Editing Mendocino, California (section)

== History ==
[[File:AntonioMendoza (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Antonio de Mendoza]], the namesake of Mendocino]]
Prior to 1850, a [[Pomo people|Pomo]] settlement named [[Buldam, California|Buldam]] was located near Mendocino on the north bank of the [[Big River (California)|Big River]]. In 1850, the ship ''[[Frolic (brig)|Frolic]]'' was wrecked a few miles north of Mendocino, at [[Point Cabrillo Light|Point Cabrillo]], and the investigation of the wreck by agents of [[Henry Meiggs]] sparked the development of the timber industry in the area.<ref>{{citation |title=Point Cabrillo |first1=Bruce |last1=Rogerson |first2=Ginny |last2=Rorby |first3=Jim |last3=Kimbrell |journal=Mendocino Historical Review |volume=XXIII |date=Spring 2009 |publisher=[[Kelley House Museum]]}}.</ref> Mendocino itself was founded in 1852 as a logging community for what became the [[Mendocino Lumber Company]], and was originally named "Meiggsville" after Meiggs. The town was also known as "Big River"<ref name=gnis /> Meiggstown,<ref name=gnis /> and "Mendocino City",<ref name=CGN /> before the current name was settled on. The first post office opened in 1858.<ref name=CGN /> Many of the town's early settlers were [[New England]]ers, as was true of many older Northern California logging towns. [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] fishermen from the [[Azores]] also settled in the area, as did [[Cantonese people|immigrants from Canton Province]] in [[China]], who built the [[Taoist]] [[Temple of Kwan Tai]] in town.

Between 1940 and 1950, Mendocino’s population grew by 3%.<ref>https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-1/vol-01-08.pdf></ref> In 2021, there was a water shortage which forced businesses to transport their own drinking water.<ref>{{cite web |last=Singh |first=Maanvi |url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/08/wells-run-dry-mendicino-california-fights-survival-drought-water-tourism/ |title=As Wells Run Dry, a Tourist Town Fights for Survival |newspaper=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=August 10, 2021 |accessdate=August 12, 2021}}</ref>