Tulare County, California

County of Tulare
Garden of the Sun
—  County  —

Seal
Tulare County's location in California
California's location in the United States
Country  United States
State  California
Region Central California
Metro area Visalia-Porterville Metropolitan Area
Incorporated 1852
Named for Tulare Lake
County seat Visalia
Incorporated cities 8
Government
 • County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau
 • Board of Supervisors
Area
 • Total 12,533.2 km2 (4,839.09 sq mi)
 • Land 12,494 km2 (4,823.97 sq mi)
 • Water 39.2 km2 (15.12 sq mi)
Highest elevation[1] 4,421 m (14,505 ft)
Population (2010)
 • Total 442,179
 • Density 35.3/km2 (91.4/sq mi)
Time zone Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area code(s) 559
Website co.tulare.ca.us

Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner (shared with Fresno County), and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border (shared with Inyo County). As of the 2010 census, the population was 442,179, up from 368,021 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Visalia.

The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. Drained for agricultural development, the site is now in Kings County, which was created in 1893 from the western portion of the formerly larger Tulare County.

Contents

History

The land was occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. Beginning in the seventeenth century, Spain established missions to colonize the area and convert the American Indians to Christianity. Comandante Pedro Fages, while hunting for deserters in 1772, discovered a great lake surrounded by marshes and filled with rushes; he named it Los Tules (the tules). It is from this lake that the county derives its name. The root of the name Tulare is found in the Mexican word tullin, designating cattail or similar reeds.

After Mexico achieved independence, it continued to rule California. The United States defeated Mexico in 1848, and European Americans formed Tulare County from parts of Mariposa County in 1852. Parts of the county's territory were given to Fresno County in 1856, to Kern County in 1866, to Inyo County in 1866 and Kings County in 1893.

The infectious disease Tularemia caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis is named after Tulare County.

In 1908 Colonel Allen Allensworth and associates founded Allensworth as a black farming community. They intended to develop a place where African Americans could thrive free of white discrimination. It was the only community in California founded, financed and governed by African Americans. While its first years were highly successful, the community encountered environmental problems from dropping water tables which eventually caused it to fail. Today the historic area is preserved as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Economy

The dairy industry, with sales of milk products, brings in the most revenue for the county, typically more than US$ 1 billion a year annually. Oranges, grapes, and cattle-related commodities also earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

In 2001, Tulare became the most productive county in the U.S. in terms of agricultural revenues, at US$ 3.5 billion annually. It surpassed Fresno County's US$ 3.2 billion, which had held the top spot for over two decades. Due to the importance of agriculture in the county as well as its location in the state, since 1968 the city of Tulare has been the site of the annual World Ag Expo,[2] the world's largest agricultural exposition.

Minor league sports teams, such as the baseball Visalia Rawhide of the class-A level California League (an affiliate to the Arizona Diamondbacks), two teams of the Minor League Football Association in Tulare and Visalia, and four teams of the Central California Basketball League based in Porterville, attract many residents and add to the amenities in the county.

Top employers

According to the County's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report[3], the top employers in the county are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 County of Tulare 4,320
2 Porterville Developmental Center 3,000
3 Kaweah Delta Medical Center 2,000
4 Ruiz Foods 1,800
5 Wal-Mart 1,692
6 College of the Sequoias 1,160
7 Cigna 900
8 Jostens 720
9 Land O'Lakes 600
10 Monrovia Nursery 600

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 4,839.09 square miles (12,533.2 km2), of which 4,823.97 square miles (12,494.0 km2) (or 99.69%) is land and 15.12 square miles (39.2 km2) (or 0.31%) is water.[4]

Cities, towns, and unincorporated communities

Incorporated cities
Census-designated places (CDPs)
Other unincorporated communities
Indian reservations

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

Public transportation

Tulare County Transit provides a countywide bus service linking the population centers. A connection to Delano in Kern County is also operated.

The cities of Tulare, Porterville, and Visalia have their own local bus services.

Greyhound and Orange Belt Stages provide long-distance, intercity bus service.

Airports

The Visalia Municipal Airport has very limited commercial passenger service. Sequoia Field, just north of Visalia, is a county-owned general aviation airport. The Porterville Municipal Airport is a city-owned airport for the city of Porterville, offers general aviation to the public, it is also home to Porterville Air Attack Base on the south part of the airport. Mefford Field is a city-owned general aviation airport located in Tulare.

