La Grange, California

La Grange
French Bar
Stage stop in La Grange Historic District.
La Grange
La Grange
Coordinates: 37°39′49″N 120°27′49″W / 37.66361°N 120.46361°W / 37.66361; -120.46361
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyStanislaus County
Area
 • Total
0.093 sq mi (0.24 km2)
 • Land0.093 sq mi (0.24 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation259 ft (79 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
166
 • Density1,780/sq mi (689/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code
95329
Area codes209/350
GNIS feature ID226726[2]
Reference no.414

La Grange is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Stanislaus County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166.

Geography

La Grange sits at an elevation of 259 feet (79 m) along the Tuolumne River, near the La Grange Dam and the New Don Pedro Dam.

History

The name is French and means "the barn" or "the farm". The community and a French settlement nearby were also called "French Bar". The community was founded in 1852 around the same time French miners struck gold on a bar in the Tuolumne River. By 1854, there were over 100 buildings in La Grange.[3][4]

La Grange became the county seat of Stanislaus County in 1856. Aside from its French population, the community included a significant Chinatown in its early years. At its height, the community had thousands of residents, but it was a largely lawless town. It was in decline by the time that Knights Ferry became the county seat, as the gold mines were in decline. By 1880, mining had ceased.[4] The La Grange area also included many gold dredgers that operated until the early 1950s.[5]

On June 3, 1869, John Muir departed La Grange with a shepherd and a flock of sheep, heading for the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers. He recorded the journey in My First Summer in the Sierra (1911), describing the ranch near French Bar "on the south side of the Tuolumne River...where the foothills of metamorphic gold-bearing slates dip below the stratified deposits of the Central Valley."[6]

Historic district

La Grange is a registered California Historical Landmark historic district.[7] A post office, a supermarket, and Don Pedro High School still operate in La Grange. The former La Grange Elementary School closed in 2015. Also functioning is the oldest church in Stanislaus County, St. Louis Roman Catholic Church, with a cemetery containing tombstones dating to the mid-1800s.[8][9]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
2020166
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1850–1870[11][12] 1880–1890[13]
1900[14] 1910[15] 1920[16]
1930[17] 1940[18] 1950[19]
1960[20] 1970[21] 1980[22]
1990[23] 2000[24] 2010[25]
2020[26]

La Grange first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2020 United States census.[27]

2020 census

La Grange CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2020[26] % 2020
White alone (NH) 90 54.22%
Black or African American alone (NH) 1 0.60%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 11 6.63%
Asian alone (NH) 3 1.81%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 0 0.00%
Other race alone (NH) 0 0.00%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 10 6.02%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 51 30.72%
Total 166 100.00%

See also

References

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files – California". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: La Grange, California
  3. ^ Santos, Robert LeRoy (2002). "Chronology of Stanislaus County History Through 1912". Archived from the original on June 23, 2006. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Koeppel, Elliot H. "The California Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited". Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  5. ^ Beards, Franklin (1988). Gold Fields to Grazing Fields.
  6. ^ Muir, John (1911). "Through the Foothills with a Flock of Sheep". My First Summer in the Sierra. Houghton Mifflin.
  7. ^ "La Grange". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: La Grange Post Office
  9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: La Grange Elementary School
  10. ^ "Decennial Census by Decade". United States Census Bureau.
  11. ^ "1870 Census of Population – Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties – California – Almeda County to Sutter County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  12. ^ "1870 Census of Population – Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties – California – Tehama County to Yuba County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  13. ^ "1890 Census of Population – Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  14. ^ "1900 Census of Population – Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  15. ^ "1910 Census of Population – Supplement for California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "1920 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  17. ^ "1930 Census of Population – Number and Distribution of Inhabitants – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  18. ^ "1940 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  19. ^ "1950 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  20. ^ "1960 Census of Population – General Population Characteristics – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  21. ^ "1970 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  22. ^ "1980 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  23. ^ "1990 Census of Population – Population and Housing Unit Counts – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  24. ^ "2000 Census of Population – Population and Housing Unit Counts – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  25. ^ "2010 Census of Population – Population and Housing Unit Counts – California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  26. ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – La Grange CDP, California". United States Census Bureau.
  27. ^ "2020 Geography Changes". United States Census Bureau.