Gridley, California
Encyclopedia
Gridley is a city in Butte County
Butte County, California
Butte County is a county located in the Central Valley of the US state of California, north of the state capital of Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 220,000. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County is the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."Butte County is watered by the...

, 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 population was 6,584 at the 2010 census, up from 5,382 at the 2000 census.

History

The town of Gridley was named after its founder and earliest landowner, George W. Gridley. He was born in the state of New York and later moved with his parents to Galena, Illinois
Galena, Illinois
Galena is the county seat of, and largest city in, Jo Daviess County, Illinois in the United States, with a population of 3,429 in 2010. The city is a popular tourist destination known for its history, historical architecture, and ski and golf resorts. Galena was the residence of Ulysses S...

. In 1850 he attempted to drive sheep and cattle across the plains to California. He lost the animals, but arrived safely himself and settled in this area.
As early as 1852, he was prospering in the stock business, and with ten thousand dollars profit, he returned to Illinois. Again he started back to California with a large herd of sheep. This time, six hundred survived. That was enough to give George Gridley his start in the sheep raising business. He prospered in this venture, and his home ranch consisted of some 960 acres (3.9 km²) located West of Gridley. He married Helen Orcutt in Illinois, and she joined him in California in 1855. The Gridleys had ten children. Mr. Gridley died at the home ranch in 1881, Mrs. Gridley twenty years later. Descendants of the Gridley family are still living in the area today.

With the decline of mining, agriculture became a more stable and attractive business in the 1860s. The Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...

 laid tracks from Oregon to Chico in 1865. The railroad completed its path to Gridley in 1870, and that is when the community of Gridley began to form. The principal products from the Gridley area were wool and sheep. Orchards, field crops, and cattle would soon follow. In 1896, the Libby, McNeil & Libby Cannery was established and became one of the largest peach canning operations in the world. However it stopped operation in 2001 and is still out of operation.

The first home and store in Gridley were built by L.C. Stone in 1874. Stone served as postmaster, the train depot and express agent, as well as a merchant. Wells Fargo & Co. opened its office in 1871 and soon other businesses followed suit.

Two large fires, one in 1884 and one in 1891, destroyed much of the original business district. The district rallied and rebuilt around 1900.

Much of the historic downtown district remains. "Silk Stocking Row" the many well-preserved turn-of-the-century homes on Hazel Street, was so named because during the Depression the only women who could afford silk stockings lived in these large Hazel Street homes.

The post office at Martinsburgh
Martinsburgh, California
Martinsburgh is a former settlement in Butte County, California, United States. It was located near Peachton. A post office was opened at Martinsburgh in 1865, closed in 1866, reopened in 1868 and moved to Gridley in 1870.-References:...

 was moved to Gridley in 1870.

Geography

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 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), all of it land.

Butte County geographer, Steve Herman, released the locally-popular "My Baby's Gone to Gridley," as a B-side to the 45rpm "This Is Oroville" in 1987. The tune can be downloaded:http://www.savefiles.net/d/o42xoo5f8qn5.html

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Gridley had a population of 6,584. 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 3,179.1 people per square mile (1,227.4/km²). The racial makeup of Gridley was 4,283 (65.1%) White, 55 (0.8%) African American, 98 (1.5%) Native American, 249 (3.8%) Asian, 3 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 1,552 (23.6%) 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 344 (5.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,000 persons (45.6%).

The Census reported that 6,472 people (98.3% of the population) lived in households, 16 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 96 (1.5%) were institutionalized.

There were 2,183 households, out of which 910 (41.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,087 (49.8%) 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, 338 (15.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 134 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 149 (6.8%) 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 8 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 520 households (23.8%) were made up of individuals and 297 (13.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96. There were 1,559 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...

 (71.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.54.

The population was spread out with 1,892 people (28.7%) under the age of 18, 668 people (10.1%) aged 18 to 24, 1,681 people (25.5%) aged 25 to 44, 1,415 people (21.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 928 people (14.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.1 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

There were 2,406 housing units at an average density of 1,161.7 per square mile (448.5/km²), of which 1,262 (57.8%) were owner-occupied, and 921 (42.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%. 3,829 people (58.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,643 people (40.1%) 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 5,382 people, 1,841 households, and 1,266 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 3,427.6 people per square mile (1,323.6/km²). There were 1,963 housing units at an average density of 1,250.2 per square mile (482.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.57% White
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...

, 0.32% Black
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...

 or African American
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...

, 1.54% Native American
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...

, 3.47% Asian
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...

, 0.02% Pacific Islander
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...

, 24.06% 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 4.01% from two or more races. 38.63% of the population were Hispanic
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...

 or Latino
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...

 of any race.

There were 1,841 households out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% 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, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.48.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,368, and the median income for a family was $29,957. Males had a median income of $28,347 versus $24,444 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 $12,267. About 19.5% of families and 23.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Healthcare

The State of California, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development defines Biggs
Biggs, California
Biggs is a city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census, down from 1,793 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Biggs is located at ....

-Gridley Memorial Hospital
as a General Acute Care Hospital in Gridley with a Level IV Trauma Center
Trauma center
A trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers grew into existence out of the realization that traumatic injury is a disease process unto itself requiring specialized and experienced...

and Standby emergency care as of 22 August 2006. The facility is located at (NAD83) latitude/longitude of 39°22′03"N 121°41′22"W.

External links

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