The nearest full operation commercial airports are Bakersfield's Meadows Field Airport to the South, and Fresno's Fresno Yosemite International Airport to the North.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Tulare County had a population of 442,179. The racial makeup of Tulare County was 265,618 (60.1%) White, 7,196 (1.6%) African American, 6,993 (1.6%) Native American, 15,176 (3.4%) Asian, 509 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 128,263 (29.0%) from other races, and 18,424 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 268,065 persons (60.6%).[5]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
Tulare County 442,179 265,618 7,196 6,993 15,176 509 128,263 18,424 268,065
Incorporated
cities
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
Dinuba 21,453 11,166 141 193 454 17 8,630 852 18,114
Exeter 10,334 7,150 67 171 138 8 2,416 384 4,703
Farmersville 10,588 5,295 60 213 72 5 4,494 449 8,876
Lindsay 11,768 6,480 85 128 267 4 4,367 437 10,056
Porterville 75,659 48,802 1,200 3,304 4,098 276 22,936 2,571 47,283
Tulare 59,278 36,347 2,328 694 1,276 80 15,713 2,840 34,062
Visalia 124,442 80,203 2,627 1,730 6,768 164 27,249 5,701 57,262
Woodlake 7,279 3,691 37 108 52 9 3,072 310 6,381
Census-designated
places
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
Allensworth 471 158 22 0 8 0 279 4 436
Alpaugh 1,026 381 4 11 4 0 597 29 867
California Hot Springs 37 34 0 0 1 0 0 2 3
Camp Nelson 97 94 0 0 0 0 2 1 6
Cedar Slope 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cutler 5,000 2,421 50 53 64 1 2,241 170 4,829
Delft Colony 454 213 13 0 0 0 224 4 428
Ducor 612 251 0 15 20 0 302 24 502
Earlimart 8,537 3,193 67 45 536 0 4,303 393 7,805
East Orosi 495 209 0 5 2 1 261 17 466
East Porterville 6,767 3,660 65 153 102 58 2,431 298 4,930
East Tulare Villa 778 491 9 6 10 0 226 36 428
El Rancho 124 71 1 1 0 0 49 2 117
Goshen 3,006 1,186 76 90 11 1 1,496 146 2,482
Hartland 30 27 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Idlewild 43 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ivanhoe 4,495 2,002 19 80 29 1 2,221 143 3,752
Kennedy Meadows 28 25 0 1 0 0 2 0 3
Lemon Cove 308 261 0 5 3 2 12 25 76
Lindcove 406 284 2 15 0 0 96 9 197
Linnell Camp 849 397 3 18 8 0 393 30 832
London 1,869 761 6 46 0 0 976 80 1,737
Matheny 1,212 651 44 24 4 0 436 53 890
McClenney Tract 10 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Monson 188 121 1 5 4 0 57 0 147
Orosi 8,770 3,861 65 57 803 1 3,638 345 7,606
Panorama Heights 41 35 1 1 0 0 4 0 4
Patterson Tract 1,752 999 0 33 73 0 577 70 1,133
Pierpoint 52 51 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Pine Flat 166 158 0 3 3 0 0 2 11
Pixley 3,310 1,473 90 28 16 0 1,587 116 2,675
Plainview 945 358 8 20 2 0 517 40 865
Ponderosa 16 13 0 0 0 0 1 2 4
Poplar-Cotton Center 2,470 1,729 1 15 356 0 327 42 1,809
Posey 10 6 0 3 0 0 0 1 3
Poso Park 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Richgrove 2,882 1,068 20 38 140 7 1,521 88 2,705
Rodriguez Camp 156 51 0 0 0 0 98 7 151
Sequoia Crest 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Seville 480 200 0 5 0 0 259 16 458
Silver City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Springville 934 836 5 20 7 0 25 41 109
Strathmore 2,819 1,490 12 41 7 1 1,162 106 2,238
Sugarloaf Mountain Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sugarloaf Saw Mill 18 14 0 0 0 0 1 3 4
Sugarloaf Village 10 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Sultana 775 315 0 3 6 0 424 27 695
Terra Bella 3,310 1,426 5 20 75 2 1,733 49 2,894
Teviston 1,214 449 50 9 10 0 640 56 1,039
Three Rivers 2,182 1,976 7 27 31 1 75 65 212
Tipton 2,543 1,535 3 15 9 0 924 57 2,147
Tonyville 316 178 0 0 12 0 115 11 286
Tooleville 339 145 5 19 8 2 148 12 279
Traver 713 302 1 22 6 2 357 23 551
Waukena 108 86 0 3 0 0 19 0 45
West Goshen 511 276 2 10 7 0 195 21 358
Wilsonia 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Woodville 1,740 1,345 1 31 6 0 324 33 1,545
Yettem 211 48 5 0 0 0 148 10 199
Unincorporated
communities
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined) 67,213 46,040 512 1,753 1,245 78 15,416 2,169 34,101

2000

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 368,021 people, 110,385 households, and 87,093 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 119,639 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.08% White, 1.59% Black or African American, 1.56% Native American, 3.27% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 30.79% from other races, and 4.60% from two or more races. 50.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 6.2% were of American, 5.7% German and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 56.3% spoke English, 38.9% Spanish and 1.1% Portuguese as their first language.

