The City got its name from early businessman Theodore Winters. Mr. Winters was described in an early issue of the Winters Advocate in 1876 as a "capitalist."
The town was given the name of Winters after Mr. Winters donated 40 acres of land to the Vacaville and Clear Lake Railroad to start a town. D.P. Edwards also gave the town 40 acres.
At the time, in 1875, the railroad was having financial trouble in extending the railroad north to Putah Creek, and Winters, along with others, gave money to the railroad to help pay the cost of putting the bridge across Putah Creek.
Winters was born in Illinois on Sept. 14, 1823, where his father, John Devers Winters, had developed a stage line and freight business in Illinois.
In 1848, Theodore’s father and brothers, John D. Jr. and Joseph and daughter Harriet, headed for California via the Oregon Trail and left Theodore to dispose of the family business. Theodore, who had married in 1847 to Sarah Marshall, stayed on in Illinois until the spring of 1849. He then brought his wife and small son, George, to California where they joined the rest of the family at Forest City, situated on the American River.
There, the Winters family did some mining, some farming, but mostly hauling freight to the gold fields. When gold strikes occurred in Nevada, the Winters father and sons began hauling freight from Placerville into the Carson Valley.
Tragedy
In 1852, Mrs. Sarah Winters returned to Illinois to visit her parents, making the trip both ways by ship around the horn. She arrived back in San Francisco, but on Jan. 3, 1853, while traveling by boat to Sacramento, the vessel she was on, the "Comanche" collided with another steamer, the "J. Bragdon," and sank in a few minutes. George who was then 5, was saved, but Mrs. Winters, and 2-year-old Helen were drowned.
On March 21, 1860, Mr. Winters, who was then 37, married Margaret Martin, who was then 15.
In the 1850s, the Winters family became wealthy, both from their freighting business and from interests they held in the Comstock Lode. Their freight line in Nevada was called "The Winters Express." In 1857, Brigham Young, leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, called for all of his followers to return to Salt Lake City.
Mr. Winters, seeing an opportunity to buy land from the Mormons, cheap, bought a square mile of choice land in the Washoe Valley in Nevada from Jacob Rose for $50 and a team of oxen. He bought additional Mormon property in the valley until he had 1280 acres there. He expanded his holdings until, ten years later, he owned more than 18,000 acres in California and Nevada, including about 1300 acres he bought from the Wolfskills on both sides of Putah Creek here, and in Sacramento where Executive Airport is now located.
Race horses
About 1860 Winters began to interest himself in horse racing, with a race track built in Carson Valley.
In 1864, while he was on a trip east to perfect the title to some of his lands, he stopped off in St. Louis to watch a horse race and bought his most famous race horse "Norfolk," from Mr. R. A. Alexander, owner of the Woodburn stud farm, in Kentucky. Winters had his horse shipped to California via Panama, and no horse was able to outrun the stallion.
Winters is credited with introducing thoroughbred horses to the west, and the contests between Norfolk and Lodi, a horse owned by Judge Charles Bryan, are legendary. The climate at Carson Valley proved to be severe in the winter months, so in 1865, he bought 1300 acres of land here from Malthus Wolfskill including 700 acres in Yolo County and 600 in Solano. He constructed race tracks on both sides of Putah Creek, and he not only had the mild climate here, but was close to the race tracks in Sacramento and the Bay Area. He continued to commute between his ranches in the Carson Valley and his holdings in this area, and the proposed construction of a railroad north from Vacaville would benefit him, not only in shipping agricultural products, but also in moving his horses to race tracks. This prompted him to offer land to the railroad, along with substantial money to build the bridge across Putah Creek.
In 1877, he sold his holdings on the Solano side of the creek to William Baker, and built a home on the Yolo County property, about one and one half miles east of Winters. The Winters Advocate reported in 1878 that he built a grandstand at his race track here to seat 1,100 people. From 1865 to 1890 were the hey-days of Winters’ racing stables. Many famous horses were born and raised in his stables here. Those colts that didn’t possess all of the desired traits were shipped to his Nevada ranch where they were broken for riding or teaming.
Winters is a city in Yolo County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 6,125. The city is near Lake Berryessa. It is noted as the one-time residence of cartoonist R. Crumb and for having an excellent steakhouse.
Winters Geography:
Winters is located at 38°31'33" North, 121°58'30" West (38.526034, -121.975099).
Winters is a small city located 15 miles from Vacaville. Winters is nearly 30 miles from Sacramento.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.2 km2 (2.8 mi2). 7.1 km2 (2.8 mi2) of it is land and 0.1 km2 (0.04 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 1.08% water.
Winters Demographics:
As of the census of 2000, there are 6,125 people, 1,907 households, and 1,546 families residing in the city. The population density is 860.0/km2 (2,226.6/mi2). There are 1,954 housing units at an average density of 274.3/km2 (710.3/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 69.81% White, 0.67% African American, 0.88% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 22.56% from other races, and 4.80% from two or more races. 44.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,907 households out of which 48.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% are married couples living together, 12.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% are non-families. 14.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.21 and the average family size is 3.56.
In the city the population is spread out with 33.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $48,678, and the median income for a family is $55,183. Males have a median income of $40,257 versus $27,662 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,133. 5.0% of the population and 4.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.4% of those under the age of 18 and 5.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Learn more about WINTERS , CALIFORNIA
City of WINTERS , CA official website
County of YOLO, CA official website
City of WINTERS , CA general information
City of WINTERS , CA chamber of commerce
City of WINTERS , CA yellow pages
City of WINTERS , CA newspaper
State of California official site