Little River, California

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Little River (also known as Littleriver) is a small unincorporated town in Mendocino County, California, located two miles south of the town of Mendocino and running along the Pacific Ocean coast on California Highway 1. The town limits contain a few hundred people who live within a few miles from the coast. The community is named after Little River, which reaches the ocean in Van Damme State Park. The town center, on a scenic bluff overlooking the mouth of the Little River, is a single small structure which hosts a grocery store with two gas pumps, a post office, and a restaurant. Higher up on the bluff between Highway 1 and the ocean is the Little River Cemetery. A tourist destination, Little River is home to several boutique inns, such as the Little River Inn, Dennen's Victorian Farmhouse, Glendeven, and The Heritage House. The Little River Area has two state parks, lots of ocean access and diverse recreational opportunities. Little River is also home to the region's airport with its mile-long runway.

[edit] History

According to the History of Mendocino County California (history/Mendocino/mendo1880-404.htm), Little River was first settled by Lloyd and Samuel Bell, and the Moore Brothers. Shortly after, in 1856, W.H. Kent purchased the Bell tract and until 1862 the place was known as Bell’s Harbor and Kent’s Landing. In that year Ruel Stickney, Silas Coombs, and Tapping Reeves built a mill here, which provided the stimulus for the formation the town of Little River. This coastal mill town grew with the success of the mill so that eventually a schoolhouse, post house, shipyard, hotels, stores and blacksmith shops all established themselves here. Little River prospered in a similar to the many towns on the Mendocino Coast did until the nearby and inland timber stands faltered. In the case of Little River, the mill eventually closed in 1893. The loss of the mill gradually shrunk the town rapidly and since that time it has served mainly as a tourist destination due to its beaches and Van Damme State Park, which the Little River runs through. The first road that ran through this area was the Anderson Valley and Big River Wagon Road (1966 GLO Plat). This road was likely widened and altered over the years until it was eventually added to the State Highway System.

[edit] Film Industry

The Heritage House Inn, a bed and breakfast in Little River, was the location for the film Same Time, Next Year starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn.

[edit] External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 39.27083° -123.78722°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA