Rosamond, California

Rosamond
census-designated place
View of part of Rosamond, CA
Location in Kern County and the state of California
Rosamond Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°51′51″N 118°09′48″W / 34.86417°N 118.16333°W / 34.86417; -118.16333Coordinates: 34°51′51″N 118°09′48″W / 34.86417°N 118.16333°W / 34.86417; -118.16333
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kern
Government
• Senate	Jean Fuller (R)
• Assembly	Tom Lackey (R)
• U. S. Congress	Kevin McCarthy (R)
Area[1]
• Total	52.336 sq mi (135.549 km2)
• Land	52.121 sq mi (134.993 km2)
• Water	0.215 sq mi (0.557 km2)  0.41%
Elevation[2]	2,517 ft (767 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	18,150
• Density	350/sq mi (130/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93560
Area code(s)	661
FIPS code	06-62826
GNIS feature ID	1661329

Rosamond is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, USA, near the Los Angeles county line. 20 miles (32 km) north of Palmdale, in the Antelope Valley, the westernmost desert valley of the Mojave Desert. Rosamond is also 13 miles (21 km) south of Mojave,^[3] and 11 miles (18 km) north of Lancaster at an elevation of 2342 feet (714 m).^[2] According to 2010 United States census data, the town population was 18,150.

The Postal Service shows portions of Rosamond as having the names Tropico Village, California, named after a mine, and Willow Springs.

Rosamond Skypark Airport, Federal Aviation Administration identifier L00 (with two zeroes), is located at 34°52′15″N 118°12′32″W / 34.87083°N 118.20889°W / 34.87083; -118.20889 and features a paved 3,600-foot (1,100 m) runway.

Wired telephone numbers in Rosamond follow the format (661) 256-xxxx and the entire city is included in ZIP Code 93560.

Rosamond contains the Rosamond urban area, according to the 2010 Census. The Rosamond urban area had a population of 16,000, with a land area of 6.33 square miles and a population density of 2,527 per square mile in 2010.

History

Rosamond was originally established in 1877 as a townsite which was owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was named 'Rosamond' after the daughter of one of the railroad officials.^[3] The first local industries were mining and cattle. During the 1890s, gold was discovered and miners quickly traveled to the area and populated it in order to strike it rich; however, the industry waned for many years, yet later had some success with a small boom during the 1930s. In 1933 Muroc Army Air Field was established, which has since been renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of fallen test pilot Glenn Edwards.

The Rosamond post office opened in 1885, closed in 1887, and re-opened in 1888.^[3]

Geography

Rosamond is situated on the northern end of the Antelope Valley, the westernmost valley of the Mojave Desert. Because the elevation is in the range of 2000 to 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level, the area, like the other parts of the Mojave Desert region, is alternatively referred to as the High Desert. Some cities and communities within the trading area of Rosamond include Lancaster, Palmdale, Hi Vista, Roosevelt, Redman, Lake Los Angeles, Quartz Hill, Ridgecrest, and Santa Clarita. Residents of these desert cities and unincorporated communities share Sierra Highway, Angeles Forest Highway, Angeles Crest Highway (State Route 2), and the Antelope Valley Freeway (State Route 14) for commutes to the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles Basin in order to get to work.

Willow Springs lies west of central Rosamond and was a watering hole for stagecoach travelers for generations. Due to the water now not available at the surface as it once was, the age-old springs are but a memory. Today Willow Springs Raceway is nearby, which hosts a variety of motor racing events, attracting people from all over Southern California and beyond.

Rosamond is located at 34°51′51″N 118°09′48″W / 34.86417°N 118.16333°W / 34.86417; -118.16333.^[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 52.3 square miles (135 km²), of which, 52.1 square miles (135 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (0.41%) is water.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[4] reported that Rosamond had a population of 18,150. The population density was 346.8 people per square mile (133.9/km²). The racial makeup of Rosamond was 11,294 (62.2%) White, 1,476 (8.1%) African American, 221 (1.2%) Native American, 658 (3.6%) Asian, 66 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 3,258 (18.0%) from other races, and 1,177 (6.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,230 persons (34.3%)

The Census reported that 18,145 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 5 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 6,197 households, out of which 2,603 (42.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,254 (52.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 843 (13.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 390 (6.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 432 (7.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 40 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,317 households (21.3%) were made up of individuals and 342 (5.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 4,487 families (72.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.43.

The population was spread out with 5,290 people (29.1%) under the age of 18, 1,956 people (10.8%) aged 18 to 24, 4,708 people (25.9%) aged 25 to 44, 4,716 people (26.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,480 people (8.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.0 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.

There were 6,968 housing units at an average density of 133.1 per square mile (51.4/km²), of which 4,202 (67.8%) were owner-occupied, and 1,995 (32.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.7%. 12,388 people (68.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,757 people (31.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 14,349 people, 4,988 households, and 3,626 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 274.7 people per square mile (106.1/km²). There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 107.2 per square mile (41.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 72.01% White, 6.62% Black or African American, 1.32% Native American, 3.01% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 11.65% from other races, and 5.16% from two or more races.

There were 4,988 households out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 32.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,307, and the median income for a family was $46,918. Males had a median income of $42,484 versus $26,745 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,440. About 11.6% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There are five schools in Rosamond: Rosamond Elementary School, West Park Elementary School, Tropico Middle School, Rosamond High School and Rare Earth High School (alternative education).^[6]

People

People from Rosamond include:

• Kay Ryan

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rosamond.