Kingsburg, California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. The population was 11,237 as of January 2005. Wired telephone numbers begin with (559) 897-xxxx and the ZIP Code is 93631.

The fields aroung Kingsburg are mostly grape vineyards which plant mainly raisin and table grapes. Kingsburg headquarters the Sun Maid Growers of California, a producer of dried fruits.

Kingsburg is known as the "Swedish Village". With its Swedish architecture and village atmosphere, Swedish banners fluttering from lampposts and brightly painted Dala horses, the Swedish heritage of the community is preserved. Kingsburg is home to the world's largest box of raisins [1], built by students at California State University, Fresno.

1 History and Culture
2 Notable Residents
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Swedish Festival
6 External links

[edit] History and Culture

The history of Kingsburg is unique with its single ethnic origin. In the early 1870s, news of good farming, warm climate and free government land prompted two Swedish natives to settle in a Central Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific) town called "Kings River Switch". In 1874 the present town site was drawn up and the name was changed to "Kingsbury". Two years later it became "Kingsburgh" and in 1894 took on its present spelling, "Kingsburg".

Before widespread irrigation, huge wheat farms were the source of Valley wealth and problems. Transient workers with no ties to any community spent their wages in the saloons of whatever town they found themselves. Overindulgence often resulted in gunshot-punctuated exuberance that often spilled into the streets. Kingsburg was no different. By 1886 there were four hotels and several saloons causing consternation to a growing town population. Alarmed community leaders, hoping to incorporate their city, led the fight to clean up the town. The fight was between "drys" who wanted all saloons within the city limits closed, and "wets" who wanted to maintain status quo. On May 11, 1908, "drys" won the day. Kingsburg was incorporated and all but two saloons were closed.

In 1921, ninety-four percent of the population within a three-mile radius of Kingsburg was Swedish-American, giving the community the nickname of "Little Sweden."

[edit] Notable Residents

Olympic gold-medal decathlete Rafer Johnson moved to Kingsburg at age 9 and honed his athletic skills playing for Kingsburg school teams. His brother Jimmy Johnson played cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994. Actor Slim Pickens was born in Kingsburg. Steve Pellegrine, a professional golfer, currently resides in Kingsburg. He made his PGA tour debut on February 9th 2007; however he currently manages Kingsriver Golf and Country Club. Famous Trumpet player Scott Englebright was also born in Kingsburg. He has since toured with many other famous players such as Maynard Ferguson. He graduated from Kingsburg High School.

[edit] Geography

Kingsburg is located at 36°31′6″N, 119°33′12″W (36.518342, -119.553332)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 km² (2.3 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 9,199 people, 3,226 households, and 2,458 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,517.8/km² (3,933.4/mi²). There were 3,358 housing units at an average density of 554.1/km² (1,435.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.93% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 2.74% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 19.61% from other races, and 4.46% from two or more races. 34.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,226 households out of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,490, and the median income for a family was $44,737. Males had a median income of $35,452 versus $23,409 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,137. About 10.4% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Swedish Festival

One of the best times to visit Kingsburg is during its four-day long Swedish Festival held in May before it gets too hot during Midsummer. There are pancake breakfasts, parades and the coronation of the Festival Queen and dance around the maypole. The festivities have become more and more authentically Swedish in later years after locals started travelling more to Sweden and more present day Swedes visited and also settled down in the area.