Spreckels, California
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Spreckels is a census-designated place located in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 485.
Spreckels is one of the best-preserved company towns in the United States. It was built to house workers for the Spreckels Sugar Company plant which operated there from 1899 until 1982, named after its founder "Sugar King" Claus Spreckels. When it opened, the Spreckels plant was world's largest sugar beet factory, each day consuming 13 million gallons of water (much of it pumped from wells) to process 3000 tons of beets. It loomed over the town not unlike a cathedral.
One of the many remarkable aspects of this town are its abrupt boundaries, surrounded on all sides by rich agricultural fields that begin immediately where town's streets and lots end. This produces an experience akin to being on an small island in a sea of green vegetation.
Spreckels is associated with the writer John Steinbeck, who lived and worked there for a time, and used it as a setting in Tortilla Flat. (Spreckels was used as a location for the 1955 Steinbeck movie East of Eden.)
In 2004 controversy erupted in Spreckels when the Tanimura family, which owns the fields around the town, declared that a 1907 plat in its possession gave it the right to build 73 housing units on its land -- which would increase the town's size by 40%. A legal battle over the status and definition of "antiquated maps" has ensued.
Geography
CAMap-doton-Spreckels.png
Location of Spreckels, California
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²). 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 485 people, 171 households, and 127 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 1,440.5/km² (3,629.3/mi²). There are 176 housing units at an average density of 522.7/km² (1,317.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 86.39% White, 0.62% African American, 1.65% Native American, 2.68% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 6.80% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 27.63% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 171 households out of which 40.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% are married couples living together, 13.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% are non-families. 17.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.84 and the average family size is 3.20.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP is $58,009, and the median income for a family is $51,250. Males have a median income of $22,250 versus $24,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $19,752. 1.1% of the population and 0.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 0.0% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- Old map ignites battle over the future of tiny Spreckels (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1318101/posts) (Contra Costa Times, December 19, 2004)