Willits, California, known as the "Heart of Mendocino County ~ Gateway to the Redwoods," was incorporated in 1888. It was founded by Hiram Willits and was settled in the 1850's by pioneering ranchers. Sam and Harry Baechtel drove a herd of cattle up from Marin County in search of permanent grazing land and found a valley that fulfilled their needs. They were the first non-Native American settlers in Willits. According to Sam Baechtel's notebook: "The valley has a large watershed and during our rainy seasons the water collects more rapidly than the outlet can carry it off; consequently, it forms a lake in its northern end which is usually all drained off by May." That's one version of how the valley was called the Little Lake Valley. Sam also mentioned that there were about 300 Native Americans who shared the valley. Eventually, the Baechtel's got along well with the Native Americans because a later generation remembered them working on the Baechtel's ranch, and an Indian sweat house being across the road from the Baechtel house.
In 1860 William James built the first grist mill and, about the same time, the Blosser brothers built a water powered sawmill up Willits Creek. Lumber brought prosperity to the tiny settlement, with the first sawmill built in 1861. The town of Little Lake had sprung up on Baechtel land consisting of a store, meeting house, blacksmith shop and a saloon. In 1865 Kirk Brier built a store to the north on Hiram Willits' land, and the town of Willitsville grew around it.

The early settlers were self-sufficient and grew their own produce, raised their own meat, fruit and potatoes. And, what they didn't grow they purchased at the local mercantile store. By the end of the 1860's they were connected to the outside by a stage line.

In 1888, with the advent of the railroad, Willitsville incorporated with a population of 720 and called itself Willits. Lumbering had joined farming as a part of the local economy, and the tanbark industry flourished.

Northwestern Railroad reached Willits in 1901 followed by the California Western "Skunk Train" 10 years later. Northwestern completed the line to Eureka in 1914 making Willits the center of the line stretching from San Francisco to Eureka.