Twentynine Palms, California

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For the 2003 horror film, see Twentynine Palms (film).

Twentynine Palms is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 14,764 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 History
- 2.1 The Willie Boy Story
3 Demographics
4 Interesting Facts
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Location of Twentynine Palms, California

Twentynine Palms is located at 34°8′18″N, 116°4′21″W (34.138277, -116.072409)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 142.0 km² (54.8 mi²), all land.

Twentynine Palms is a desert and mountain area. It is home of Joshua Tree National Park and Park Headquarters, and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, the world's largest Marine Base.

[edit] History

Twentynine Palms was named for the palm trees located in the Oasis of Mara, at Joshua Tree National Park headquarters. When the area was settled by miners in the late 1800's, there were 29 palm trees growing in the oasis at the time, most of which are still standing today.

Located at an elevation of about 2000 feet (595 m) in the Mojave desert of Southern California, Twentynine Palms is recognized for its extreme temperatures. On July 17, 2005 the high temperature hit 119 degrees Fahrenheit (48.3°C), which is a new record. The previous record was 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.8°C), set on July 11, 1961. The record low temperature is 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-12.2°C), set on December 23, 1990.

Former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant had a hit single called "29 Palms", from his solo album Fate of Nations in 1993.

[edit] The Willie Boy Story

Carlota, the daughter of William Mike, a Twentynine Palms Chemehuevi who had moved his family to the Gilman Ranch in the Coachella Valley near Banning, figured in a tragedy that rocked southern California in 1909, and has since been the subject of books and a movie. A cousin named Willie Boy, who had fallen in love with her, persuaded her to elope with him, their marriage having been forbidden because they were cousins. Her father tracked them and brought them back. Accounts vary with respect to what followed, but agree that Willie Boy shot and killed William Mike, perhaps by accident, escaped with Carlota into the desert, was tracked by a posse, and left Carlota hidden in a wash with his coat and waterskin. She died, either shot by the posse by mistake, or from exposure. According to Chemehuevi tradition, Willie Boy escaped, but has not been seen again (Trafzer et al. 1997:86-90).

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 14,764 people, 5,653 households, and 3,855 families residing in the city. The population density was 104.0/km² (269.3/mi²). There were 6,952 housing units at an average density of 49.0/km² (126.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.02% White, 9.35% African American, 1.46% Native American, 3.81% Asian, 1.76% Pacific Islander, 6.24% from other races, and 6.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.91% of the population.

There were 5,653 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.2% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,178, and the median income for a family was $32,251. Males had a median income of $25,081 versus $25,141 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,613. About 13.6% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Interesting Facts

The town is referred to in two different Sublime songs (April 29th, 1992 and Thanks Dub). The band was supposed to play a concert in Twentynine Palms. But it was cancelled at the last minute, due to concerns by the City Council that the band would attract a bad element to the area.