Blackhawk, California

Blackhawk
—  census-designated place  —
Blackhawk
Location in California
Coordinates:
Country  United States
State  California
County Contra Costa County
Area[1]
 • Total 5.811 sq mi (15.050 km2)
 • Land 5.801 sq mi (15.025 km2)
 • Water 0.010 sq mi (0.025 km2)  0.17%
Elevation[2] 997 ft (304 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 9,354
 • Density 1,609.8/sq mi (621.5/km2)
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)

Blackhawk is an unincorporated master planned community and census-designated place[3] located in Contra Costa County, California, east of Danville and Oakland. The ZIP Code is 94506. The community is inside area code 925.

Contents

Blackhawk Ranch, 1917 to 1979

Blackhawk Ranch was established in 1917 by Ansel Mills Easton and his son-in-law William Q. Ward, in an area east of the San Ramon and Sycamore Valleys. The name came from a famous Irish racehorse named Blackhawk that Easton's family had once owned. The land passed through the hands of several owners, including Raymond Force (the owner of the Caterpillar Tractor Company), the Hawaii-based sugar and pineapple company Castle & Cooke and Howard Peterson (owner of Peterson Tractor). [4]

In 1975, Peterson sold the land to Florida developer Ken Behring, who planned a housing development of 4800 dwelling units over 4200 acres (17 km²) of land. Critics charged that the plan would have various negative impacts, related to urban sprawl, environmental damage and violations of the County General Plan. A group of environmentalists and local residents called Amigos de Diablo organized against the Blackhawk Development Corporation, but were sued for libel. The Blackhawk Development Corporation finally reduced the number of homes planned to 2400 and offered more than 2000 acres (8 km²) of open space to Mount Diablo State Park. [5]

Communities

Blackhawk is divided into six individual gated communities scattered along Blackhawk Road, connected by a 3-mile (4.8 km) long jogging trail.

Blackhawk Country Club

Opened in 1979, Blackhawk Country Club is a highly exclusive 4,800 acre (19 km²) country club community at the base of Mt. Diablo where luxurious residential neighborhoods are surrounded by thousands of acres of permanent open lands. Eagle Ridge Dr. gives way to a separate gate which leads to extremely exclusive estates, including the 28,673-square-foot (2,663.8 m2) Behring estate.

In the middle of Country Club West is the 6,904 yard (6,313 m) Lakeside golf course, designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge. The Lakeside course annually hosts the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge, an event on the LPGA Tour. The newer 6,700 yard (6,126 m) Falls golf course, designed by Ted Robinson, winds through Country Club East. Blackhawk's Tennis Club includes 20 tennis courts, a clubhouse and a pro shop. The Blackhawk Swim Club includes a competition-sized pool, a spa and dressing rooms and offers instructional programs. The 25 acre (100,000 m²) Sports and Recreation Center includes basketball courts, outdoor volleyball courts, a children's play park, Olympic-sized pool, sports fields and an amphitheater.

Land use

Blackhawk Plaza

Blackhawk Plaza is a shopping center located outside the Blackhawk Country Club. It includes retail stores, restaurants, a movie theater and two museums, including the Blackhawk Museum.

Notable residents

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census[6] reported that Blackhawk had a population of 9,354. The population density was 1,609.7 people per square mile (621.5/km²). The racial makeup of Blackhawk was 6,882 (73.6%) White, 172 (1.8%) African American, 15 (0.2%) Native American, 1,801 (19.3%) Asian, 8 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 75 (0.8%) from other races, and 401 (4.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 464 persons (5.0%).

The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.

There were 3,345 households, out of which 1,241 (37.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,661 (79.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 155 (4.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 86 (2.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 76 (2.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 21 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 355 households (10.6%) were made up of individuals and 145 (4.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80. There were 2,902 families (86.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.00.

The population was spread out with 2,271 people (24.3%) under the age of 18, 502 people (5.4%) aged 18 to 24, 1,394 people (14.9%) aged 25 to 44, 3,875 people (41.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,312 people (14.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.0 years. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.

There were 3,477 housing units at an average density of 598.3 per square mile (231.0/km²), of which 3,044 (91.0%) were owner-occupied, and 301 (9.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.8%. 8,400 people (89.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 954 people (10.2%) lived in rental housing units.

Popular culture

Blackhawk is mentioned in the hit song Salvation by the punk band Rancid.

See also

References

  1. ^ U.S. Census
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Blackhawk, California
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Blackhawk, California
  4. ^ "Blackhawk & The Mountain–A Twentieth Century History". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927102439/http://www.mdia.org/blackhawkhistory.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-03. 
  5. ^ "Blackhawk - The Name, the Ranch, the Homes". http://www.museumsrv.org/srvm_History_Blackhawk.html. Retrieved 2007-12-03. 
  6. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.

External links