Colton, California
Encyclopedia
Colton is a city in San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

, 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...

. The city is located in 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...

 region of the state and is approximately 57 miles east of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. The population of Colton is 52,154 according to the 2010 census, up from 47,662 at the 2000 census.

Colton is the site of Colton Crossing
Colton Crossing
The Colton Crossing is an "at grade" Railway Crossing situated in Colton, California, directly south of the Interstate 10 freeway. First built in 1883, it was the site of one of the most intense Frog wars in railroad construction history leading to a personal confrontation between famed lawman...

, one of the busiest at-grade railroad crossings in the United States. The main transcontinental
Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...

 trunk lines of Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe cross at this point. As traffic on each line has soared since the mid-1990s, fueled largely by the vast increase in imports passing through the ports of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...

 and Long Beach
Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...

, the primitive crossing has become a serious bottleneck. The crossing was installed in August 1882 by the California Southern Railroad
California Southern Railroad
The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between what has become the city of Barstow and San Diego,...

 to cross the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

's tracks while building northward from San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

.

Geography

Colton is located at 34°3′54"N 117°19′18"W (34.064945, -117.321687).

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 16 square miles (41.4 km²). 15.3 square miles (39.6 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (4.46%) is water.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Colton had a population of 52,154. 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 3,251.7 people per square mile (1,255.5/km²). The racial makeup of Colton was 22,613 (43.4%) White, 5,055 (9.7%) African American, 661 (1.3%) Native American, 2,590 (5.0%) Asian, 176 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 18,413 (35.3%) 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 2,646 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37,039 persons (71.0%).

The Census reported that 51,824 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 85 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 245 (0.5%) were institutionalized.

There were 14,971 households, out of which 7,826 (52.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,167 (47.9%) 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, 3,233 (21.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,340 (9.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,268 (8.5%) 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 106 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,452 households (16.4%) were made up of individuals and 614 (4.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.46. There were 11,740 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...

 (78.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.86.

The population was spread out with 16,671 people (32.0%) under the age of 18, 6,360 people (12.2%) aged 18 to 24, 14,965 people (28.7%) aged 25 to 44, 10,495 people (20.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,663 people (7.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.4 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

There were 16,350 housing units at an average density of 1,019.4 per square mile (393.6/km²), of which 7,766 (51.9%) were owner-occupied, and 7,205 (48.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. 28,063 people (53.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 23,761 people (45.6%) 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 47,690 people, 14,520 households, and 10,904 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 3,154.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,217.9/km²). There were 15,680 housing units at an average density of 1,037.7 per square mile (400.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 42.7% White, 11.0% African American, 1.3% Native American, 5.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 34.5% 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 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 60.7% of the population.

There were 14,520 households out of which 46.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% 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, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.3 and the average family size was 3.8.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.9% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,777, and the median income for a family was $37,911. Males had a median income of $32,152 versus $25,118 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 $13,460. About 18.2% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 10.9% 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...

 Colton is located in the 31st and 32nd 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...

 Districts, 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...

 Robert Dutton
Robert Dutton
Robert D. Dutton is an American politician. He has served as the California State Senate Republican Leader since 2010 and as a Senator representing the 31st Senate District since 2004, after serving two years as a State Assemblyman for the 63rd Assembly District.-Biography:Robert Dutton was born...

 and Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Gloria Negrete McLeod
Gloria Negrete McLeod
Gloria Negrete McLeod has been a California State Senator since December 2006. Prior to that, she served in the California State Assembly from 2000 to 2006 after having lost in a 1998 bid for the Assembly. A resident of Chino, she defeated Joe Baca, Jr...

 respectively, and in the 62nd 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 Democrat Wilmer Carter
Wilmer Carter
Wilmer Amina Carter has been a California State Assemblymember since December 2006. She is a Democrat.-Pre Legislative Career and Personal:Carter served 16 years on the Rialto Board of Education from 1983 through 1999. For 23 years from 1973 until 1996, she was a staff member for Congressman George...

. Federally, Colton is located in California's 41st
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...

 and 43rd
California's 43rd congressional district
California's 43rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in San Bernardino County. The Hispanic-majority district encompasses the southwestern part of the county and includes San Bernardino and Rialto....

 congressional districts, which have Cook PVIs
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 D +10 respectively 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...

 and Democrat Joe Baca
Joe Baca
Joseph N. "Joe" Baca is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 42nd from 1999 to 2003, is located in southwestern San Bernardino County and includes Fontana, Rialto, Ontario and parts of the city of San...

.

History

Colton was named after David Douty Colton who was the Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

 Company.

Virgil Earp
Virgil Earp
Virgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of...

 lived in Colton at 528 W. "H" Street where he was the town's first Marshall. He resided in Colton from 1883 to 1889. Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...

 is buried at Hermosa Cemetery

Books about Colton

"History of the Colton Fire Department" 1889-2011

by Dennis Bickers (retired Colton Fire)

"Images of America, Colton"

by Larry Sheffield

Top employers

According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees
1 Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is a hospital located in Colton, California within Southern California's Inland Empire. The director of the hospital is Dr. Dev Gnanadev...

