Artois, California

For other uses, see Artois (disambiguation).

Artois (/ˈɑːr.tɔɪs/),^[3] formerly known as Germantown, is a census-designated place^[4] in Glenn County, California, USA.^[2] It is located 5 miles (8 km) north of Willows,^[5] at an elevation of 167 feet (51 m),^[2] in the northern Sacramento Valley of California. It is located on the former United States Highway 99W, and is bypassed to the west by Interstate 5. It is served by the California Northern Railroad, formerly the west Sacramento Valley line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Its coordinates are approximately 39°37' N 122°12' W. The ZIP code for Artois is 95913. The community is inside area code 530. The population was 295 at the 2020 census.

Artois
census-designated place
Downtown Artois, along the former US 99W (April 2023)
Location of Artois in Glenn County, California.
Artois Location in California
Coordinates: 39°37′11″N 122°11′38″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Glenn County
Area [1]
• Total	2.88 sq mi (7.46 km2)
• Land	2.88 sq mi (7.46 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0%
Elevation [2]	167 ft (51 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	295
• Density	102.43/sq mi (39.55/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	95913
Area codes	530, 837
GNIS feature IDs	1657951; 2628707
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Artois, California; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Artois, California

History

The name stems from the ancient province in France where the method of boring artesian wells was first adopted. Artois was formerly named Germantown,^[6] and petitions to change the Germantown post office name were successful with Artois adopted on May 21, 1918. Local belief is that a World War I troop train stopped to water at Germantown and a riot ensued when the troops took offense at the name. The town was then renamed after the Battles of Artois.

The Germantown post office opened in 1877, and changed its name to Artois in 1918.^[5]

On June 1, 2011, an EF1 tornado struck east of Artois, uprooting hundreds of almond trees, and causing damage to farm equipment and roofing materials.^[7]

The lynching of Christian Mutschler

On May 4, 1878, blacksmith Christian Mutschler (also spelled Mutchler) and his friends John Kelley and Henry Holmes got into an argument with a saloon keeper named Hageman. Mutschler, who was suspected of starting a fire in St. Johns, California the year before, was persuaded by Kelley and Holmes, along with W. Hagaman, F. Todt, Charles Hansen and Carl Regensberger to set a bag of shavings afire in the saloon. A couple of cowboys having a drink witnessed Mutschler lighting the shavings and shot him in the leg. Mutschler was charged with arson by the Justice of the Peace, a man named Boardman. Oddly, no charges were brought up on the cowboys. No one would testify against Mutschler so Boardman released him. Mutschler wasted no time in getting out of town, but the local stage was ordered not to let Mutschler ride. He started limping towards Orland, California in the hot sun. Mutschler's friend, John Kelley swore out a complaint that Mutschler had threatened his life, and a deputy was sent up the road to arrest the hapless blacksmith. Mutschler's bail was set at a thousand dollars, which he could not pay. Because Germantown did not have a jail, Mutschler was put into the protective custody of Constable William McLane, the owner of another Germantown saloon, where the prisoner was kept during the night. During the early morning hours of May 5, 1878, a group of twelve to fourteen masked men burst into the saloon and took Mutschler about a quarter of a mile away and shot him to death. Mutschler's friends, Holmes, Kelley, Hansen, Regensberger and a man known as R. Radcliff were all arrested for the crime. Their trial started on December 14, 1878, but the case was immediately dismissed due to missing witnesses.^[8]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	295		—
2020	295		0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1850–1870[10][11] 1880-1890[12] 1900[13] 1910[14] 1920[15] 1930[16] 1940[17] 1950[18] 1960[19] 1970[20] 1980[21] 1990[22] 2000[23] 2010[24]

The 2020 United States census reported that Artois had a population of 295. The population density was 102.4 inhabitants per square mile (39.5/km²). The racial makeup of Artois was 65.4% White, 0.3% African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 23.1% from other races, and 9.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33.2% of the population.

There were 99 households, out of which 36.4% included children under the age of 18, 71.7% were married-couple households, 9.1% were cohabiting couple households, 6.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 13.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 10.1% of households were one person, and 5.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.98. There were 82 families (82.8% of all households).

The age distribution was 29.8% under the age of 18, 12.2% aged 18 to 24, 15.6% aged 25 to 44, 24.7% aged 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.9 males.

There were 105 housing units at an average density of 36.5 units per square mile (14.1 units/km²), of which 99 (94.3%) were occupied. Of these, 86.9% were owner-occupied, and 13.1% were occupied by renters.^[25][26]

Politics

In the state legislature, Artois is in the 1st senatorial district, represented by Republican Megan Dahle,^[27] and in the 3rd Assembly district, represented by Republican James Gallagher.^[28]

Federally, Artois is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.^[29]

Education

It is in the Willows Unified School District.^[30]

Notable residents

• Sue Ellen Wooldridge, former U.S. attorney

External links