Calimesa, California
Encyclopedia
Calimesa is a city in Riverside County
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the Greater Los Angeles area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...

. The population was 7,879 at the 2010 census, up from 7,139 at the 2000 census. It is situated on the San Gorgonio Pass
San Gorgonio Pass
The San Gorgonio Pass el. cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was also created by the San Andreas Fault...

.

Incorporation

The City of Calimesa was incorporated on December 1, 1990, soon after the incorporation of its northern neighbor, the City of Yucaipa. Prior to its incorporation, the City of Calimesa existed as an unincorporated census designated town that straddled the Riverside–San Bernardino County line at the location where Interstate 10 climbs the San Gorgonio Pass going eastward from Redlands, California
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...

.

City limits

Historically, Calimesa is divided from the City of Yucaipa by the Wildwood Canyon Wash; but politically, "County Line Road" divides the two towns. Much of what was originally known as "Calimesa" actually lies within the city boundaries of Yucaipa, including "I-Street" (Calimesa) Park, and Calimesa Elementary School. Because State of California law prohibits the incorporation or annexation of cities over county lines, the City was unable to adjoin what was considered the town of Calimesa when it finally incorporated. When Yucaipa incorporated, they included the area outside of the Yucaipa Valley on the "hilltop" or "mesa" that was traditionally known as Calimesa within its city boundaries, so as not to leave a gap of unincorporated area between the two towns. And although the two cities are in separate counties, both Yucaipa and Calimesa share same basic street grid system and addressing, including many named and alphabetical street which extend from Yucaipa well into Calimesa. The general boundary between the two cities is County Line Road, which ironically does not follow the exact county line in some places due to the alignment of Calimesa Creek, which meanders in and out of both Yucaipa and Calimesa.

The City Limits of Calimesa also extend southwest to the City of Beaumont, California
Beaumont, California
Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States in the Greater Los Angeles area.Now a growing, community planned city, the population was 36,877 at the 2010 census, and expected to be up to 125,000 projected by 2040, making Beaumont as California's next, newest fastest-growing...

. Although much less refined, the boundaries between Beaumont and Calimesa fall generally along the Southern California Edison (SCE) right-of-way that extends from the El Casco electrical sub-station facility near Moreno Valley, eastward. Near Interstate 10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...

, Champions Drive is the common boundary between the two Cities.

Beginnings

Historically, Calimesa began as a small rural-town with mostly single-family homes and ranches. With completion of U.S. Route 99 (modern day I-10 freeway), businesses opened and Calimesa began to feel a separate identity from the larger neighboring town of Yucaipa. In June 1929 nearly 100 residents attended a meeting and decided to apply for their own post office and to state a “name contest” in which the winner was paid $10. Calimesa was chosen from 107 names submitted; and is said to come from “cali” (meaning California) and “mesa” from the Spanish word meaning “table" or table-lands.” The first post office was the grocery store at Calimesa Boulevard and Avenue "K".

The modern history of the area was initiated with the establishment of Spanish missions in Alta California in 1769. The need for a land route to these missions inspired Captain Juan Bautista de Anza to lead a party through the area in 1774. As early as 1820, reference can be found to the messenger foot path for the missions in Arizona to the San Gabriel Mission.

The Assistencia in Redlands, which has been rebuilt and the San Gorgonio Rancheria were part of the San Gabriel Mission located near today’s Los Angeles. The San Gorgonio Rancheria was located in what is now Cherry Valley near Edgar Canyon. The site of San Gorgonio Rancheria, the location of the present Highland Springs Resort, Whitewater, and a house at the east end of present day Singleton Road in Calimesa became stage stops along this path.

The post office reinforced the residents' feeling of a community separate from the town of Yucaipa. In 1939 or 1940, the Calimesa Improvement Association, Inc. was formed. According to the constitution of the association, “The object and purpose of the association shall be the development and improvement of Calimesa and The Community”. Volunteers built a community center at the corner of Bryant and Avenue H, which had been designated a park site by the Redlands-Yucaipa Land Company. The "South Mesa Water Company" purchased the land for a well site and allowed the association to use it for community events.

In 1962 the Calimesa Improvement Association became the Calimesa Chamber of Commerce. The Improvement Association and the Chamber has been a mix of promoting Calimesa, providing community service and being a sounding board for residents’ problems. Prior to 1949 the fire protection for the valley was provided by the California Department of Forestry at the Avenue A station, which today is the office of County Service Area 63 in Yucaipa. Calimesa community members felt the need for more protection on the south side of the wash, so in 1949 they formed the Volunteer Fire Department.

Future

The previous decade saw several planned communities approved for development within the City, including the JP Ranch Development (approximately 375 homes), Calimesa Springs Development (approximately 270 homes), Summerwind Ranch at Oak Valley (5,000 homes + 1000000 square feet (92,903 m²) of commercial space), and Mesa Verde (3,800 homes approximately, and 20 acres of commercial space). The amount of approved units currently out numbers the total population with the City. However, development of these large tracts have been slow to move forward until the demand increases.

