Madera, California
Encyclopedia
Madera is a city in and the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Madera County
Madera County, California
Madera County is a county of the U.S. state of California, located in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada north of Fresno County. It comprises the Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 150,865...

, 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...

. It is a principal city of the Madera–Chowchilla
Chowchilla, California
Chowchilla is a city in Madera County, California, United States. Chowchilla is located northwest of Madera, at an elevation of 240 feet . It is a principal city of the Madera–Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,720 at the 2010 census, up from 11,127 at the 2000...

 Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Madera County, and Metropolitan Fresno
Metropolitan Fresno
Metropolitan Fresno or officially Fresno-Madera, CA CSA is a metropolitan area in California's Central Valley consisting of Fresno and Madera counties in the southern area of Northern California...

. It is located in California's San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...

. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 61,416, up from 43,207 at the 2000 census. The City of Madera is home to the Madera Unified School District
Madera Unified School District
Madera Unified School District is a public school district serving Madera, California.-History:The district was first incorporated in 1966 to consolidate administration of schools in and around the City of Madera. The district has 25 schools...

.

Geography and climate

Madera is located at 36°57′41"N 120°03′39"W.

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 15.8 square miles (40.9 km²), all of it land.

Madera is the location of the Madera American Viticultural Area
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....

.

38 Miles east of Madera is the geographic center of California. Geographic centers of the United States
Geographic centers of the United States
This is a list of geographic centers of each U.S. state. Note that the geographical center of the entire U.S. is northeast of Belle Fourche in Butte County, South Dakota , while that of the contiguous 48 is near Lebanon in Smith County, Kansas...



Average January temperatures are a maximum of 53.9 °F (12.2 °C) and a minimum of 35.9 °F (2.2 °C). Average July temperatures are a maximum of 98.3 °F (36.8 °C) and a minimum of 61.4 °F (16.3 °C). Annually, there are an average of 105.2 days with highs of 90°F (32°C) or higher and an average of 30.8 days with lows of 32°F (0°C) or lower. The record high temperature was 116 °F (46.7 °C) on July 13, 1961. The record low temperature was 15 °F (-9.4 °C) on January 10, 1949.

Average annual rainfall is 10.97 inches (278.6 mm) and there are an average of 43 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with 22.13 inches (562.1 mm) and the dryest year was 1932 with 4.73 inches (120.1 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 7.11 inches (180.6 mm) in March 1991. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 2.6 inches (66 mm) on May 6, 2005. Although snow is rare, 4 inches (101.6 mm) fell in January 1962.

History

From 1876 to 1931 a 63-mile water flume carried lumber from the mountains to Madera where the lumber was shipped by train. The town was thus laid out by the California Lumber Company in 1876. The first post office at Madera opened in 1877. Madera incorporated on March 27, 1907. Madera is the Spanish term for lumber.

Landmarks include the notable and historic Madera water tower and the city's fully operational drive-in movie theater.

Noteworthy persons born or raised in Madera include:
  • Bill Aken, (aka Zane Ashton) recording artist, award-winning songwriter, arranger, record producer, guitarist and early member of the studio group known as the Wrecking Crew
    The Wrecking Crew (music)
    The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history...

    , and inducted into the Musician's Hall Of Fame in 2007.

  • Kelly Beatty, a space science writer and editor published in Sky & Telescope
    Sky & Telescope
    Sky & Telescope is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following:*current events in astronomy and space exploration;*events in the amateur astronomy community;...

    , The New York Times
    The New York Times
    The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

    , The Boston Globe
    The Boston Globe
    The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...

     and The Christian Science Monitor
    The Christian Science Monitor
    The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...

    ; author of "Exploring the Solar System: Other Worlds" and other works for National Geographic; and winner of the Robert C. Cowen award from the American Geophysical Union
    American Geophysical Union
    The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...

     in Washington, DC.

  • Zoila Frausto
    Zoila Frausto
    Zoila L. Gurgel is an American professional female mixed martial artist. Her nickname comes from the popular 1990s TV series Xena: Warrior Princess...

    , women's Mixed Martial Arts
    Mixed martial arts
    Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

     champion

  • Jack W. Kelso
    Jack W. Kelso
    Jack William Kelso was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism on the night of October 2, 1952, when he was killed while covering the escape of fellow Marines from a besieged bunker...

     (1934-1952), Medal of Honor
    Medal of Honor
    The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

     recipient.

  • U.S. portrait artist Marcus Dorado, who specializes in black and white graphite sketching on paper and has handled commissions from America's Most Wanted
    America's Most Wanted
    America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...

