San Marcos, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| San Marcos, California | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | San Diego |
| Area | |
| - Total | 23.9 sq mi (61.7 km²) |
| - Land | 23.8 sq mi (61.5 km²) |
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²) |
| Elevation | 581 ft (177 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 54,977 |
| - Density | 2,300.3/sq mi (891/km²) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 92069 |
| Area code(s) | 760 |
| FIPS code | 06-68196 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1661388 |
San Marcos is a city located in the northern portion of San Diego County, California, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,977. Outside the San Diego region, it is best known as the home of California State University, San Marcos.
According to historical legends, the San Luis Rey Mission flocks were robbed by a small band of Indians in the late 1700s. Fleeing the Spanish troops, the Indians escaped to the hills. While pursuing the Indians, the Spaniards came upon a fertile valley in 1797 which was named Los Vallecitos de San Marcos (Little Valleys of Saint Mark) to honor the day of discovery: April 25th, “St. Mark’s Day”. On April 22, 1840 Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, granted Los Vallecitos de San Marcos to his relative, Jose Mario Alvarado. In 1846 Indians killed Jose Alvarado and the land was left to his wife; she then sold the land to Lorenzo Soto. In the late 1850s, Soto sold part of his land to Cave Couts and his family was soon raising livestock. Although Cave Couts owned the land, Major Gustavus French Merriam from Topeka, Kansas made the first permanent settlement. Merriam homesteaded 160 acres in the north Twin Oaks Valley and began wine and honey production.
After Major Merriam’s settlement, German and Dutch immigrants began moving into the area in the early 1880s. Then in 1883 a few miles south of the settlement, John H. Barham founded the first town in the area, aptly naming it Barham. By 1884, the Town of Barham had a post office, blacksmith, feed store and a weekly newspaper. In 1887 the San Marcos Land Company bought almost all of the San Marcos land formerly owned by the Couts family and promptly divided the land into tracts. Soon the beautiful hills began attracting home-seekers.
The original town of San Marcos was at the intersection of what is now Grand Avenue and Rancho Santa Fe Road. In 1887 the Santa Fe Railroad announced that it was going to lay tracks going through the valley, but to the disappointment of the citizens, the tracks were laid one mile away from the center of the town. By 1896, San Marcos was a community with its own stores, post office, blacksmith and railroad depot. In 1903, the town appeared to be going downhill so the people of San Marcos picked up their homes and moved along the railroad tracks to what now are Mission Road and Pico Avenue. In 1905, the town had every convenience, including rural mail delivery and telephone service. The first school in the area, which had started in Barham in 1880, was moved in 1889 to San Marcos. Later that same year, the Richland School was built, being the second school in San Marcos. The main business in San Marcos in the 1800s and early 1900s was farming. Then in the mid-1900s, dairies and poultry production became a big part of the business in the town. In 1907, the most popular building was built in San Marcos -- the general store. The Post Office was located at the corner of Mission and Pico.
San Marcos initially started to grow in 1956 when the first water from the Colorado River arrived. After the arrival of water, several small businesses started and the population rapidly increased to 2500. Then in 1950, the first dirt was turned for the construction of Highway 78 and San Marcos’ first high school was completed in June 1961. The City became incorporated on January 28, 1963. Through the 1960s the City grew by a few thousand new residents, but in the 1970s, San Marcos was flourishing as the third fastest growing city in the state with a population of 17,479 by 1980. During the 1980s, San Marcos almost doubled its population to 33,800. Growth has continued to boom in San Marcos, and the present population of the City is at 82,743.
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[edit] Geography
San Marcos is located at (33.142077, -117.170233)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 61.7 km² (23.8 mi²). 61.5 km² (23.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.29%) is water.
[edit] Colleges and universities
San Marcos is home to California State University, San Marcos (Cal State San Marcos), as well Palomar College and Coleman College.
[edit] Government
San Marcos is governed by a council-manager system. The city council consists of a mayor and four City Council Members, who are elected at-large to alternating four-year terms. The current mayor is Jim Desmond. Current City Council Members are Rebecca Jones, Hal Martin, Chris Orlando and Mike Preston. The current City Manager is Paul Malone.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 54,977 people, 18,111 households, and 13,221 families residing in the city. The population density was 893.4/km² (2,314.3/mi²). There were 18,862 housing units at an average density of 306.5/km² (794.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.39% White, 2.00% Black, 0.82% Native American, 4.67% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 20.39% from other races, and 4.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.87% of the population.
There were 18,111 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.46.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,908, and the median income for a family was $51,292. Males had a median income of $36,297 versus $27,015 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,657. About 7.8% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
San Marcos has a diversity of races and ethnic groups common in suburban communities (not ranked, but for example): Irish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, Russian, Armenian, Iranian, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Mexican, Salvadorian, Argentine, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Hawaiian and Samoan.[citation needed]
[edit] Current estimates
According to estimates by the San Diego Association of Governments, the median household income of San Marcos in 2005 was $63,558 (not adjusted for inflation). When adjusted for inflation (1999 dollars; comparable to Census data above), the median household income was $51,611.
[edit] Politics
In the state legislature San Marcos is located in the 38th Senate District, represented by Republican Mark Wyland, and in the 74th Assembly District, represented by Republican Martin Garrick. Federally, San Marcos is located in California's 50th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +5[3] and is represented by Republican Brian Bilbray.
[edit] Attractions
San Marcos is known for having some of the best restaurants in North County. Old California Restaurant Row features a large concentration of restaurants offering a variety of cuisines. All of the following are available: steaks, fish, burgers, health food, and a variety of ethnic cuisine (reflects the local diversity of Asian, European, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander groups). San Marcos also features a variety of English pubs in proximity to "Restaurant Row" which is the home of Market Street Cafe & Bistro. Other popular restaurants include The Old Spaghetti Factory, Applebee's, the newly-opened Elephant Bar & Grill, Pat and Oscar's, Market Street Cafe, and Sammy's Woodfired Pizza. Additionally, there's an Asian restaurant called Pei Wei.
San Marcos features several golf courses, notably Lake San Marcos itself a recreational venue. San Marcos borders Carlsbad, which offers an array of golfing and tennis. Other golf courses in the area include the Aviara and La Costa resort golf courses.
People interested in technology often visit San Marcos due to the large Fry's Electronics, which features an Atlantis theme. Recently, the growth of Cal State San Marcos has led to great opportunities for youth (such as the high-tech sector) are increasingly setting up workshop in the city's robust economy.
San Marcos is also known throughout San Diego county for being home to a vast amount of furniture stores, known as "Furniture Row" on Los Vallecitos Blvd, along the 78 freeway.
San Marco is home to a large population of retired persons and older adults. There are a variety of businesses offering services to this population.
[edit] External links
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?. Campaign Legal Center Blog. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- San Marcos (California) travel guide from Wikitravel
- Official City of San Marcos Site
- San Marcos Chamber of Commerce
- San Marcos, California is at coordinates Coordinates:
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