Napa Community

The City of Napa is home to a bounty of beautiful Victorian-era homes and commercial buildings. Along our streets can be found places where history was made. In many ways, Napa's historical sites reflect the history of California itself. The Bear Flag revolt that led to the state becoming part of the US began just a few miles to the north in 1846. The City was laid out by Nathan Coombs in 1848, and grew tremendously through the gold rush of 1849 and the later silver and mercury mining heydays. Today you can walk the same streets where 49ers, Chinese laborers, lumber barons and early winemaking pioneers began building the City of Napa more than 150 years ago, and you will find many treasured historic structures still in use.

Napa is an old City by California standards, founded in 1847. It's a place with a colorful past – a jumping off point for 49ers bound for the gold rush, birthplace of famous leather, and neighbor to some of the most prestigious vineyards in the world. For the past 30 to 40 years, the City of Napa has been in transition. The City that was once known for its tanneries, prune processing and State hospital is now more known for its hospitality, fine food, and luxury hotels. While yesterday's jobs came largely in heavy industrial pursuits at Kaiser Steel, Basalt Rock, Napa Pipe and Mare Island Shipyard, today's workforce is mostly white collar and the economy is increasingly based on tourism.

As the County seat for one of the world's Great Wine Capitals, the Napa name is synonymous with quality. We think that applies to our community and the people who make it what it is. Today Napa is becoming a vibrant and modern town with a respect for its past. Just down the road from our protected historic districts, home to some of northern California's finest Victorian homes, you will find visually stimulating contemporary architecture. Minutes from our many safe and comfortable neighborhoods is the popular Main Street & Restaurant Row already a crowd-pleaser and growing better every day. Our award-winning & living river& flood protection project is halfway to completion, making Napa safer while enhancing the ecosystem and providing stimulus to the economy and quality-of-life benefits.

Napa is a city with a low crime rate, a high standard of living, clean air and nearly perfect weather.
City of Napa Facts on File:
Population as of January 2005: 76,160