Philo

Located in Anderson Valley in western Mendocino County. Situated along Indian Creek as it flows into the Navarro River, Philo is the home of KZYX, the local public radio station. Two small specialty lumber mills in Philo are all that remain of a once vigorous timber economy in Anderson Valley. The heart of the Anderson Valley wine region. The first post office opened in 1888. The ZIP Code is 95466. The community is inside area code 707. Two versions of how Philo was named are current: first, that its founder Cornelius Prather named it after his favorite female cousin; second, that he named it for his former home at Philo, Illinois.

• Name — Philo • Settlement Type — Census-designated place • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — California • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Mendocino • Unit Pref — US • Area Total Sq Mi — 2.067 • Area Land Sq Mi — 2.067 • Area Water Sq Mi — 0 • Area Water Percent — 0 • Elevation M — 101 • Elevation Ft — 331 • Population Total — 319 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Density Sq Mi — auto • Timezone — Pacific (PST) • Utc Offset — -8 • Timezone Dst — PDT • Utc Offset Dst — -7 • Postal Code Type — ZIP Code • Postal Code — 95466 • Area Code — 707 • Blank Name — GNIS feature IDs • Blank Info — 1659380; 2628777

Philo is located at geographical coordinates 39° 3′ 57″ North, 123° 26′ 42″ West. California State Route 128 leads southeast (up the valley) 6 mi to Boonville and northwest (downriver) 23 mi to State Route 1 near Navarro Beach on the Pacific Ocean. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 2.1 mi2, all land.

Philo first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census. The 2020 United States census reported that Philo had a population of 319. The population density was 154.3 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Philo was 110 (34.5%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 8 (2.5%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 107 (33.5%) from other races, and 94 (29.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 209 persons (65.5%). The whole population lived in households. There were 113 households, out of which 43 (38.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 47 (41.6%) were married-couple households, 7 (6.2%) were cohabiting couple households, 16 (14.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 43 (38.1%) had a male householder with no partner present. 38 households (33.6%) were one person, and 12 (10.6%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.82. There were 66 families (58.4% of all households). The age distribution was 68 people (21.3%) under the age of 18, 28 people (8.8%) aged 18 to 24, 92 people (28.8%) aged 25 to 44, 84 people (26.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 47 people (14.7%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.8years. For every 100 females, there were 151.2 males. There were 129 housing units at an average density of 62.4 /mi2, of which 113 (87.6%) were occupied. Of these, 53 (46.9%) were owner-occupied, and 60 (53.1%) were occupied by renters.

Students in Philo attend Anderson Valley Elementary School and Anderson Valley Junior-Senior High School. Both are operated by the Anderson Valley Unified School District and are located in Boonville.

• Bernice Bing, artist (died 1998) • Sally Schmitt, restaurateur (died 2022)

In the state legislature, Philo is in, and. Federally, Philo is in.