Formed March 2, 1857 (43rd county)
Del Norte County (27,745), Crescent City (6,673)
The Modern style western looking courthouse sits on H Street between 4th and 5th streets. United States Highway 101 is four blocks to the east of the site. The concrete and metal courthouse was built in 1958 using the designs of William M. Van Fleet. There was an earlier courthouse in Crescent City built in 1885 since Crescent City is the only county seat. Del Norte became a county on March 2, 1857 as the 43rd county from Klamath County, which no longer exists. Del Norte is Spanish for “of the north” indicating the county’s northern location. Crescent City is named for the shape of the bay on which the city sits.
Del Norte County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, controller, and treasurer (executive). It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.) Two Superior Court Judges, clerk, and counsel serve Del Norte County (judicial.) The county is in the farthest northwest corner of the state on the border with Oregon and the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco, California is south. The county center is 23 miles Southeast of Crescent City. The county is surrounded clockwise by Oregon and Siskiyou and Humboldt counties and the Pacific Ocean. The county is overall a tall rectangle but the east border wanders through the mountains, the south border has two down steps, and the western border is the Pacific Ocean. Crescent City is centered north south on the western coast. Crescent City is the county seat and the largest city as the only incorporated city in the county. It is 24.1% of the county population. The county is pronounced DEL NOER-TEE.
The area of the county is 1008 square miles. It is 42 out of 58 in the state. It ranks 49 out of 58 in population in the state. It has a density of 27.5 persons per square mile making it 43 out of 58 in the state. Del Norte County has 24.1% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 101 crosses north to south from Oregon into Humboldt County. United States Highway 199 enters from Oregon and terminates at Crescent City. This county is in the Crescent City Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Crescent City
