Major General James G. Blunt

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Westport (formerly Beall's Landing) is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California, United States.[1] It is located on California State Route 1, near the Pacific Ocean,[2] 13 miles (21 km) north of Fort Bragg,[3] and at an elevation of 125 feet (38 m).[1]

The first post office at Westport opened in 1879.[3] Originally called Beall's Landing in honor of Samuel Beall, its first white settler, the place was renamed in 1877 by James T. Rodgers, who built a timber loading facility for the name to contrast with his hometown of Eastport, Maine.[3]

As of July 2010, the population of Westport was 60.[citation needed] It has a community store with gas pumps, several inns, and, as of 2020, nine Airbnb or VRBO rental homes.[4]

Westport and its vicinity have been the locale of several disappearances and homicides over the years, including:

  • Linda Lee Lovell and Stephen Locke Packard, disappeared in June 1974;[5]
  • Christine and Craig Langford, disappeared in January 1981;[6][7]
  • Harlan Sutherland, homicide victim, remains found in August 1987;[8][9]
  • Clyde William Stanley, homicide victim, remains found in March 1988;[10]
  • Donald James Cavanaugh and David Virgil Neily, disappeared in March 2005 and April 2006, respectively, from the same address;[11]
  • Matthew Coleman, murdered in August 2011;[12][13]
  • Abigail, Ciera, Devonte, Hannah, Jeremiah, and Markis Hart, all murdered by their adoptive mothers, Jen and Sarah Hart, on March 26, 2018, when their SUV intentionally drove over a cliff in a mass murder-suicide, two miles north of Westport.[14] The family had been living in Washington State before the road trip which culminated in the fatal crash.[15] Both perpetrators were known to have abused their six children before the crash.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Westport, California
  2. ^ DeLorme California Atlas & Gazetteer (2008) Yarmouth, Maine p.47 ISBN 0-89933-383-4
  3. ^ a b c Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 165. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  4. ^ [1], author unknown, Westport Village Society. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  5. ^ Dwyer, William M., "A Grieving Mother Finds Hope in Art. New York Times, 13 March 1977. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  6. ^ [2], Dustin Driscoll, Case Information, NamUS Missing Persons Database, U.S. Department of Justice, 4 December 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  7. ^ [3], Dustin Driscoll, Case Information, NamUS Missing Persons Database, U.S. Department of Justice, 4 December 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  8. ^ Lois O'Rourke, "Tragedies brought families together on county's coast", Ukiah Daily Journal (Ukiah, CA), 27 November 1992, pp. 1, 14. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  9. ^ Bruce Anderson, Anderson Valley Advertiser (Boonville CA), 20 September 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  10. ^ Staff, "Sheriff IDs Westport Remains", Ukiah Daily Journal, (Ukiah, CA), 10 March 1988. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Donald Cavanaugh And David Neily: Two Missing Men, Two Unsolved Mysteries", Huffington Post, 21 November 2013. [4] Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  12. ^ Tim Stelloh, The New York Times, 28 September 2011, Retrieved 16 January 2017
  13. ^ [5] Google map. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  14. ^ Yan, Holly; Simon, Darran; Nieves, Rosalina (April 3, 2018). "The troubling past of a family whose car plunged off a cliff". CNN. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  15. ^ Hanna, Jason; Mossburg, Cheri (April 18, 2018). "Hart family crash: Body ID'd as 12-year-old Ciera Hart". CNN. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  16. ^ Devonte Hart family mystery: Podcast sheds new light on horrific deaths
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westport,_California