2,130
2 Ashley Furniture Industries 1,350
3 Colton Joint Unified School District
Colton Joint Unified School District
The Colton Joint Unified School District in San Bernardino County, California serves the communities of Colton, Bloomington, and Grand Terrace, as well as portions of Fontana, Loma Linda and unincorporated Riverside County.-High schools:...

740
4 Best Brands 552
5 Reche Canyon Rehabilitation & Health Care Center 340
6 City of Colton 296
7 Walmart 288
8 Stater Bros.
Stater Bros.
Stater Bros. Markets is a privately held supermarket chain, based in San Bernardino, California, consisting of over 167 stores located throughout Southern California. Founded in Yucaipa, California in 1936 by Cleo and Leo Stater , it consisted of 167 stores as of February 23, 2009...

248
9 Angelica 235
10 Archer Daniels Midland
Archer Daniels Midland
The Archer Daniels Midland Company is a conglomerate headquartered in Decatur, Illinois. ADM operates more than 270 plants worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial and animal feed markets worldwide.ADM was named the...

224

Famous residents

  • 40 Glocc
    40 Glocc
    Tory Gassway , is an American rapper and actor, better known as 40 Glocc. He is currently signed to Infamous Records and G-Unit Records. 40 is also currently signed to G-Unit West.-Early life:...

     (b.1974) - Rapper
  • Cam Carreon
    Cam Carreon
    Camilo Carreon was an American Major League Baseball player from 1959 to 1966 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. His son Mark was also a Major League player....

     (1937–1987) - baseball player
  • Kit Carson
    Kit Carson (baseball)
    Walter Lloyd "Kit" Carson , was a Major League Baseball right fielder who played for the Cleveland Indians in 1934 and 1935...

     (1912–1983) - baseball player
  • George J. Caster (1907–1955), pitcher, Detroit Lions World Series Championship team, 1945
  • Gordon Ralph "Maltsy" Maltsberger (1912–1974), pitcher, Chicago White Sox, 1943, American League MVP, 1943
  • Albert "Chalky" Wright (1912–1957), world featherweight boxing champion, 1941;Internat'l Boxing Hall of Fame
  • Nicholas Porter Earp
    Nicholas Porter Earp
    Nicholas Porter Earp was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, to Walter and Martha Ann Earp. He is most famously known as the father of OK Corral shootout participants and Old West lawmen Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, and Morgan Earp.Nicholas' father Walter Earp, a school teacher and Methodist...

     (1813–1907) - father of Wyatt Earp
    Wyatt Earp
    Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

  • Wyatt Earp
    Wyatt Earp
    Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

     (1848–1929) - frontier lawman
  • Virgil Earp
    Virgil Earp
    Virgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of...

     (1843–1905) - frontier lawman, older brother of Wyatt Earp
  • Ken Hubbs
    Ken Hubbs
    Kenneth Douglass Hubbs was an American second baseman who played from to for the Chicago Cubs in the National League. He was killed in a plane crash near Provo, Utah prior to the 1964 season....

     (1941–1964) - Chicago Cubs
    Chicago Cubs
    The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

     rookie of the year 1962
  • Jeremy Suarez
    Jeremy Suarez
    Jeremy Steven Suarez is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian. He is perhaps best known for his starring role of Jordan Thomkins, Bernie Mac's nephew, on The Bernie Mac Show....

     (b. 1990) - The Bernie Mac Show
  • Kat Von D
    Kat Von D
    Katherine Drachenberg , known professionally as Kat Von D and who has given her name as Katherine von Drachenberg in two German interviews is an American tattoo artist and television personality...

     aka Kathrine Drachenburg (b.1982)- famous tattoo artist, star of LA Ink
  • Gene Evans
    Gene Evans
    Gene Evans was an American actor.He was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of movies and...

     (1922–1998) - Western actor
  • Jimmy Webb
    Jimmy Webb
    Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...

     (1946-) - Songwriter
  • Jim Messina (1947-) - musician (Buffalo Springfield
    Buffalo Springfield
    Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...

    , Loggins & Messina)
  • Rodolfo Hernandez (1931-) - Medal of Honor recipient, Korean War
  • Rich Dauer
    Rich Dauer
    Richard Fremont Dauer , is a former professional baseball player who played with the Baltimore Orioles primarily as an infielder from 1976-85. He played in two World Series with the Orioles....

     - baseball player (World Series champs Baltimore Orioles)
  • Dennis Crane
    Dennis Crane
    Dennis Walter Crane is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants...

     - football player, Detroit Lions
  • Susan Woodstra
    Susan Woodstra
    Susan Jean Woodstra is a retired female volleyball player from the United States, who won the silver medal with the USA National Women's Team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California....

     (1957-) - Olympic silver medalist, 1984 Games, women's volleyball
  • Shareece Wright
    Shareece Wright
    Shareece Wright is an American football cornerback for the San Diego Chargers. He played college football at the University of Southern California . He is considered one of the best cornerback prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft...

     (1987-)-football player, USC Trojans (2006-2011), San Diego Chargers (2011-).
  • Roshan Joseph (1992-)-well known public figure in colton.

External links

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