Hanford, California
Encyclopedia : H : HA : HAN : Hanford, California
Hanford is the county seat of Kings County, California. The population was 41,686 at the 2000 census. However, the California Department of Finance estimates that the population had grown to 49,048 as of January 1, 2006. Hanford is named for James Madison Hanford, a railroad executive, after the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks were laid through Perry Phillip's sheep camp in 1877. The town became an incorporated city in 1891.
Because of the railroad, many blacks came to live there because they could mix with the Hispanic population in the early 20th Century and "pass" as Portuguese, Dominicans and other South American and Caribbean peoples. One man, listed as Willie Tavares (in 1930) while working for the Douglas family in Merced, and at death who was listed as Willie Tabares in Social Security Records at his death in Hanford, was born black as Finis Gray, in Perry County, Arkansas. As the son of Nancy Casey Gray and Elijah Gray (Elijah was half-white), Finis Gray had the features of the Latino population that was beginning to settle in Kings County. His family still tells the story of their latin "Tio" or Uncle Willie. In the 1930 census, his father was listed as South American, and his mother was listed as a Kentucky native. He married Lona Paylor, an Arkansan, in the early 1900's and produced one son, Nathaniel, who later, as of 1930, lived with his mother and half-sisters and nephews (Pauline Johnson, Ellis Johnson and Joseph Johnson) in Sacramento. The story of Willie Tabares (Tavares) aka Finis Gray will be released in July 2007.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.9 km² (13.1 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 41,686 people, 13,931 households, and 10,378 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,229.6/km² (3,184.4/mi²). There were 14,721 housing units at an average density of 434.2/km² (1,124.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.06% White, 5.01% Black or African American, 1.36% Native American, 2.85% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 20.80% from other races, and 5.73% from two or more races. 38.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 13,931 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.39.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,582, and the median income for a family was $41,395. Males had a median income of $37,120 versus $25,971 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,504. About 14.2% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Hanford in Literature
William Saroyan's short story, "The Journey to Hanford" is a comic and poignant account of two characters from Fresno--a boy and his wastrel uncle--who share a single bicycle as they travel the 30-some miles between Fresno and Hanford, taking along a sack of rice to feed them through what turns out to be a largely pointless summer.Notable Residents
- Rock singer Steve Perry, best-known for his work with the band Journey was born and grew up in Hanford.
- Jan-Michael Vincent, actor, moved to Hanford with his family as a teenager, and graduated from Hanford High School.
- Louis Bert Lindley, Jr., better known as Slim Pickens, a rodeo cowboy and actor, grew up in Hanford.
- James Rainwater, physicist and co-winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics, lived in Hanford as a child and graduated from Hanford High School.
- Baseball player Ken Caminiti was born in Hanford.
- Baseball player Timothy Dale Scott currently resides and was born in Hanford.
- Baseball player Ryan Eugene Bowen was born in Hanford.
- Hockey player Scott Parker, the first Californian-born to play in the NHL.
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.