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The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and panthers for many centuries. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the majority of the inhabitants consisted of Native American Indians. Padre Jose Altimira, founder of Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, led the expedition. Spanish and then later Mexican control remained until the Bear Flag Revolt, and American farmers began arriving in the 1830s.
When California was granted statehood in 1849, Napa Valley was in the Territory of California, District of Sonoma. In 1850 when counties were first organized, Napa became one of the original counties of California. In 1851, the first courthouse was erected. By 1870, the Native American demographics changed significantly, probably due to the cause of U.S. Manifest Destiny by Americans. Even though Spanish settlers were the first Europeans to settle the area, they did not interfere with the vast majority of Native Americans despite controlling the region. Today, Native Americans native to the area, live in and around Alexander Valley, where they also live on reservations granted by the government.
The City of Napa was founded by Nathan Coombs in 1847. The townsite was surveyed by James M. Hudspeth on property Coombs had received from Nicolas Higuerra, holder of the original Spanish Grant. The first business establishment in the town was a saloon built by Harrison Pierce a former miller at the Bale Grist Mill. Napa's first general store was opened a year later in 1848 by Joseph P. Thompson. By 1850 the Dophin became the first steamship to navigate the Napa River in order to open another path of commerce.
Nathan Coombs and many other important City founders and builders are buried nearby in Tulocay Cemetery. Near the entrance is the tomb of Mary (Mammy) Pleasant who is considered the Mother of Civil Rights in California.
In the mid 1850s, Napa Main Street rivaled that of many larger cities, with as many as 100 saddle horses tied to the fences on an average afternoon. Hotels were crowded, cash slugs and California coinage were plentiful. Saloons and gambling emporiums were numerous. The Lyceum movement established a facility and reading room and an agricultural society was started. Two newspapers began publication in the 1850s. The Napa Valley Register made its debut in 1853 and Alexander J. Cox published the Napa County Reporter for the first time on July 4, 1856. The Napa Opera House became popular but, it languished. It was closed for many years until a popular movement re-established and rebuilt the building. Today, it currently hosts many popular entertainers.
The California Gold Rush of the late 1850s expanded Napa City. After the first severe winter in the gold fields, miners sought refuge in the young city from snow, cold, floods and disease. A tent city was erected along Main Street. There was plenty of work in the valley for disillusioned miners. Many cattle ranches were maintained, and the lumber industry had mushroomed. Sawmills in the valley were in operation cutting up timber that was hauled by team to Napa City, then shipped out on the river to Benicia and San Francisco.
In 1858 the great silver rush began in Napa Valley, and miners eagerly flocked to the eastern hills. In the 1860s, mining carried on, in a large scale, with quicksilver mines operating in many areas of Napa County. The most noted mine was the Silverado Mine, near the summit of Mt. St. Helena. The mine was immortalized by Robert Louis Stevenson in his classic The Silverado Squatters.
In 1869 F.A. Sawyer established Sawyer Tanning Company in Napa and was joined in the business by his father B.F. Sawyer a year later. It went on to become the largest tannery west of the Mississippi River.
Napa was incorporated in 1872 and reincorporated again in 1874 as the City of Napa. The Napa State Asylum for the Insane located just south of Napa received its first patients in 1876. The Napa Valley Opera House made its debut on February 13, 1880 with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore.
Napa had become the primary business and economic center for the Napa Valley by the dawn of the 20th century. As agricultural and wine interests developed north of the city limits much of the light industry, banking, commercial and retail activity in the county evolved within the city of Napa and in earlier times along the Napa River through the historic downtown.
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