Mendocino County, California

Cape Mendocino was discovered by a Spanish explorer in the year 1542 but it wasn't until about 300 years later that the first permanent non-Spanish settlers settled in the Big River area. The California state legislature created Mendocino County in 1850.

Logging and fishing were the original industries in the area. This part of the United States is still famous for it's towering redwood trees and it's lush forests.

The Gold Rush brought hundreds of miners to Mendocino County, as well. It's said that after a ship wreck on the Mendocino coast, the survivors discovered the redwood trees and the lumber industry was born.

During the 1960's Mendocino became a gathering place for artists and the generation known as "flower children" aka hippies! The essence of that era still remains. It's like a step back in time in many ways.

There are many websites that are dedicated to Mendocino County. One of the most comprehensive sites is Discover Mendocino County

Mendocino sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean about four hours north of San Francisco. If you drive along the coast road, it'll take closer to six hours but it's a spectacular journey and well worth the time.

The town has its architectural roots in New England because of the "homesick" pioneers who came here to be part of the lumber boon in the 1850's. There are cottages and Victorian homes with abundant gingerbread filigree mouldings, steep gables and picket fences.

The village of Mendocino was designated as a National Historic Preservation District in 1971. It's small and quaint but by no means deserted. We were there in March which isn't exactly tourist season and yet the shops and museums were bustling with visitors.

There are so many activities in this area that I'm recommending that you visit a website called Mendocino Fun. It's truly a comprehensive guide to visiting Mendocino. Here is the link: MendocinoFun.Com

This pretty little town was the location used for much of the filming of the hit television series "Murder She Wrote" (1984 - 1989) starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher. It was supposedly set on the East coast in a small New England town called Cabot Cove. In fact, nine of the episodes were filmed almost in their entirety in Mendocino.

Blair House (pictured) is a bed and breakfast inn which was used as Jessica Fletcher's home in the series.

It's also been the setting for more than 40 movies since 1904. A few classic movies that were filmed here include "Frenchman's Creek (1943), "Johnny Belinda" (1947), "East of Eden" (1954), "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming" (1965), and "Cujo" (1982). Who knew??

When Mendocino was first established, two and three storied water towers were the only sources of fresh water. They operated on a gravity system. Even though the fresh water supplies are now through water wells that are run by electric pumps, many of the old water towers remain.

The oldest water tower built in Mendocino was built for the Carlson City Hotel in 1857. The hotel burned to the ground during a fire in 1870 but surprisingly the water tower did not!

Some of the water towers have been "recycled" into other uses. One, for example, serves as a stairway to a restaurant! Another has been turned into a guest cottage.

For more precise information on Mendocino and all that it has to offer you'll want to visit the official website at MENDOCINO.com - Hotels, Restaurants and Activity Guide

Mendocino County is famous for it's artists-in-residence. I really can't adequately describe the beauty of the world class art created in Mendocino County and I highly recommend that you visit the Mendocino Artists and Artisans website. You will be amazed.