About Vallejo - California  Area Code 707
Solano County, San Francisco North Bay, Ca. USA
Zip Codes 94503, 94589, 94590, 94591, 94592

Vallejo is a city in Solano County, California,

United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 116,760. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northern shore of San Pablo Bay. Some residents affectionately call the city "V-town."

Vallejo is home to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom theme park (formerly Marine World and Marine World Africa USA) ; the now-defunct Mare Island Naval Shipyard; the California Maritime Academy (part of the California State University system); and Touro University - Mare Island, an osteopathic medical college. Ferry service runs from a terminal on Mare Island Strait to San Francisco, through Vallejo Transit's BayLink division. Vallejo has twice served as the capital of the State of California: once in 1852 and again in 1853, both periods being quite brief. Some of the first Europeans drawn to the Vallejo area were attracted by the sulfur springs; in fact, in the year 1902 the area was named Blue Rock Springs.

The Napa River flows through the city of Vallejo on its journey to the San Pablo Bay.

Vallejo is accessible by Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento. It is the location for the northern half of the Carquinez Bridge. It is also part of the North Bay region of the Bay Area in Central California. It is also accessible by Interstate 780 from neighboring Benicia to the east, and by Route 37 from Sonoma to the west. Route 29 (former U.S. Route 40) begins in the city near the Carquinez Bridge and travels north through the heart of the city and past into Napa County, entering neighboring American Canyon and eventually Napa.

Several faults have been mapped in the vicinity of Vallejo. The San Andreas Fault and Hayward Faults are the most active faults, even though the San Andreas is at some distance. Locally, the Sulphur Springs Valley Thrust Fault and Southhampton Fault are found. No quaternary seismic activity along these minor faults has been observed with the possible exception of a slight offset revealed by trenching. The Sulphur Mountain and Green Valley faults have been associated with the Concord Fault to the south. The Concord Fault is considered active. Historically there have been local cinnabar mines in the Vallejo area. The Hastings Mine and St. John's Mine contribute ongoing water contamination for mercury; furthermore, mine shaft development has depleted much of this area's spring water.

There are a variety of flora and fauna in the Vallejo area. The Suisun Shrew, Sorex ornatus sinuosus, a mammal found only in salt marshes, has local habitat. Also according to city's 1989 Environmental Assessment, the Tiburon Indian paintbrush, (Castilleja neglecta) is found in the Vallejo area.

Vallejo was once home of the Coastal Miwok as well as Suisunes and other Patwin Native American tribes. The Columbus Parkway EIR documents three confirmed Native American sites located in the rock outcrops in the hills above Blue Rock Springs Park. The California Archaeological Inventory has indicated that the three Indian sites are located on Sulphur Springs Mountain.

The city of Vallejo was once part of a 66,000-acre Mexican land grant of 1844 by Governor Pío Pico to General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo called the Rancho Soscol. The city was named for this original Mexican military officer and title holder, he helped to settle and oversee the north bay region. General Vallejo wanted the site named Eureka, but the other citizens of the area wanted to name the new city after the General. Neighboring Benicia is named after Vallejo's wife, Francisca Benicia Carrillo.

General Vallejo was responsible for military peace in the region until 1846, first under Spanish then Mexican rule, until independently-minded Californians rose up against the Mexican government of California in 1846 in the Bear Flag Revolt, and the annexation of California to the United States. General Vallejo, though a Mexican and Mexican army officer, generally acquiesced in the annexation of California to the United States, recognizing the greater resources of the United States and benefits that would bring to his beloved California. He was a proponenent of reconciliation and statehood after the Bear Flag Revolt, and has a U.S. Navy submarine, the USS Mariano G. Vallejo, named after him.

In 1850, Vallejo proposed plans for a new city, to be called Eureka, with the capitol, university, botanical garden and other features. After a state wide referendum, his proposal was accepted, although a new name was decided upon: Vallejo. In 1851, a commission appointed by the Senate found a site on a hill that overlooked the bay and could see San Francisco on a clear day, and it was approved for its symbolic strategic value. In 1851, Vallejo was the official state capitol, with the government prepared to meet for the first time the following year. In 1852, the legislature convened for the first time. Unfortunately, Vallejo didn't follow through with building a capitol for them to meet in. After being forced to meet in a leaky building, sitting on barrels, they motioned to move sessions to Sacramento, and served there for the remainder of the session after only 11 days. In 1853, it was again the meeting place for the legislature, solely for the purpose of moving the capitol officially to Benicia, which occurred on February 4, 1853, after only a month. After legislature left, the government established a naval shipyard on Mare Island, which helped the town overcome the loss. The yard functioned for over a hundred years, finally closing in 1996.

The man mostly responsible for the founding the city of Vallejo is John B. Frisbie, who married General Vallejo's daughter. Frisbie was responsible for seeing that the city remained together and helped to establish the city's government.

In the early 1900s, Vallejo was home to a Class D minor-league baseball team, referred to in local newspapers sometimes as the "Giants" and other times simply as "The Vallejos." Pacific Coast League star and future Chicago White Sox center fielder Ping Bodie played for Vallejo during the 1908 season, in which the team reached the California state title game. The team was disbanded in the early 1920s.

Downtown Vallejo retains many of its historic Victorian and craftsman homes.