Yolo County was one of the original 27 counties created when California became a state in 1850.

The name Yolo may be derived from the native Patwin Indian word yo-loy meaning “abounding in the rushes.” Other historians believe it to be the name of the Indian chief, Yodo, or the Indian village of Yodoi.

The first recorded contact with Westerners occurred in the late 1830s. These included Spanish missionaries as well as trappers and hunters who could be found along the banks of Cache Creek, which was named by French-Canadian trappers.

The first white settler was William Gordon who received a land grant from the Mexican government in 1842 and began planting wheat and other crops.

The towns of Yolo County first developed along the Sacramento River. Its first town, Fremont, was founded in 1849 along the confluence of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and became the first county seat. Knights Landing, Washington, Cacheville (later called Yolo), Clarksburg, Winters, Esparto, Capay, Guinda, and Davisville (Davis) were all built near waterways. Davisville had the added advantage of being on the path of the newly constructed railroad.

Woodland, which became the county seat in 1862, began in a wooded area of valley oaks and was also served by a nearby railroad.

Source: Yolo County