on which to establish a reservation; in the spring of 1856, the Mendocino Indian Reservation was established at Noyo. It was in size, and its boundary extended north from what became Simpson Lane to Abalobadiah Creek and east from the Pacific Ocean to Bald Hill. In the summer of 1857, 1st Lt. Horatio G. Gibson, then serving at the Presidio of San Francisco, established a military post on the reservation, approximately north of the Noyo River, and named it for his former commanding officer Capt. Braxton Bragg, who later became a General in the Army of the Confederacy. Gibson and Company M, 3rd Artillery, left Fort Bragg in January 1859 to be replaced by Company D, 6th Infantry, which stayed for two years and continued to build up the post. In June 1862, Company D, 2nd California Infantry, were ordered to garrison the post and remained until 1864. In October of that year, the Fort Bragg garrison was loaded aboard the steamer Panama and completed the evacuation and abandonment of Mendocino County's first military post. The Mendocino Indian Reservation was discontinued in March 1866, and the land was opened for settlement three years later. The last remaining building of the Fort Bragg military post is located at 430 North Franklin Street. It may have been the Quartermaster's storehouse and commissary or surgeon's quarters or hospital. The approximate boundaries of the fort extend from the south side of Laurel, east from the railroad depot to the…

Geography

Fort Bragg has an average elevation of above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , comprising 1.14%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Fort Bragg High
  High · Fort Bragg · 524 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Fort Bragg Middle
  Middle · Fort Bragg · 392 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Dana Gray Elementary
  Elementary · Fort Bragg · 365 students · 21.5:1 ratio
• Redwood Elementary
  Elementary · Fort Bragg · 353 students · 16.8:1 ratio
• Mendocino K-8
  Elementary · Mendocino · 250 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Mendocino High
  High · Mendocino · 165 students · 10.3:1 ratio
• Three Rivers Charter
  Elementary · Fort Bragg · 82 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• Noyo High (Continuation)
  High · Fort Bragg · 26 students · 26:1 ratio