Introduction
Wheatland, with a population of approximately 3400 people is one of only two incorporated cities in Yuba County. It is nestled at the northeastern edge of California’s vast Sacramento Valley. Located 34 miles north of Sacramento, 107 miles north of San Francisco and 417 miles north of Los Angeles.
Regional Setting
Wheatland is located in Northern California’s Central Valley along State Route 65 in Yuba County. The City is located approximately one mile north of the Bear River and the tri-county boundary of Sutter, Place, and Yuba Counties. Marysville (the county seat) and Yuba City, which are both about twelve miles to the north of Wheatland, are the closest cities of significant size. Sacramento is approximately forty miles to the south and Beale Air Force Base is located eight miles to the northeast. Wheatland is also the gateway city to Camp Far West, a recreation area of regional significance. From the city’s nineteenth century agrarian roots to the community of today. Wheatland is still valued by its residents for its small town atmosphere and rural setting.
Our History
Wheatland is located at the gateway of California’s ‘Mother Lode’ gold rush country and has a vast and colorful history. The survivors of the ill-fated Donner party were brought to the Johnson Ranch which was the first settlement reached in California by wagon trains using the Donner trail. The ranch was part of the Don Pablo Gutierrez land grant of 1844 sold in 1845 to William Johnson. A section of the ranch was set aside as government reserve. Camp Far West in 1849 and the town of Wheatland was laid out of a portion of the grant in 1866. (Historical Marker #493 Johnson’s Ranch, Tomita Park, Front St.).
On April 11, 1888, the Wheatland Board of Trustees elected Edward P. Duplex Mayor of Wheatland. His election marked the first time a predominantly white city elected an African American as mayor. Duplex and his family moved to Wheatland in 1875. The family soon established a successful hair care business in Wheatland called Duplex’s Hairdressing and Shaving Saloon located at 415 Main Street near the Central Hotel in the central business district. The Saloon not only offered the community hair care service and products, it also quickly became a center of political and social information. Leaders discussed civic matters while receiving hair care services. On January 5, 1900, Edward P. Duplex died in Sacramento at the age of 69 after 45 years in California. Duplex’s original barbershop, the Hairdressing and Shaving Saloon, still stands in Wheatland today. The building’s exterior has remained intact as it was in 1875.
One of the earliest labor disputes in the history of the United States occurred at the Durst Ranch on August 3, 1913 when I.W.W. workers rebelled against a hop grower resulting in the deaths of two workers. (Historical Marker #1003 Durst Hop Ranch. Intersection of A Street and 6th Street).
County – Yuba
Total Area – 1.5. Sq. Miles
Elevation – 92 feet
Population – 3,497
ZIP code – 95692
Area code – 530