St. Helena

Ellen White, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had a home called Elmshaven near St. Helena, beginning in 1900. She died there in 1915, and the site is now a National Historic Landmark. Both the Beringer Vineyards and the Charles Krug Winery are California Historical Landmarks.

St. Helena’s community center was built as a Carnegie library; it served as the city library from 1908 to 1978.

St. Helena has a total area of 5.03 sq mi (13.0 km2), of which 4.99 sq mi (12.9 km2) is land and 0.11 sq mi (0.3 km2) (0.81%) is water.

Climate

The National Weather Service has a cooperative weather station in St. Helena. Winters are cool and wet, while summers have hot days and cool nights with little precipitation. Average temperatures in December, the coldest month, range from 57 °F (14 °C) to 38 °F (3 °C). Average temperatures in July and August, the warmest months, range from 89 °F (32 °C) to 55 °F (13 °C). There are an average of 55.7 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 34.7 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record high temperature was 115 °F (46 °C) on July 13, 1972, and the record low temperature was 11 °F (−12 °C) on December 11, 1932.

Average annual precipitation is 36.64 inches (931 mm). There are an average of 68 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with 75.40 inches (1,915 mm) and the driest year was 1976 with 10.41 inches (264 mm). The wettest month on record was February 1986 with 25.60 inches (650 mm). The most rainfall in 24 hours was 6.83 inches (173 mm) on January 21, 1967. Although snow rarely falls in St. Helena, there is an annual average snowfall of 0.2-inch (5.1 mm). The most snowfall in one month was 4.0 inches (100 mm), recorded in January 1974 and again in March 1976. The most snowfall in 24 hours was 4.0 inches (100 mm) on March 2, 1976.

Saint Helena Unified School District is the local school district. St. Helena High School serves students in grades 9-12.

The city has two tertiary campuses, one is the Upper Valley Campus of Napa Valley College; the other is The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, a branch campus of the main institution in Hyde Park, New York.

Major employers in St. Helena include Trinchero Family Estates, Beringer Vineyards, and The Culinary Institute of America. The city is distinct in its regulation against chain restaurants; only one exists in the city – an A&W – established before the legislation was enacted. The St. Helena AVA is in the region, and Duckhorn Vineyards, Newton Vineyard, Charles Krug Winery, and numerous other vineyards and wineries exist near St. Helena. Adventist Health St. Helena is located in neighboring Deer Park, California.