Livermore, California
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Livermore is a city located in Alameda County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 73,345. Traditionally, Livermore is considered the easternmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area before entrance to the Central Valley.
It was founded by William Mendenhall and named after Robert Livermore, his friend and a local rancher that settled in the area in the 1830s.
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Geography
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Location of Livermore, California
It is situated in a valley in between the Pleasanton and the Altamont hills and the weather in the city reflects this geography. Dry heat often gets trapped on the valley floor during the summer months and temperature in Livermore and neighboring inland cities are on average higher than those closer to the San Francisco Bay.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.0 km² (23.9 mi²). 62.0 km² (23.9 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
History and Culture
History
The Livermore area was home to the Ohlone ( or Costanoan) Indians before the arrival of the Spanish in the 18th century; it was incorporated under the Roman Catholic Mission San Jose in 1796. The Livermore Amador Valley was primarily grazing land for Mission San Jose's thousands of cattle and sheep until secularization of California missions from 1834 to 1837 opened great amounts of land throughout California for Mexican land grants. The fourth and second largest of the valley's land grants was the Rancho Las Positas grant, made to rancher Robert Livermore (a naturalized Mexican citizen of English birth) and Jose Noriega in 1839. Livermore was as much interested in viticulture and horticulture as he was in cattle and horses; in 1846 he was the first in this area to plant both a vineyard and an orchard of pears and olives. The first building on the ranch was an adobe on Las Positas Creek, and in 1849 a two-story "Around the Horn" house was added; it was the first wooden building in the valley.
Livermore became a popular stopping place after the discovery of gold for Argonauts headed for the Mother Lode country, as it was the first night's stopping place from San Jose.
Robert Livermore died in 1858 before the establishment of the town that bears his name. His ranch included much of the present-day city. The city itself was established in 1869 by William Mendenhall, who had met Robert Livermore while marching through the valley with Fremont's California Battalion. Livermore was officially incorporated on April 15, 1876.
Culture
Livermore's culture retains some vestiges of the farming and ranching traditions that have existed in the valley since the time of Robert Livermore, but now largely reflects the values of its suburban population. Livermore has a strong blue-collar element, as well as many professionals who work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and various hi-tech industries within the Bay Area.
Livermore hosts the Livermore Rodeo (since 1918), the "fastest rodeo in the West," that claims it has more riders per hour than any other. It also has the Livermore-Amador Symphony, Del Valle Fine Arts (a producer of chamber music concerts), and, in the valley at large, the Valley Choral Society, Livermore Valley Opera, Valley Dance Theatre, and the Pleasanton Community Concert Band.
It boasts a new, state-of-the-art library that opened in 2004 and a busy and growing Livermore Airport.
Livermore has a Hindu temple which is often visted by the large Indian immigrant population of the bay area.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 73,345 people, 26,123 households, and 19,513 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,183.9/km² (3,065.8/mi²). There are 26,610 housing units at an average density of 429.5/km² (1,112.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 81.90% White, 1.57% African American, 0.61% Native American, 5.80% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 5.34% from other races, and 4.51% from two or more races. 14.37% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 26,123 households out of which 40.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% are married couples living together, 9.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% are non-families. 18.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 5.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.80 and the average family size is 3.20.
In the city the population is spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $75,322, and the median income for a family is $82,421. Males have a median income of $59,703 versus $38,389 for females. The per capita income for the city is $31,062. 5.3% of the population and 3.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.0% of those under the age of 18 and 1.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
World's Long Lasting Lightbulb
The town has been said for it's amazing record, that in the Livermore Fire Department a 103 year old 4-watt lightbulb is still burning bright to this day. The Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's Believe It Or Not and General Electric have concluded that the bulb has been burning continuously since 1901 (with the exception of power faliures and three times for moving to another station). The lightbulb was manufactured by the Shelby Electric Company, and was hand blown with a carbon flamant.
According to Mrs. Zylpha Bernal Beck (born in 1884), the bulb was donated to the Fire Department by her father, Dennis Bernal in 1901. It was hung as a night light in a downtown garage that served as both a police and fire department five years before the great San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906. A few years later, the bulb found its way to the "new" pre-Depression City Hall that also housed the two departments and twenty-odd years ago was moved for a final time to Station One in Livermore. Mr. Bernal owned the Livermore Power and Water Company and donated the bulb when he sold the company. This has been supported by several firefighter volunteers of that era.
There is a widespread intrest in the lightbulb, visitors have come to see it from every state in the Union, and from many foreign countries.
Successive fire chiefs have regarded it as their talisman and a good luck charm. "Nobody wants that darn bulb to go out on their watch," says fire chief Gary Stewart. "If that thing goes out while I'm still chief it will be a career's worth of bad luck."
Previous chiefs have had standing orders that if any firefighter, for whatever reason, accidentally broke the light, that person would suddenly get sacked from the job.
Industry
Laboratory
The largest employer in Livermore is the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
Wine
See main article at Livermore Valley.
Education
Livermore High School (http://www.livermorehigh.com) was established in 1891 and became the first union high school in the state of California. Granada High School (http://www.granadahigh.com) is the second public high school in Livermore.
Livermore is home to Las Positas College (http://www.clpccd.cc.ca.us/lpc/)], which is part of the California Community College system.
External links
- City of Livermore Official Website (http://www.ci.livermore.ca.us/)
- Livermore Valley Wine Country (http://www.livermorewine.com/index.html)
- Centennial Light Bulb Site (http://www.centennialbulb.org)