Fort Bragg is a city in Mendocino County, California, on the state's North Coast along Highway 1. The community grew up around the redwood timber industry in the late nineteenth century, when the Union Lumber Company and the Fort Bragg Railroad turned the town into a major lumber port. Incorporated in 1889, Fort Bragg prospered as the mills shipped redwood throughout the state, and the city's fortunes remained tied to timber for more than a century. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake brought a burst of prosperity when the mills supplied lumber for the rebuilding of the Bay Area, and the downtown was itself rebuilt after the quake and fire. With a population of roughly 7,000, Fort Bragg is now the Mendocino Coast's largest town and its commercial center. The fishing industry at Noyo Harbor and a growing tourism economy have largely replaced the closed lumber mills, and the city's attractions — Glass Beach, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, and the Skunk Train, a historic logging railroad that now carries sightseers through the redwoods — draw steady visitation. A large bluff-top former mill site remains the focus of long-range planning for the city's future. Fort Bragg appeals to people seeking authentic coastal living with the services of a real town. Its working harbor, schools, hospital, and shops give it a year-round community that the nearby villages lack, while the redwood forests, headlands, and beaches of the Mendocino Coast surround it on every side. The result is a distinctive place: part fishing town, part tourist destination, and one of California's most characterful small cities.