Waterford, California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waterford is the eighth largest city of the 9 incorporated cities in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 6,924 at the 2000 census, but is believed to number above 8,000 today.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 City Quirks
5 History
6 Trivia
7 Notes
8 External links

[edit] Geography

View of Tuolumne River

Waterford is located at 37°38′42″N, 120°46′3″W (37.645132, -120.767609)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²). 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.23%) is water.

The city was founded around the Tuolumne River.

City population signs report that Waterford's elevation is 50 feet above sea level.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 6,924 people, 1,990 households, and 1,681 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,670.9/km² (4,338.1/mi²). There were 2,080 housing units at an average density of 501.9/km² (1,303.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.24% White, 0.48% African American, 1.53% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 19.99% from other races, and 4.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.44% of the population.

There were 1,990 households out of which 52.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.5% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.47 and the average family size was 3.71.

In the city the population was spread out with 36.4% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,286, and the median income for a family was $41,698. Males had a median income of $32,530 versus $25,341 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,933. About 11.2% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Waterford High School Campus

Waterford received a high school (Waterford High School) in 2001. There are about five hundred students, and about four hundred alumni. Their website can be visited here. Their mascot is the Wildcat. The campus cost nearly 14 Million Dollars in tax payers' money, but was generally thought to be a good move for the city of Waterford.

Waterford's elementary school is also known as Richard Moon Elementary School.

Waterford Middle School.

[edit] City Quirks

The Bait Barn

The Infamous Cup Tree

The relatively small city of Waterford is known for its characteristic and peculiar quirks. Business names have been humorous at times, such as the Blockmaster Video, whose name is derived from the Blockbuster Video rental chain; and also Dizzy Dee's Dumpy Diner in the 1980s. There was also Christy's More Items. Cheap Jimmy's on E Street proclaimed that they dealt in the bizarre combination of "Candy, gold, cigarettes." The Bait Barn is an all purpose establishment created from a retrofit barn that currently sells gasoline, packaged food, and fishing bait. The most strikingly peculiar landmark is the Cup Tree (also known as the Mug Tree). The owner of the Cup Tree claims it is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having over 2,500 cups on it, but this has not yet been verified.

[edit] History

The community which became Waterford began to form in the latter half of the 19th century, after surrounding regions had filled with 49ers. Around this time the area was known as Bakersville, after one of the town's major influential members. It soon became apparent that mail was being mistaken between Bakersville and Bakersfield, California, and the smaller of the two was forced to change its name. At this time, the Tuolumne River had no bridge, and instead was crossed by a ford on the waterfront. Since the area was well known for this particular ford, the town adopted the name of Waterford. For several decades, a regular steam locomotive could traverse the Tuolumne in Waterford on a tressel, which was demolished in the second half of the 20th century. There are now no longer railway lines running through or near Waterford, even though many maps will still show the tracks going through the post office building.

As early as 1989 students attending Waterford schools were bussed if they needed to cross California State Route 132 to reach school. Sound levels at the Waterford Junior High School have been determined to be approximately 64 dBA, primarily due to roadway noise from Highway 132;(Earth Metrics, 1990) this sound level is considered generally unacceptable from the standpoint of speech interference, safety and health effects.

[edit] Trivia

The city received its first stoplight in 2001.

The founder of Waterford, W.W. Baker, from which the original city got its name Bakersville, can be found buried miles east of Waterford in the Roberts Ferry Cemetery just off Yosemite Blvd. Mr. Baker came to Waterford from his native Arkansas.

The city's only known visit by a U.S. President occurred when then Congressman Richard M. Nixon made a quick campaign visit during the 1950 election for U.S. Senate. On May 10, 1950, Fager and Ted Brooks were cutting hair inside the Waterford Barber Shop which was located in what is now a vacant lot next to the floral shop on Bentley Street. Fager recalls the heavy-jowled Nixon walk through the door with others, introduced himself and handed them campaign literature and asked for their vote. “I don’t remember anything particular about Nixon, only that he seemed friendly,” Fager recalled. “I admired him at the time for making an effort to visit such a little town as Waterford.”

Other celebrities who have visited include Slim Pickens (who bought some nails at the hardware store), future California Lieutenant Gov. John Garamendi (rode in the 1980 Western Heritage Day Parade), actors Richard Kiel and Daniel Roebuck, and country western singers Hal Ketcham and Hank Thompson, who performed at Big Bear Park.

The first mayor of Waterford was the late Richard Moon.

Waterford once was home to Big Bear Park, a waterslide and RV park. However, the park was sold by the Bearden family for development of River Pointe, a gated community developed by Kimball Hills and Grupe development companies.

[edit] Notes

Earth Metrics Incorporated, "Waterford Junior High School, California Environmental Quality Act, Enviornmental Assessment", Waterford Unified School District, prepared for the State of California Environmental Clearinghouse, Report No. 7895W1.001, February 2, 1990.