It is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) north of Sacramento, 31 miles (50 km) south of Redding, and it is bisected by Interstate 5. Red Bluff is situated on the banks of the upper Sacramento River. Located in the northernmost part of California’s Central Valley, the city marks the northern end of a vast contiguously cultivated area that extends all the way to Bakersfield, 400 miles (640 km) to the south. Mildly rugged terrain, used as rangeland, separates Red Bluff from the next crop areas to the north in Cottonwood.
It was originally known as Leodocia, but was renamed to Covertsburg in 1853. It got its current name in 1854.[6] Located at the head of navigation on the Sacramento River the town flourished in the mid to late 19th century as a landing point for miners heading to the Trinity County gold fields and later as a temporary terminus for the Southern Pacific Railroad's northward expansion.
Geography
Red Bluff is on the northern edge of the Sacramento Valley, and is the third largest city in the Shasta Cascade region. It is about 31 miles (50 km) south of Redding, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Chico, and 131 miles (211 km) north of Sacramento.
The city is located at 40°10′36″N122°14′17″W / 40.17667°N 122.23806°W / 40.17667; -122.23806 (40.176640, -122.237951).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.7 square miles (20 square kilometers). 7.6 square miles (20 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it is water. The total area is 1.48% water.
History
Etching of Levensohn & Galland Building, 1864[8]Odd Fellows Building in downtown Red Bluff (2020)Main Street stores, 1987
In the early 19th century the Siskiyou Trail was the main north to south path connecting Northern California and Southern Oregon first used by the Native Americans and later fur trappers and hunters. The first European to settle the northern Sacramento Valley in what was then Alta California was Peter Lassen who in 1844 was granted the 24,000 acre Rancho Bosquejo tract from the Mexican government near present-day Vina, about 20 miles southeast of Red Bluff. There he proposed to establish a town but his attempts were thwarted when the California Gold Rush stole the focus of the settlers he had gathered in Missouri. Regardless, the publicity from his colonization efforts attracted new settlers to the valley. In the late 1840s riverboat traffic began expanding northward along the Sacramento River. Lassen's initial attempt to navigate to his ranch in 1849 had failed but the following year a riverboat managed to make the arduous 125-mile journey from Sacramento in 5 months before ultimately being sunk. The discovery of gold near Yreka, California in 1851 brought a new rush northward and settlers soon flooded the area, looking for the quickest route to the gold fields. A site on the Sacramento River just north of Reeds Creek was determined to be the river's navigable head and a small community soon sprung up around the important landing. First known as Leodocia then Covertsburg, by then time a post office was established on October 17, 1853, residents had settled on the name Red Bluff, in recognition of the titular geographical features once prominent along the banks of the Sacramento River.[9][10] The first postmaster was Samuel Bishop.
Tehama County was created in 1856 and Red Bluff was chosen as the seat of the new county. By 1859 the first permanent courthouse was constructed.
As early as 1854, committees were brought together at Red Bluff to plan a railroad route connecting California to southern Oregon through the Siskyou Mountains via Nobles Pass. The railroad finally reached Red Bluff in 1872 and for a few years it was the terminus, increasing the town's wealth greatly. In the 1880s white supremacists in Red Bluff began an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Chinese residents. In February 1886 thousands of whites in the "Anti-Coolie League" marched on Chinatown and went from house to house, ordering the occupants to leave within ten days. Later that year, after the Chinese population had been expelled, the Chinatown was burned.[11]
Growth slowed by the late 1880s when the railroad was continued north towards Redding but river boat commerce continued well into the 20th century. Mining was largely replaced by agriculture and Red Bluff remained a vital shipping point by rail and eventually highway.
On June 27, 2020, a local Walmart distribution center was the site of a workplace shooting, in which one employee was killed and another four wounded. The shooter, identified as a former employee, was then killed by responding police officers.[12]
Climate
Red Bluff has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. There are an average of 100.1 days annually with highs of 90 °F (32.2 °C) or higher and an average of 21.5 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record highest temperature was 121 °F (49.4 °C) on August 7, 1981, and the record lowest temperature was 17 °F (−8.3 °C) on January 9, 1937. Annual precipitation averages 23.21 inches (589.5 mm) with measurable precipitation falling on an average of 71 days. The wettest “rain year” was from July 1994 to June 1995 with 45.96 inches (1,167.4 mm) and the driest from July 1975 to June 1976 with 10.17 inches (258.3 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 21.47 inches (545.3 mm) in January 1995 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 3.55 inches (90.2 mm) on January 8, 1995. The most snowfall in one month was 15.0 inches (38 cm) in January 1937. On February 24, 2023, Red Bluff received a rare 6 inches (15 cm) of snowfall.[13]
Climate data for Red Bluff, California (Red Bluff Municipal Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1933–present
At the 2010 census Red Bluff had a population of 14,076. The population density was 1,833.6 inhabitants per square mile (708.0/km2). The racial makeup of Red Bluff was 11,366 (80.7%) White, 128 (0.9%) African American, 438 (3.1%) Native American, 187 (1.3%) Asian, 16 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,168 (8.3%) from other races, and 773 (5.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,037 persons (21.6%).[32]
The census reported that 13,637 people (96.9% of the population) lived in households, 150 (1.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 289 (2.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 5,376 households, 2,033 (37.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,969 (36.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,022 (19.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 404 (7.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 537 (10.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 27 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,629 households (30.3%) were one person and 678 (12.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54. There were 3,395 families (63.2% of households); the average family size was 3.11.
The age distribution was 3,950 people (28.1%) under the age of 18, 1,534 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 3,561 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 3,157 people (22.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,874 people (13.3%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 32.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
There were 5,872 housing units at an average density of 764.9 per square mile, of the occupied units 2,277 (42.4%) were owner-occupied and 3,099 (57.6%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%. 5,652 people (40.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 7,985 people (56.7%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
At the 2000 census there were 13,147 people in 5,109 households, including 3,239 families, in the city. The population density was 1,768.7 inhabitants per square mile (682.9/km2). There were 5,567 housing units at an average density of 748.9 per square mile (289.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 86.7% White, 0.6% Black, 2.2% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.8% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.7%.[33][34]
Of the 5,109 households 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 30.7% of households were one person and 14.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.07.
The age distribution was 28.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,029, and the median family income was $32,799. Males had a median income of $26,807 versus $21,048 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,060. About 17.7% of families and 21.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
Top employers
According to the city's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR),[35] these are the top 10 employers:
In late 1984, it was discovered that Colleen Stan had been kept as a sex slave in a Red Bluff home since 1977, without anyone outside her abductors’ household knowing.
On November 19, 2002, Andrew Mickel shot and killed Officer David Mobilio of the Red Bluff Police Department in an attempt to make a political statement against "corporate irresponsibility" and the government's "police-state tactics".[36]
The Redding Record Searchlight publishes a weekly publication called Tehama Today for Red Bluff residents. It is included in the Sunday editions of the Record Searchlight.
Notable people
Clancy Barone, offensive line coach for the National Football League
Mary Brown, widow of John Brown the Abolitionist, and her family lived in Red Bluff from 1864 until 1870. Her house at 135 Main Street, built for her by the citizens of Red Bluff, is a state historic landmark.[37] When Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Schuyler Colfax passed through Red Bluff in 1865, Mary Brown and her daughters were the only persons mentioned.[38]
Chuck Cecil, former National Football League safety
Jim Davis, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Giants, Cubs and Cardinals. In 1956, he became the first pitcher in 40 years to record four strikeouts in a single inning
