Potter Valley, CA

Potter Valley lies at the headwaters of the East Fork of the Russian River in Mendocino County, in a valley long inhabited by Pomo communities. William and Thomas Potter and Mose Briggs entered in 1852 while looking for the river’s headwaters; the Potters later gave the valley its present settler name, and a post office opened in 1870. Ranching and dry farming came first, then irrigation reshaped what could be grown. The Potter Valley Project began diverting Eel River water into the Russian River system in 1908, making water infrastructure part of the local story. Potter Valley is a North Coast farming place with deep Pomo roots and a complicated river map.