Page 27 - Healdsburg, CA Citywide Design Guidelines

The American settlers in the 1860s found that they could grow
virtually any crop in the fertile valleys around Healdsburg. In
1871, the railroad opened new markets for farm produce and
established Healdsburg as a prosperous agricultural district. The
recreational opportunities offered by the Russian River created a
seasonal stream of vacationers, arriving by regularly scheduled
passenger trains, boosting the local economy.

By the 1880s, the population of Healdsburg reached 2,000, and
the major regional revenue besides tourism was derived from
grapes, lumber and hops. The proliferation of farming, combined
with the railroad, made sawmills and the canning and packing
industry central to the local economy in the following decades.
During the early 1900s, Healdsburg billed itself as “The Buckle
of the Prune Belt.” The bottom dropped out of Healdsburg’s
flourishing wine industry with Prohibition – the passage of the
Volstead Act in 1919.

After Prohibition’s repeal in 1933, many vineyards were replanted
to prune orchards. Following World War II, with the huge growth
of auto and truck transportation, much of the commerce of the
city shifted to “strip” locations at the periphery of the community.
By 1967, prunes were the most important industry in Healdsburg
and remained the largest cash crop until the 1970s when many
orchards reverted back to vineyards. In the latter half of the 20
th
Century, the economy of Healdsburg began to expand to include
a growing component of visitor services. The wine-growing areas
surrounding Healdsburg, as well as the rich recreational and
natural environment, were visitor draws, and this growing activity
began to have an effect on the downtown area. The continued
growth of a variety of industries led to a population close to
11,000 people at the 2000 U.S. Census. Today, wine is the primary
agricultural industry. Healdsburg has evolved from a simple farm
town to a community which celebrates a rich agricultural past and
an evolving, more sophisticated present.

Healdsburg’s History and Design Character Chapter 2 19