There were 110,385 households out of which 44.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.67.

In the county the population was spread out with 33.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,983, and the median income for a family was $36,297. Males had a median income of $30,892 versus $24,589 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,006. About 18.8% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Crime statistics

(reported by the sheriff's office or county police)[7]

Politics

Tulare County vote
by party in presidential elections
Year GOP DEM Others
2008 56.9% 59,765 41.5% 43,634 2.0% 2,126
2004 66.2% 65,399 32.9% 32,494 1.0% 967
2000 60.2% 54,070 36.8% 33,006 3.1% 2,742
1996 53.9% 46,272 38.1% 32,669 8.1% 6,905
1992 45.7% 40,482 35.2% 31,188 19.1% 16,883
1988 59.6% 46,891 39.0% 30,711 1.4% 1,067
1984 63.9% 51,066 35.1% 28,065 1.0% 812
1980 58.3% 41,317 35.5% 25,155 6.2% 4,374
1976 54.5% 31,864 43.7% 25,551 1.8% 1,027
1972 59.9% 36,048 36.2% 21,775 3.9% 2,327
1968 52.2% 29,314 39.5% 22,180 8.4% 4,695
1964 39.8% 22,527 60.1% 33,974 0.1% 51
1960 54.0% 29,456 45.6% 24,887 0.4% 239
1956 52.5% 26,051 47.2% 23,407 0.3% 160
1952 57.1% 30,108 42.1% 22,208 0.8% 437
1948 47.0% 18,414 50.2% 19,681 2.8% 1,097
1944 49.3% 16,005 50.0% 16,221 0.7% 238
1940 42.9% 15,414 56.0% 20,129 1.2% 428
1936 30.8% 8,624 67.7% 18,956 1.6% 435
1932 32.3% 8,066 62.5% 15,631 5.2% 1,302
1928 63.8% 12,057 35.1% 6,635 1.2% 218
1924 50.8% 9,484 18.3% 3,425 30.9% 5,765
1920 61.3% 9,136 32.4% 4,837 6.3% 941

Tulare is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democratic candidate for President to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Tulare is part of California's 21st congressional district, which is held by Republican Devin Nunes. In the State Assembly, Tulare is in the 29th, 30th, 31st, and 34th districts. The 31st is held by Democrat Henry Perea, while the 29th, 30th, and 34th are held by Republicans Linda Halderman, Danny Gilmore, and Connie Conway, respectively. In the State Senate, Tulare is part of the 16th and 18th districts, which are held by Democrat Michael Rubio and Republican Jean Fuller respectively.

Lakes

  • Columbine Lake
  • Crescent Lake
  • Franklin Lakes
  • Rockslide Lake
  • Lake Kaweah
  • Weaver Lake
  • Arctic Lake
  • Bullfrog Lakes
  • Rocky Basin Lakes
  • Lake Success

Rivers

  • Needlerock River
  • Monarch River
  • Monache River
  • Negro River
  • Tule River

Parks

  • Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
  • Lake Kaweah Recreation Area
  • Allensworth Historic District
  • Balch Park
  • Cutler Park
  • Woodville Park
  • West Main Street Park
  • Mooney Grove Park / Ancient Oak Forest Preserve
  • Sequoia National Park
  • Horse Creek Recreation Area
  • Lackeys Cabin
  • Mineral King Game Refuge
  • Alpaugh Park
  • Kings River Nature Preserve
  • Bartlett Park

Sequoia National Park

Main article: Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia, California, in the United States of America. It was established in 1890 as the second U.S. national park, after Yellowstone National Park. The park spans 404,051 acres (1,635.14 km2). Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet (3,962 m), the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service as one unit, called Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Clemmie Gill School Of Science And Conservation

Clemmie Gill School Of Science And Conservation is an outdoor school (first in California,) that all 5th and 6th graders are sent for either a week or a day, depending on the age.

See also

References

  1. ^ Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, on border with Inyo County.
  2. ^ World Ag Expo
  3. ^ County of Tulare CAFR
  4. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
  5. ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau. http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/California/. 
  6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  7. ^ "city-data-Tulare_County-CA". analyzed data from numerous sources. http://www.city-data.com/county/Tulare_County-CA.html. Retrieved 04-07-2009. 

External links

Fresno County
Kings County Inyo County
   Tulare County, California    
Kern County
Municipalities and communities of Tulare County, California, USA
Cities
CDPs
Unincorporated
communities
Ghost town
Indian
reservation
 State of California
Topics
Society
Regions
Metro areas
Micro areas
Counties