Cachuma Press was founded by John Evarts and Marjorie Popper and has been a California corporation since 1991.

Cachuma is a place name in the Santa Ynez Valley, where Cachuma Press is located. Cachuma comes from the name of a Chumash village on the Santa Ynez River, which the Spanish spelled Aquitsumu. The Chumash word for the village, 'Aqitsu'm, means "Constant Sign."