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Photograph of Carnegie Library
Photograph by Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Willits Carnegie Library

Built in 1915 (Neoclassical architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. 8 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1922.

From the record

One of 42 National Register listings published here for Mendocino County · listed in 1993 · category: Building · built in 1915, Neoclassical architecture.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 85 E. Commercial St., Willits, 95490
  • When was it listed? January 1993
  • Category. building
  • Also known as. California Carnegie Libraries MPS
  • Census division. Willits
  • When was it built? 1915
  • Architectural style. Neoclassical architecture
  • National Register reference number. 92001756 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

292 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 292 fires within 5 miles of Willits Carnegie Library between 1992 and 2020, burning about 552 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 17 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined112
Debris and open burning53
Equipment and vehicle use46
Misuse of fire by a minor21
Arson/incendiarism17
Railroad operations and maintenance11
Smoking9
Natural8
Power generation/transmission/distribution7
Recreation and ceremony6
Other causes2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMendocino UnitWELL
7 September 2007Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMendocino UnitPOPPY 3
5 September 2015Railroad operations and maintenance1.6 acresMendocino UnitSUMMIT
5 September 1992Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresMendocino UnitP. G. & E. #12
4 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionFANBLADE
4 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMendocino UnitPOPPY
30 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMendocino UnitSMITH
3 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMendocino UnitTULIP

Every fire recorded in Mendocino County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 16 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Willits Carnegie Library: 8 producers, 4 prospects, 2 occurrences, 1 unknown. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Manganese, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Magnesite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Southard RanchMagnesiteProducerMagnesite
Ford Canyon QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Willits QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
C A Haun and SonSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Longvale PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Longvale PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Willits Ready MixSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Coursey Bros.ManganeseProspect
Coursey Brothers ProspectManganeseProspect1917
Knight ProspectManganeseProspect1942

Every working recorded in Mendocino County

Storms near this property

6 since 2022

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Willits, the town this property stands in, in 6 storm reports between 2022 and 2025: 5 flood, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2025FloodWillits-Central Valley Road reported as flooded in Willits.
December 2022FloodWillits-East Barbara Lane Bridge at Railroad Avenue was closed due to flooding.
September 2022Heavy RainWillits-CoCoRaHS report of 2.58 inches of rain in 45 minutes. 1 to 2 inches of water was observed on the Willits Bypass which stopped traffic. Water quickly subsided after the thunderstorm.
December 2022FloodWillits-Walnut Street between Locust Street and Poplar Avenue was closed due to flooding.
December 2022FloodWillits-The corner of East Commercial Street and Lenmore Avenue was closed due to flooding.
December 2022FloodWillits-Eastbound E Valley Road was closed in Willits due to flooding.

Every storm recorded in Mendocino County

Maps showing this location

8 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

4 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Dr. Raymond Babcock Houseunder 500 feet2004
Larsen Family House0.1 miles1995
Willits Depot0.2 miles1999
Seabiscuit's Stud Barn6.8 miles2014

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 92001756 in Record Group 79.
Mendocino CountyAll 42 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.