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Previously Unknown View of Ukiah, California

Good example of a previously unrecorded view of Ukiah, California, published by W.W. Elliott of Oakland, California.  Interestingly, not only are there no other known examples of Elliott's view of Ukiah, Reps does not list any known views of this northern California town.

This is a 19th-century bird's-eye view of Ukiah, California, likely created just before the arrival of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad in 1889. The image provides a detailed depiction of Ukiah as it appeared in the late 19th century, nestled in the valley with surrounding hills rendered in fine detail. The view highlights the town’s orderly layout, with a central grid of streets populated by homes, businesses, and public buildings, and surrounding areas dotted with agricultural plots and undeveloped land.  Between 1880 and 1890, the town drew from about 900 residents to 1,850 residents.

Centered on State Street and Perkins Street, the lithograph showcases Ukiah’s urban core, with a key locating 22 notable public and private buildings prominently labeled. The central image is surrounded by insets featuring detailed illustrations of key buildings in Ukiah, including:

• Mendocino County Courthouse 
• Palace Hotel
• Residence of Benjamin W. Day
• Dispatch and Democrat Office (Ukiah's Newspaper)
• Sacred Heart Convent and School
• Grand Hotel 

Prominent on the map is the advertisement for J.H. Donohoe, a real estate agent in Ukiah .

The map is credited to W.W. Elliott of Oakland, one of the more active western birdseye viewmakers period, who was active between 1879 and 1892, with the vast majority of his work done between 1887 and 1891.   

Ukiah, California

Ukiah is located within the former Rancho Yokaya, a Spanish colonial land grant in what was then called Alta California. The Yokaya grant, encompassing the majority of the Ukiah Valley, took its name from the Pomo word meaning "deep valley," reflecting the area's indigenous heritage. The Pomo people, the original inhabitants of this region, had long occupied the valley prior to Spanish colonization. 

Cayetano Juárez, a Californio ranchero, was granted Rancho Yokaya during the Mexican era of Alta California. Juárez maintained a neutral relationship with the local Pomo people and later sold a portion of the grant's southern lands, near present-day Hopland, to the Burke brothers. The first Anglo settler in the Ukiah area was John Parker, a vaquero working for James Black, a pioneering cattleman. Black drove his cattle into the Russian River Valley and established grazing lands near Ukiah. 

The establishment of Ukiah as a settlement began in earnest in 1857 when A.T. Perkins purchased a claim from Samuel Lowry, who had earlier built a log cabin near today's East Perkins and North Main streets. Perkins moved his family into the valley, becoming the first Anglo-American family to settle in Ukiah. That same year, six other families joined them. In 1858, the first United States post office in the area opened. By 1859, the population of Ukiah had grown to about 100 people, enabling it to become the county seat of Mendocino County.  

Ukiah's remote location initially made travel challenging. Visitors could only reach the town by stagecoach or horseback, with the nearest rail line terminating in Petaluma, nearly 80 miles to the south. The journey from Petaluma to Ukiah took two days by horse. By 1870, the rail line had been extended to Cloverdale, reducing the stagecoach journey to 30 miles, though the town remained relatively isolated. In 1876, Ukiah was formally incorporated. In 1889, the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad completed a line from Cloverdale to Ukiah, finally connecting the town to the national rail network and accelerating its development.

Throughout its history, Ukiah has been a hub of agricultural activity. The fertile Ukiah Valley has supported the cultivation of a wide variety of crops, including pears, green beans, hops, apricots, and grapes. As part of California's Wine Country, grape production eventually became the region's most significant agricultural industry.

Hops were once a dominant crop in the Ukiah area. In 1868, L.F. Long of Largo planted an experimental crop of hops, finding the local climate well-suited for cultivation. By 1885, hop production in Ukiah had peaked, though prices began to decline toward the end of the 1880s. By 1890, Mendocino County was the third-largest producer of hops in California, with over 900 acres under cultivation. 

Rarity

The view is apparently extremely rare.

Not listed in Reps. We were unable to locate any examples.