After a Fire, the City of Davis is Created

A disastrous fire on November 13, 1916 destroyed much of the two block long downtown business district. The fire started that morning near what is now the corner of G and 3rd Streets, and fierce north winds fanned the flames all day. Following the fire, Mrs. Delpha Judd Williamson, a member of the Women's Improvement Club, presented a petition with 60 local signatures to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors on January 22, 1917. The Board set March 20, 1917 as the election date for a city incorporation vote. Of the 979 inhabitants of Davis, 404 people voted and the result was 317 for city incorporation and 87 against. On March 26, the Yolo County Board declared the City of Davis duly incorporated as a municipality. The incorporation papers were officially recorded with the California Secretary of State on March 28, 1917 and that is when the City of Davis was born. The city budget for the first year totaled $6,182.86.

. This historical marker was erected in 2017 by CityOfDavis.org. It is in Davis in Yolo County California