Manteca, California
|
|
Manteca is a city in San Joaquin County, California, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 49,258.
Manteca was known in Northern California as the location of The Manteca Waterslides. However, in the summer of 2004, the Manteca Waterslides were closed.
| Contents |
History
Manteca, California was founded in 1861 by Joshua Cowell. Cowell claimed about 1,000 acres (4 km²) and built his house on what is now the corner of Main and Yosemite where the Bank of America stands. In 1873, the Central Pacific Railroad was put directly though town and "Cowell Station", a boxcar on the side of the tracks, was made a stop. Due to Cowell's brother, Wright Cowell, already naming a "Cowell Station" near Tracy, California, the name "Monteca" was chosen. An unfortunate misprinting of the train tickets caused the city’s name to show as "Manteca" — Spanish for "lard". As that it would be expensive and difficult to reprint the tickets, the name of the city was changed. Manteca was incorporated into a town in 1918 and Joshua Cowell became the city's first mayor.
Manteca calls itself "The Family City" and is the crossroads of the central valley. As recently as just the 1970s this was still barely a stop between the Interstate 5 and California State Highway 99 freeways existing primarily on agriculture. The continuing raise in bay area real estate prices has caused more workers to move eastward looking for a cheaper place to commute from and a better place to raise their families. Manteca, since the construction of the 120 bypass portion of the California State Route 120, is the end of the road for these commuters and a popular choice. The 1990s saw the population grow phenomenally and the construction of the city's third high school. This trend of growth continues as more and more farmland is converted to tract housing and the city grows to the South East. Despite being the crossroads of the Central Valley, some people are beginning to consider Manteca a suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area because it is a bedroom community for San Jose and the East Bay.
A reoccurring name in Manteca is "East Union". It was first given to a school established in what is now Manteca in 1857. The school was named East Union in order to differentiate it from Union School, A school in the area that is now Lathrop, California. A cemetery named East Union was started in 1872 and remains one of San Joaquin County's oldest landmarks. The road the cemetery borders was named Union Road after the cemetery and it is now one of the main streets through the city. In 1966, the city of Manteca started another high school to relieve overcrowding in Manteca High School. The new school was given the name East Union High School in tribute to the old farmhouse school.
Geography
CAMap-doton-Manteca.png
Location of Manteca, California
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.2 km² (15.9 mi²). 41.2 km² (15.9 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Neighboring towns include Lathrop, Ripon, Escalon, and Tracy. Manteca is also in between the larger cities of Modesto and Stockton.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 49,258 people, 16,368 households, and 12,488 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,195.4/km² (3,095.8/mi²). There are 16,937 housing units at an average density of 411.0/km² (1,064.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 74.17% White, 2.85% African American, 1.31% Native American, 3.52% Asian, 0.36% Pacific Islander, 11.56% from other races, and 6.23% from two or more races. 25.10% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 16,368 households out of which 43.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% are married couples living together, 13.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% are non-families. 18.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.98 and the average family size is 3.39.
In the city the population is spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $46,677, and the median income for a family is $51,587. Males have a median income of $43,283 versus $27,772 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,241. 9.7% of the population and 7.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- City of Manteca website (http://www.ci.manteca.ca.us)
- Manteca Chamber of Commerce website (http://www.manteca.org/)