     TV host John Walsh
    John Walsh
    John Edward Walsh is an American television personality, criminal investigator, human and victim rights advocate and formerly the host, as well as creator, of America's Most Wanted...

    , David Carr
    David Carr
    David Duke Carr is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...

     and several NBA players.

Higher educational sites

  • Madera Community College Center (a campus of the State Center Community College District
    State Center Community College District
    State Center Community College District simply known as SCCCD is the college district for Fresno City College in Fresno, California and Reedley College in Reedley, California...

    )

Highways

Within the city of Madera, State Route 99
California State Route 99
California State Route 99 , commonly known as Highway 99 or, simply, as 99 , is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley...

 carries traffic in a generally northwest / southeast orientation. East of the city, State Route 41
California State Route 41
State Route 41 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting the Cabrillo Highway in Morro Bay with Fresno and Yosemite National Park via the San Joaquin Valley. Except between US 101 in Atascadero and SR 46 near Shandon, SR 41 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway...

 can be accessed via either eastbound county roads, or via State Route 145
California State Route 145
State Route 145 is a state highway in California, USA, which runs through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley from Interstate 5 north to Route 41 north of Fresno.-Route description:SR 145 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System....

, the latter of which turns from a northeast / southwest bearing to a directly south orientation within the city. The eastern terminus of State Route 152
California State Route 152
State Route 152 is a state highway that runs near the latitudinal middle of the U.S. state of California from Watsonville to Route 99 southeast of Merced...

 is located 10 miles (16.1 km) to the north of the city, on State Route 99
California State Route 99
California State Route 99 , commonly known as Highway 99 or, simply, as 99 , is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley...

.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Madera had a population of 61,416. 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 3,889.7 people per square mile (1,501.8/km²). The racial makeup of Madera was 47,103 (76.7%) Hispanic or Latino, 30,640 (49.9%) White, 2,069 (3.4%) African American, 1,933 (3.1%) Native American, 1,369 (2.2%) Asian, 72 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 22,603 (36.8%) 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 2,730 (4.4%) from two or more races.

The Census reported that 60,825 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 418 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 173 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 15,938 households, out of which 9,003 (56.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,521 (53.5%) 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, 2,917 (18.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,450 (9.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,323 (8.3%) 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 97 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,374 households (14.9%) were made up of individuals and 1,077 (6.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.82. There were 12,888 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...

 (80.9% of all households); the average family size was 4.09.

The population was spread out with 21,338 people (34.7%) under the age of 18, 7,732 people (12.6%) aged 18 to 24, 17,287 people (28.1%) aged 25 to 44, 10,407 people (16.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,652 people (7.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26.6 years. For every 100 females there were 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males.

There were 17,049 housing units at an average density of 1,079.8 per square mile (416.9/km²), of which 8,096 (50.8%) were owner-occupied, and 7,842 (49.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%. 28,785 people (46.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 32,040 people (52.2%) 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 43,207 people, 11,978 households, and 9,438 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 3,515.3 people per square mile (1,357.4/km²). There were 12,521 housing units at an average density of 1,018.7 per square mile (393.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.2% White, 3.9% African American, 2.8% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 38.0% 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 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 67.8% of the population.

There were 11,978 households out of which 48.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% 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, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 16.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57 and the average family size was 3.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 35.4% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 14.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 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 $31,033, and the median income for a family was $31,927. Males had a median income of $29,776 versus $23,210 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 $11,674. About 25.6% of families and 32.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.0% of those under age 18 and 12.7% 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...

 Madera is located in the 12th 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...

 Anthony Cannella
Anthony Cannella
Anthony Cannella is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. He is a Republican representing the 12th district, encompassing Merced and San Benito counties, as well as parts of Madera, Monterey, and Stanislaus counties...

, and in the 29th 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 Linda Halderman
Linda Halderman
Linda Halderman is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. She is a Republican representing the 29th district, encompassing parts of Fresno and Madera counties. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, she was a general surgeon specializing in breast cancer.-...

. Federally, Madera is located in California's 19th congressional district
California's 19th congressional district
California's 19th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California that covers parts of Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Tuolumne, and Stanislaus counties....

, 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 +10 and is represented by Republican Jeff Denham
Jeff Denham
Jeffrey John "Jeff" Denham is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party.He previously served two terms in the California State Senate, representing the 12th District, which includes Madera, Merced, Monterey, San Benito and Stanislaus counties. Denham was the second...

.

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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