Willits is located in Northern California, the "Heart of Mendocino County" & "Gateway to the Redwoods. "Willits is famous for the Skunk Train, Willits Frontier Days, California's oldest continuous rodeo, and being the Home of Seabiscuit to mention a few. With a small town atmosphere, Willits is a great place to stay, play and live!

Willits, California was founded by Hiram Willits and was settled in the 1850’s by pioneering ranchers. They were the first non-Native American settlers in Willits.

In 1860 the first grist mill was built and, about the same time, a water powered sawmill started up Willits Creek. Lumber brought prosperity to the settlement. The town of Little Lake had sprung up consisting of a store, meeting house, blacksmith shop and a saloon. In 1865 a store was added to the north and the town of Willitsville grew around it.

The early settlers were self-sufficient and grew their own produce, raised their own meat, fruit and potatoes. And, what they didn’t grow they purchased at the local mercantile store. By the end of the 1860’s they were connected to the outside by a stage line.

In 1888, with the advent of the railroad, Willitsville incorporated with a population of 720 and called itself Willits. Lumbering had joined farming as a part of the local economy, and the tanbark industry flourished.

Northwestern Railroad reached Willits in 1901 followed by the California Western “Skunk Train” 10 years later. Northwestern completed the line to Eureka in 1914 making Willits the center of the line stretching from San Francisco to Eureka.