Tracy, California

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11th Street and Central Avenue, Tracy
11th Street and Central Avenue, Tracy

Tracy is a city in San Joaquin County, California, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,929, but a July 1, 2005 Census estimate showed the fast-growing city's population rose to 75,800.

Tracy is located east of the San Francisco Bay Area, around 21 miles east of Livermore, California and just past Altamont Pass. It is considered by some to be an exurb of San Jose and San Francisco, because many residents commute over the congested Interstate 580 to job centers in the Bay Area. Interstate 205 on the north side of the city connects I-580 to Interstate 5 and California State Route 120, which goes to Yosemite National Park. I-580 also connects to I-5 south of the city for a route many Bay Area travelers take to Southern California. Together, I-580, I-205, and I-5 form a triangle around much of the city. The city is also west of nearby Modesto, Stockton, California, and Manteca, California.

Contents

[edit] History

Yes, indeed, I said to myself, look out now, and I hung on. You never saw a driving fool like that. He made Tracy in no time. Tracy is a railroad town; brakemen eat surly meals in diners by the tracks. Trains howl away across the valley. The sun goes down long and red.

-Jack Kerouac, On the Road

The poet summed up best the birth of Tracy, California. The town sprung from the new line of the Central Pacific Railroad on September 8, 1878 out of the San Francisco Bay, and kept growing since. The area, once home and hunting grounds of the Ohlone and Miwok Indians, largely became a railroad and agricultural town named after a local railroad official. Incorporated in 1910 and flushed with new irrigation ditches, it remained rural until the late 20th century when housing and commercial development turned the dusty, farming town into a sleepy, suburban enclave. Affordable housing and relatively safe neighborhoods and schools brought an influx of commuters from the San Francisco and Sacramento/Stockton area, fleeing the skyrocketing costs of living in these cities.

The Deuel Vocational Institution, a state prison, opened on Kasson Road east of Tracy in 1953. It covers 783 acres (3.2 km²). DVI is in the process of being repurposed from a vocational institution to a processing center for prisoners bound elsewhere in the state prison system.

Today, though still surrounded by farmlands, orchards, and ranches, the city of Tracy boasts modern facilities and wide, tree-lined arterials and caters to demographics outside of its old railroad and agricultural past. Current and expected future growth in the Tracy area has even resulted in effort, led by former Congressman and local landowner Richard Pombo, to construct a freeway over the nearby Diablo Range to San Jose, the road paralleling the existing, congested Interstate 580 over the Altamont Pass. Following a trend among similarly-sized California communities, however, an increasingly vocal group of residents (most organized under the banner of the "Tracy Regional Alliance for a Quality Community") has successfully called for slowed residential growth.

The city bills itself as the "Dry Bean Capital of the World," and the Tracy Dry Bean Festival is held downtown every year on the second weekend of September.

[edit] Geography and environment

Located in the Central Valley, Tracy sits atop fertile agricultural lands, which have come under increasing development pressure as the San Francisco Bay Area's vigorous population growth has spilled over into the Tracy area as well as other fringe locations. Because of the historic use of DDT on area row crops, there are residual issues of soil contamination from this substance and related persistent chemicals.[1] There is also a historic area chloroform groundwater plume associated with Georgia Pacific operations in the area. Faults considered active in the Tracy area are the Black Butte Fault, Midway Fault and Carnegie Corral Fault.[2] The San Joaquin Fault traverses the Tracy area and is a potential source of risk for seismic events.[3] Other nearby active faults not actually traversing the Tracy area are the San Andreas and Hayward Faults.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 56,929 people, 17,620 households, and 14,307 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,046.7/km² (2,711.3/mi²). There were 18,087 housing units at an average density of 332.5/km² (861.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.22% White, 5.48% African American, 0.91% Native American, 8.14% Asian, 0.55% Pacific Islander, 13.08% from other races, and 6.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.69% of the population.

There were 17,620 households out of which 51.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,794, and the median income for a family was $67,464. Males had a median income of $50,095 versus $35,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,397. About 5.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

According to a 2006 study, Tracy was the 56th safest city in the United States.[1]

[edit] Local Media

Tracy's newspaper is the Tracy Press, a five-day a week tabloid owned since the 19th century by the Matthews family.

[edit] Sister City

Tracy's sister city is Memuro, Japan.

[edit] Famous Tracyites

[edit] References

  1. ^ Phase One Environmental Site Assessment, Circle B Ranch, Tracy, California, Earth Metrics Inc, San Mateo, Ca., October 16, 1989
  2. ^ Seismic Safety Element of the General Plan, city of Tracy, California
  3. ^ J. M. Sowers, W. R. Lettis, and G. D. Simpson, Quaternary Deformation at the East Front of the Diablo Range near Tracy, California, USGS Award No.: 1434-HQ-97-GR-03011

[edit] External links

  v • d • e San Joaquin County, California
County Seat: Stockton
Incorporated
places

Escalon • Lathrop • Lodi • Manteca • Ripon • Stockton • Tracy
CDPs

August • Country Club • Farmington • French Camp • Garden Acres • Kennedy • Lincoln Village • Linden • Lockeford • Morada • North Woodbridge • South Woodbridge • Taft Mosswood
Other
unincorporated
communities

Banta • Mountain House
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