Armona, California

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Coordinates: 36°18′46″N 119°42′30″W / 36.31278, -119.70833
Armona, California
Location in Kings County and the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kings
Area
- Total	1.9 sq mi (5 km²)
- Land	1.9 sq mi (5 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	236 ft (72 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,239
- Density	1,704.7/sq mi (647.8/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93202
Area code(s)	559
FIPS code	06-02700
GNIS feature ID	1652665

Armona is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kings County, California, United States. It is part of the Hanford - Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,239 at the 2000 census. Armona's motto is "Small But Proud".

Armona, California.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Transportation
5 Education
6 Politics
7 Notable People
8 Notable Sites
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Geography

Armona is located at 36°18′46″N, 119°42′30″W (36.312673, -119.708239)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.9 square miles (5.0 km²), all of it land.

[edit] History

The name "Armona" was applied to the townsite by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1891. Reportedly, the name was coined by transposing the first two letters of the name "Ramona".^[2]

The first school in the Armona vicinity was the Giddings School built in 1880. The Giddings School District was renamed Armona in 1907. A new brick school house was constructed in the early 1920s. As that structure did not comply with California's earthquake standards, that structure was replaced in 1953 with what is now the Armona Elementary School.^[3]

A post office was established in the community in 1887.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 3,239 people, 961 households, and 786 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,688.3 people per square mile (651.3/km²). There were 1,012 housing units at an average density of 527.5/sq mi (203.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 56.25% White, 4.29% Black or African American, 2.41% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 29.98% from other races, and 5.50% from two or more races. 48.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 961 households out of which 47.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 13.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.37 and the average family size was 3.68.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 35.4% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 18.6% 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 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,790, and the median income for a family was $32,232. Males had a median income of $26,905 versus $22,981 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $11,850. About 24.2% of families and 26.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.8% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Bus

Kings Area Rural Transit (KART) operates regularly scheduled fixed route bus service, vanpool service for commuters and Dial-A-Ride (demand response) services throughout Kings County as well as to Fresno [1].

[edit] Major highway

Highway 198

[edit] Rail

Amtrak provides passenger service to Hanford, which is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Armona. Freight service is available from the San Joaquin Valley Railroad, which passes through Armona.

[edit] Education

Public schools in the community are operated by the Armona Union Elementary School District. They include:

Armona Elementary School
Parkview Middle School

The District also sponsors the Crossroads Charter Academy, a K-12 independent study charter school.

There is one K-12 private school, Armona Union Academy, which is operated by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Armona is in the Hanford Joint Union High School District.

Nearby community colleges include the Hanford campus of College of the Sequoias and the Lemoore campus of West Hills College.

[edit] Politics

In the state legislature, Armona is located in the 16th Senate District, represented by Democrat Dean Florez, and in the 30th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Nicole Parra. Federally, Armona is located in California's 20th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +5^[5] and is represented by Democrat Jim Costa.

Armona is represented on the Kings County Board of Supervisors by Tony Barba of Hanford.

[edit] Notable People

Lyn Lary (Lynford Hobart Lary) was born on January 28, 1906 in Armona. He died January 9, 1973 in Downey, CA. He played shortstop for six different teams in his twelve-year career in Major League Baseball, beginning his rookie year on May 11, 1929 with the New York Yankees. His final game was on August 7, 1940 with the St. Louis Browns. He played in the 1932 World Series with the Yankees alongside Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Murderers' Row. Lary finished MVP in voting twice in 1935 as 24th and in 1937 as 19th.

[edit] Notable Sites

Raven's Deli, located on 14th Avenue and operated by Bill Raven and his family, produces various meats and foodstuffs. Raven's Brand jerky is sold throughout the region and easily recognized by its distinctive taste and black raven on a bright yellow background on the otherwise clear bag. Raven's also markets its own line of meat seasonings that is sold at local grocery stores.