Ukiah: Deep Valley of the Pomo

Ukiah sits in a long inland valley carved by the Russian River, ringed by ridges that give the town an enclosed, otherworldly quality compared to the coastal fog belt just twenty miles west. The name itself is a gift from the Pomo people who lived here long before anyone else arrived. Ukiah derives from the Yokaia band's name for this place, meaning deep valley, or in some translations, south valley people. The Yokaia were one of over seventy politically independent Pomo village-communities scattered across Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma counties, each with its own territory, identity, and dialect of one of seven distinct Pomo languages.

The Pomo were, by any measure, among the finest basket weavers in the world. Their coiled and twined baskets were so tightly made they could hold water. They incorporated feathers, abalone shell, and beads into ceremonial pieces of extraordinary delicacy. Pomo life also centered on trade: acorns were the dietary staple, supplemented by salmon from the Russian River, deer, and a wide range of gathered plant foods. The valley's combination of productive soils, a reliable river, and the marine influence from the Pacific made it one of the most comfortable environments in Northern California.

Euro-American settlement accelerated after California statehood in eighteen fifty. Mendocino County was created in eighteen fifty, but Ukiah did not take shape as a town until a settler named A.T. Perkins arrived in eighteen fifty-seven, purchasing a claim on the valley floor. The county seat was established in Ukiah in eighteen fifty-nine, and the town was incorporated in eighteen seventy-six.

Ukiah today is the seat of Mendocino County, surrounded by redwood forests, cannabis farms, and one of California's northernmost wine regions. The Pomo communities continue to maintain a presence in the valley, and the name Ukiah ensures that no one who passes through can entirely forget whose valley this was first.