RIO VISTA — Water helped give life to this Solano County community and, in 1862, helped to destroy it.
That was when the Sacramento River rose and 12 feet of water covered Rio Vista.
The community was re-established on higher ground about two miles from its original location where Cache Slough meets the Sacramento.
A wharf was built and the first church, for Catholics, was erected 1862. A Congregational Church was also built the same year.
A salmon cannery was among the businesses of the river town, which has seen rapid growth recently. Its population nearly doubled between 2000 and 2010 and the California State Department of Finance projects continued growth.
The Chamber of Commerce likes to note that Joseph Strauss, architect of the Golden Gate Bridge, designed the community’s largest landmark, the Rio Vista bridge, “situated on the historic Sacramento River with a silhouette of the rolling Montezuma Hills to the south.”
The business group also boasts how Rio Vista “still maintains an easy-going small-town attitude even though it is central to the two largest population centers in Northern California.”
The city has retained its small-town identity despite a veritable population explosion in recent years. According to census data, Rio Vista is home to just over 8,000 people – although that is a number derived partially through a 76% growth in population since 2000.
It is both near and remote given its geography, about a 20-minute drive from most other places of any size and note.
Moreover, “Rio Vista is known to have some of the best sport fishing in the state and is the host for the West Coast’s oldest striped bass derby each October,” the chamber notes.
The Rio Vista Airport on the outskirts of town makes flying in for a day of business, lunch or just to explore the area easily accessible, adds the chamber.
The community is also home to “world-class” Percheron horses, buffalo, and the only endive producer in the United States, the chamber notes.
Endive is a leafy vegetable in the chicory family.
Whatever you’re looking for, you will find Rio Vista a friendly, fun place to visit, right in the heart of the California Delta.
The town is home to a number of highly popular events, including the venerable Bass Derby and Festival.
The city offers shopping downtown, several restaurants, and the Rio Vista Museum, 16 N. Front St., to learn some Rio Vista and Delta history.
Rio Vista is trying to stay ahead of the pace by upgrading the town’s infrastructure and modernizing downtown. The community is counting on its location to continue growing, as Rio Vista did during the days when being next to the Sacramento River allowed the town to capitalize on trade between San Francisco and Sacramento.
Fairfield and Lodi, about 20 minutes away on Highway 12, are the larger nearby cities. Stockton and Sacramento are only half an hour away on nearby Interstate 5.
Nearly 6% of the city exists within neighboring waterways – and the community’s future may match its river past.
Rio Vista at a glance
- City Hall: 1 Main St., 374-6451
- Website: www.riovistacity.com
- City manager: Robert Hickey, 374-6451, ext. 1101
- Mayor: Ronald Kott. Appointed in 2014, term expires in 2022. Reach at [email protected]
- Vice mayor: Rick Dolk. Elected in 2018, term expires in 2020. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilwoman: Debra King. Appointed in 2020; term expires in 2024. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilman: Walt Stanish. Elected in 2020, term expires in 2024. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilman: Edwin Okamura. Appointed 2021. Reach at [email protected]