Transportation

The City accessible from the Interstate 10 Freeway, which geographically traverses the City from north to south. Major transportation corridors include County Line Road (runs east-west from the freeway), Sandalwood Drive (runs east-west from the freeway), Singleton Road (runs east-west from the freeway), Cherry Valley Boulevard (runs east-west from the freeway), Avenue "L" (runs east-west from the freeway) Myrtlewood Drive (runs east-west from Calimesa Boulevard to California Street) Calimesa Boulevard (runs north-south, parallels freeway from Live Oak Canyon Road in Yucaipa to Cherry Valley Boulevard near Beaumont), and Bryant Street (runs north-south from Highway 38/Mill Creek Road/Mentone Boulevard and connects with Singleton Road). The City has no airports or direct access to railroads.

Geography

The city is located in the northwestern portion of Riverside County, between Yucaipa, CA and Beaumont, CA. It is within the Yucaipa Valley section of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

's Inland Valley, and at the western edge of the San Gorgonio Pass
San Gorgonio Pass
The San Gorgonio Pass el. cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was also created by the San Andreas Fault...

 between San Bernardino
San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California is a large city in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California.San Bernardino may also refer to:-Landforms:*San Bernardino , a torrent that flows through the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola...

 and Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...

. Calimesa is located in the region known as the Inland Empire
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...

, which covers all of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

Situated within the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...

, the city's elevation ranges between 2,300 to 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 14.8 square miles (38.3 km²), all of it land.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Calimesa had a population of 7,879. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 530.7 people per square mile (204.9/km²). The racial makeup of Calimesa was 6,777 (86.0%) White, 88 (1.1%) African American, 99 (1.3%) Native American, 100 (1.3%) Asian, 10 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 565 (7.2%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 240 (3.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,762 persons (22.4%).

The Census reported that 7,828 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 42 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 9 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 3,314 households, out of which 773 (23.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,609 (48.6%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 334 (10.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 157 (4.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 162 (4.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....

, and 22 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,024 households (30.9%) were made up of individuals and 609 (18.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36. There were 2,100 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...

 (63.4% of all households); the average family size was 2.94.

The population was spread out with 1,414 people (17.9%) under the age of 18, 602 people (7.6%) aged 18 to 24, 1,513 people (19.2%) aged 25 to 44, 2,310 people (29.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,040 people (25.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.8 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

There were 3,687 housing units at an average density of 248.3 per square mile (95.9/km²), of which 2,674 (80.7%) were owner-occupied, and 640 (19.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.3%. 6,059 people (76.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,769 people (22.5%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 7,139 people, 2,982 households, and 2,006 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 458.3 people per square mile (176.9/km²). There were 3,248 housing units at an average density of 208.5 per square mile (80.5/km²). The racial make-up of the city was 89.1% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.4% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. 14.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,982 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.

The median income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...

 for a household in the city was $37,849 in 2000, and $43,557 in 2007. The median income for a family in 2000 was $43,220. Males had a median income of $41,533 versus $27,232 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $20,242. About 8.4% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the state legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...

 Calimesa is located in the 37th Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

 District, represented by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Bill Emmerson
Bill Emmerson
William "Bill" Emmerson is a Republican California State Senator, representing the 37th district in Riverside County, having been elected in a June 8, 2010 special election and sworn into office the next day...

, and in the 65th Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 District, represented by Republican Paul Cook
Paul Cook (politician)
Paul Cook has represented California's 65th Assembly district since December 2006. Prior to his election he served as a member of the Yucca Valley city council from 1998 until 2006. He is a Republican.-Military career:...

. Federally, Calimesa is located in California's 41st congressional district
California's 41st congressional district
California's 41st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in San Bernardino County. The district encompasses the eastern region of the Greater Los Angeles Area known as the Inland Empire...

, which has a Cook PVI
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...

 of R +9 and is represented by Republican Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (politician)
Charles Jeremy Lewis is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 40th, 35th and 37th, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, serving in the role during the 109th Congress.-Early life, education, and...

.

2009 Voter Registration Information

Democrats - 1,373 or 32%

Republican - 2,121 or 49%

Other - 180 or 4%

Decline to State - 627 or 15%

Total Registered Voters = 4,301

Education

Public education for most Calimesa children is provided by the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District
Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District
Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District is a school district serving Yucaipa and Calimesa , in California, United States....

, with the remaining southernmost area now served by the neighboring Beaumont Unified School District. None of the existing "developed" portions of the city are currently within the Beaumont boundaries.

Schools

The City of Calimesa is within two School districts; the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District serves the western portion of the City, while the southeastern end of the City is served by the Beaumont Unified School District. There is currently only one public school in Calimesa, 'Mesa View Middle School', which opened in late August 2009. Mesa View was built to be the school district's second high school. Yet, due to the recent slow down in building, the district is facing declining enrollment. Mesa View will remain a middle school until growth necessitates a change.

Calimesa Elementary School is actually located within the City of Yucaipa, and high school students attend Yucaipa High School. Calimesa's only currently operating elementary school - and only currently operating high school - is Mesa Grande Academy, which is a private K-12 school owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

.

Public safety

Police services in Calimesa are by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department via the Cabazon regional station. The City of Calimesa contracts for fire services with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with Cal Fire(California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the State of California's agency responsible for fire protection in State Responsibility Areas of California as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. It is often referred to as The California Department of...

).

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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