Knights Landing (formerly Baltimore and East Grafton) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Yolo County, California Yolo County (; Wintuan languages, Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a County (United States), county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Yolo County was one of the original counties of Californi ...

, United States, founded by William Knight. It is located on the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...

around 25 miles northwest of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

in the northeastern portion of the county. Knights Landing's ZIP Code is 95645 and its

area code 530 Area codes 530 and 837 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in northeastern and Northern California. 530 was created in 1997 in an area code split of 916 and 837 was added to the same numbering plan area as an ov ...

. It lies at an elevation of . The 2020 census reported that Knights Landing had a population of 1117.

Geography

California State Routes 45 and

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year *113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group *113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run to ...

intersect at Knights Landing. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP covers an area of 0.5 square miles (1.4 km), all of it land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Knights Landing has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, ''Csa'' on climate maps.

Demographics

Knights Landing first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2010 U.S. Census. The 2020 United States census reported that Knights Landing had a population of 1,117. The population density was . The racial makeup of Knights Landing was 407 (36.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 11 (1.0%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 24 (2.1%) Native American, 14 (1.3%) Asian, 3 (0.3%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 429 (38.4%) from other races, and 229 (20.5%) from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 780 persons (69.8%). The whole population lived in households. There were 355 households, out of which 119 (33.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 171 (48.2%) were married-couple households, 26 (7.3%) were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 61 (17.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 97 (27.3%) had a male householder with no partner present. 89 households (25.1%) were one person, and 37 (10.4%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.15. There were 244

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(68.7% of all households). The age distribution was 282 people (25.2%) under the age of 18, 100 people (9.0%) aged 18 to 24, 284 people (25.4%) aged 25 to 44, 290 people (26.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 161 people (14.4%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 37.7years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. There were 366 housing units at an average density of , of which 355 (97.0%) were occupied. Of these, 212 (59.7%) were owner-occupied, and 143 (40.3%) were occupied by renters.

History

Knights Landing was founded in 1843 by Dr. William Knight, a practicing physician from

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland. Knight built on a mound that marked the ancient meeting place of Native Americans inhabiting the regions about Cache Creek and the

. The site early demonstrated its importance as a steamboat landing and point of communication between the people east and west of the big central river. When the town was laid out in 1849, it was originally called Baltimore, but an agreement over the sale of the new town lots could not be amicably arranged, and the title Baltimore was lost. Knight established a ferry there, which afterwards passed to the ownership of J. W. Snowball. In those days, the ferry tolls were $1 for a man and horse; a team and wagon cost $5. In 1850, S. R. Smith kept a hotel in the settlement and in 1853, Charles F. Reed surveyed and laid out a townsite and was officially given the name of Knight's Landing. That year, J. W. Snowball and J. J. Perkins opened a large general-merchandise store on the Native American mound. On January 1, 1854, Capt. J. H. Updegraff opened his hotel with $10 tickets to a grand New Year's party. A steamer was run from Sacramento for the accommodation of guests. The establishment was called the Yolo House. In 1860, D. N. Hershey and George Glascock erected a brick hotel, which took the place of the Yolo House, that inn being retired to the status of a private residence. On March 25, 1890, the Knight's Landing branch of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

was completed and ready for business, and later the completion of the bridge across the river added immensely to the prosperity of the town. The famous and now merged

Southern Pacific Railroad Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

once had a line from

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of ...

, via

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population continues to grow every year, with a growth ra ...

, through Knights Landing, and the line continued to

Marysville, California Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counte ...

, via a

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...

Yuba City, California Yuba City ( Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California Sutter County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. This 1879 map shows the railroad from Woodland almost to East Grafton (which contains Knights Landing):http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/159571/West+Grafton+Township++East+Grafton+Township++Cacheville+Township/Yolo+County+1879/California/ The line now stops a few miles northeast of Woodland. Grafton Elementary was the only public school in the community. It closed June 23, 2009. The area is served by Woodland Joint Unified School District. In 2010, the Science and Technology Academy of Knights Landing opened on the former Grafton Elementary campus as a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

. Knights Landing Cemetery (just south of town on County Road 102) is one of several purported final resting places of stagecoach bandit

Charles Bolles Charles E. Boles ( – ? Last seen February 28, 1888), also known as Black Bart, was an English-born American outlaw noted for the poetic messages he left behind after two of his robberies. Often called Charley by his friends, he was also known ...

, alias Black Bart. If present, the grave is unmarked.

References

External links

* {{authority control Census-designated places in Yolo County, California Populated places established in 1843 Census-designated places in California Populated places on the Sacramento River 1843 establishments in Alta California