The present location of Rio Vista town center is several miles south of the original settlement. Colonel Nathan H. Davis founded "Brazos del Rio" near the entrance of Cache Slough at the Sacramento River, on the
Rancho Los Ulpinos Mexican land grant, in 1858. The settlement changed its name to "Vista del Rio" (View of the river), and a third time within a year, to "Rio Vista" on the suggestion of the wife of the postmaster, Mrs Charles A. Kirkpatrick in 1858. The city's name (incorrectly) combines the Spanish words for "river" and "view". The town was known as New Rio Vista briefly after it moved to its present location on higher ground following a series of floods in 1861 and 1862. The postal authorities established office in 1858. The community was officially
incorporated as Rio Vista on December 30, 1893. During the
internment of Japanese Americans, most of Rio Vista's Japanese citizens were sent to
Gila River or
Tule Lake. Rio Vista was the first city in California to
fluoridate it's water on October 25, 1951. The town removed their fluoridation equipment in 1956 following a city referendum organized by a
chiropractor . Rio Vista is home to the largest American producer of
Belgian endive in the United States. The city is served by
Rio Vista Municipal Airport and is situated along the
Rio Vista Highway (SR 12) between
Fairfield and
Lodi. The defunct
Rio Vista Airport once featured a
small restaurant inside of a DC-4. The highway crosses the Sacramento River via the
Helen Madere Memorial Bridge, colloquially known as the Rio Vista Bridge.
Media The City of Rio Vista has been served by a variety of newspapers, several of which changed names several times. The longest running of which was the River News-Herald and Isleton Journal, established in 1890. The paper printed it's last article online on May 3, 2017. Rio Vista also was served by Rio Vista Banner (1919-1926) which became The Banner of the Delta (1926-1930). Other papers included The Delta Herald Isleton Journal (1924-1960) out of
Isleton, Sacramento River News (1890-1895) and The Weekly Rio Vista Gleaner (circa 1870). Currently the only newspaper is Rio Vista Beacon, a weekly paper mailed free to Rio Vista residents. Rio Vista is also home to
KRVH, a
classic rock station run by local high school students.
Industry Natural gas was discovered in the Rio Vista area in 1936 and the
Rio Vista Field, (RVGU Rio Vista Gas Unit ) at one time there was a gas well behind RV City Hall in the middle of boat launch parking lot. Amerada Hess Corporation was the first major operations. When Amerada sold out to Sheridan Energy another buy out would soon take shape by Calpine Natural Gas. Calpine fell into the energy collapse when Enron went under then Calpine sold off a majority of its natural gas holdings to Rosetta Resources. Next buyer was Vintage Petroleum who sold out to and currently running operations California Resources Corporation as of 2022. Same address since 1936. Rio Vista Gas Unit was the largest natural gas field in California, became a major source of employment for the remainder of the 20th century. Other industries include agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. There are over 750
wind turbines belonging to the three
renewable energy projects (
Shiloh Wind Power Plant,
NextEra Energy Resources' High Winds Energy Center and one owned by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District) on the
Montezuma Hills, close to the city. There are plans to add an additional 200 wind turbines.
United States Army Reserve Center From 1911 through 1992 Rio Vista was home to an
United States Army Reserve Center. The facility was initially established as a base for river control activities by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. During the 1950s it was used by the
U.S. Army Transportation Corps to store and maintain harbor craft, and during the 1960s and 1970s it was used to prepare amphibious vehicles for transportation to Vietnam and to train troops in their use. In 1980 it was transferred to the
U.S. Army Reserve and in 1995 it was closed due to a
BRAC decision. Beginning in 2012 the City of Rio Vista entered negotiations with the
California Department of Water Resources and the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service to develop the site into a "Fish Technology Center". In October 2023 the City Council reported the project had been significantly scaled down from the initial proposal. In December 2024 the City announced it would be working with the
EPA's Targeted Brownfields Assessment program to develop an
Environmental Site Assessment. The town also hosts a
United States Coast Guard station, established in 1963.
Humphrey the humpback whale Rio Vista was visited by a lost
humpback whale in 1985, despite being up the Sacramento River from the
Pacific Ocean. The young whale, nicknamed "
Humphrey", attracted throngs of curiosity seekers before he was eventually guided back to sea by rescuers. The Army Reserve Unit (481st Transportation Company (Heavy Boat)) was activated to use their vessels (Landing Craft Utility (LCU)) to assist in the guiding of Humphrey back to the sea. Again in May 2007, humpbacks were sighted in Rio Vista. "Delta" and "Dawn," mother and calf, stopped at least twice in the river near the town.
Flannery land purchases In 2018, a group of investors called Flannery Associates LLC began purchasing land in and around Rio Vista. By July of 2023 Flannery owned 55,000 acres, making them the largest private land-owner in Solano County. This included 30 - 40 acres within the city limits of Rio Vista. In May 2023 Flannery filed a $510 million dollar lawsuit against 39 local landowners in Rio Vista and Collinsville accusing them of a conspiracy to "inflate the value of the land", legally a
constraint of trade. By September 2024 only three defendants had not settled with CA Forever In September 2023 the group began a campaign under the subsidiary of
California Forever to develop a 400,000 person city between Rio Vista and Suisun City on some 17,500 acres which lies 2,600 feet from the Rio Vista city limits, an action currently prohibited by the county's "orderly growth imitative". Eventually submitting a ballot proposal under the name "East Solano Plan" in February of 2024 and withdrew their proposal on July 22, 2024 after spending nearly $9 million dollars on the ad campaign. ==Demographics==