Vacaville

History

Prior to European contact, the indigenous Patwin tribe lived in the area with the Ululato tribelet, establishing a chiefdom around the Ululato village in what is now downtown Vacaville along the Ulatis Creek. The early settler pioneers of the land were Juan Manuel Cabeza Vaca and Juan Felipe Peña, who were awarded a Mexican land grant in 1842. The same year, Vaca and Peña's families settled in the area of Lagoon Valley. A written agreement was signed on December 13, 1851, forming a township, nine square miles of land were deeded to William McDaniel for $3,000, and the original city plans were laid out from that. and Vacaville was soon home to many large produce companies and local farms, which flourished due to the Vaca Valley's rich soil. Because of Vacaville's flourishing agricultural industry, as well as an increasing number of immigrants coming into the United States, Vacaville had a large Japanese and Chinese population. While their professions varied, many of these Japanese and Chinese worked for the fruit companies in Vacaville. It officially became a city in 1892. On August 29, 2022, a truck transporting tomatoes crashed on Interstate 80 in Vacaville, injuring four, splattering over 150,000 of the tomatoes onto the eastbound section of the freeway, and significantly delaying eastbound traffic for hours. The peculiarity of the freeway accident subsequently resulted in international news coverage.

Geography

Vacaville is surrounded by the Vaca Mountains to the south and to the west, and the Sacramento Valley to the north and to the east. A number of rare and endangered species occur in the Vacaville area. Endangered plants, which have historically occurred in the vernal pool areas in and around Vacaville include Legenre limosa, Plagiobothrys hystriculus, Downingia humilis, Contra Costa goldfields (Lasthenia conjugens), and showy Indian clover (Trifolium amoenum). The Trifolium amoenum can be found in Lagoon Valley Regional Park. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.77% is covered by water. Excluding the Putah South Canal and minor local creeks, the only significant body of water within the city is the Lagoon Valley Lake. The unincorporated communities of Allendale and Elmira are generally considered to be part of "greater" Vacaville. Vacaville has a typical Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Summer high temperatures routinely exceed 100 °F, as is typical for inland California. Autumns are warm in September and even early October, but quickly cool as the wet season approaches. Winters can be cool, and often foggy, but are mild, with fewer frosts than further inland California. Spring is pleasant, with fairly mild temperatures. The greater majority of precipitation falls in the autumn, winter, and spring, with little to no precipitation in summer. Much of Vacaville falls in growing zone 9b, allowing some tropical plants to be grown outdoors. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 2012 with 5.0 inches. The most precipitation in one month was in January 1916. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on February 27, 1940. Snowfall is rare in Vacaville, but…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  6,073
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,688
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  5,090
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  4,540
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,520
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,276
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  4,018
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,968

Largest nearby schools

• Vacaville High
  High · Vacaville · 1,994 students · 21.9:1 ratio
• Armijo High
  High · Fairfield · 1,967 students · 22.9:1 ratio
• Will C. Wood High
  High · Vacaville · 1,670 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Vanden High
  High · Fairfield · 1,640 students · 23.8:1 ratio
• Fairfield High
  High · Fairfield · 1,633 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• Dixon High
  High · Dixon · 1,013 students · 22:1 ratio
• Willis Jepson Middle
  Middle · Vacaville · 925 students · 22:1 ratio
• Edwin Markham Elementary
  Elementary · Vacaville · 882 students · 25.2:1 ratio