Mammoth Lakes, California
Encyclopedia
History
The European history of Mammoth Lakes started in 1877, when four prospectors staked a claim on Mineral Hill, south of the current town, along Old Mammoth Road. In 1878, the Mammoth Mining Company was organized to mine Mineral Hill, which caused a gold rushGold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
. By the end of 1878, 1500 people settled in the mining camp called Mammoth City. By 1880, the company had shut down, and by 1888, the population declined to less than 10 people. By the early 1900s, the town of Mammoth was informally established near Mammoth Creek. The economics of the original town was based on logging and tourism.
The first post office at Mammoth Lakes opened in 1923.
In 2004, the Mammoth Ski Museum opened in town. The museum features many vintage artifacts, photographs, and posters. A movie documenting the life of the founder of the ski resort (Dave McCoy
Dave McCoy
Dave McCoy founded the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1942.-Early life:McCoy was born in El Segundo, California, just south of the future Los Angeles International Airport in 1915. He spent the first six years of his life there while his dad worked at the oil refineries in the area...
) and those of early famous skiers in the area is shown. In 2010, photographs taken by Dave McCoy were featured in an exhibit at the museum.
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Mammoth Lakes had a population of 8,234. The population densityPopulation 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 325.4 people per square mile (125.6/km²). The racial makeup of Mammoth Lakes was 6,643 (80.7%) White, 29 (0.4%) African American, 49 (0.6%) Native American, 128 (1.6%) Asian, 5 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,151 (14.0%) 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 229 (2.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,772 persons (33.7%).
The Census reported that 8,076 people (98.1% of the population) lived in households, 158 (1.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 3,229 households, out of which 942 (29.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,401 (43.4%) 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, 177 (5.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 144 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 293 (9.1%) 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 13 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 899 households (27.8%) were made up of individuals and 153 (4.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50. There were 1,722 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...
(53.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.14.
The population was spread out with 1,719 people (20.9%) under the age of 18, 1,050 people (12.8%) aged 18 to 24, 2,833 people (34.4%) aged 25 to 44, 2,100 people (25.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 532 people (6.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.6 years. For every 100 females there were 121.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.0 males.
There were 9,626 housing units at an average density of 380.4 per square mile (146.9/km²), of which 1,502 (46.5%) were owner-occupied, and 1,727 (53.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 33.6%. 3,464 people (42.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,612 people (56.0%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the censusCensus
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 7,093 people, 2,814 households, and 1,516 families residing in the town. 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 286.2 people per square mile (110.5/km²). There were 7,960 housing units at an average density of 321.1 per square mile (124.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 83.21% White, 0.41% African American, 0.49% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 12.35% 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 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.20% of the population.
There were 2,814 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% 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, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 38.4% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 131.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.2 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 town was $44,570, and the median income for a family was $52,561. Males had a median income of $31,280 versus $25,106 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 town was $24,526. About 8.7% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Politics
In the state legislatureCalifornia 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...
Mammoth Lakes is located in the 1st 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...
Ted Gaines
Ted Gaines
Edward M. Gaines is a California State Senator, representing the 1st Senate district. He won a January 4, 2011, special election to replace the late Dave Cox and took office two days later...
, and in the 25th 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 Kristin Olsen
Kristin Olsen
Kristin Olsen is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. She is a Republican representing the 25th district, encompassing Calaveras, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne counties, and parts of Madera and Stanislaus counties...
. Federally, Mammoth Lakes is located in California's 25th congressional district
California's 25th congressional district
California's 25th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that covers part of Los Angeles County and extends out to broad stretches of interior California along the Nevada border. It includes the cities of Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster, and the...
, 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 +7 and is represented by Republican Buck McKeon
Howard McKeon
Howard Philip "Buck" McKeon is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
.
Economy
The Mammoth Lakes real estateReal estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
market has gone through ups and downs over the past few decades. In 1980, an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
with magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
sent area property values plummeting. A huge real estate surplus formed after this, Mammoth Lakes had a total of over 1200 properties on the market. The development of Mammoth Mountain ski area has had a direct effect on housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
in more recent years. The tourist market has led to an explosion of property values. This peaked in 2003 when the median property value reached $750,000. Another peak occurred in 2006 with the sale of Mammoth Mountain ski area to Starwood Capital Group
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a hospitality ownership and management organization, headquartered in White Plains, New York. One of the world's largest hotel companies, it owns, operates, franchises and manages hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties...
.
As of February 2010, the median listing price was $460,000. This represents a drop of over 38% from the peak reached in 2006.
Municipal Government
Mammoth Lakes is governed by a town council of five members: a mayor, a mayor pro tem, and three council members. Law enforcement is provided by the Mammoth Lakes Police Department and fire protection is provided by the Mammoth Lakes Fire Protection District. Emergency medical service is provided by Mono County operating out of Mammoth Lakes Fire Station #1.In 2008, after a jury trial, the Mono County Superior Court entered a $30 million judgment against the Town of Mammoth Lakes for breach of a development agreement. The California Court of Appeal, Third District, affirmed the judgment in December 2010. The California Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal on March 23, 2011.
Education
Mammoth Lakes is in the Mammoth Unified School DistrictMammoth Unified School District
The Mammoth Unified School District is a public school district in Mono County, California. It oversees public education in the southwestern part of the county, including the communities of:*Crowley Lake*Mammoth LakesThe district office is at Mammoth Lakes....
, which has its main office in town. An elementary school and a high school (Mammoth High School) are located in Mammoth Lakes. Mammoth Lakes also has a continuation high school (Sierra High School). Mammoth Lakes also has a public library.
Notable residents
- Deena (Drossin) KastorDeena KastorDeena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She holds American records in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece...
, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon and winner of the London MarathonLondon MarathonThe London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
in 2006 - Meb Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and winner of the New York City MarathonNew York City MarathonThe New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010...
in 2009 - Trevor DonovanTrevor DonovanTrevor Donovan is an American actor.Donovan had short stints in 2007 on the NBC daytime soap Days of our Lives as Jeremy Horton. He had a minor role in the 2009 sci-fi film Surrogates playing the Surrogate form of Tom Greer .Donovan landed a recurring role on 90210 as Teddy Montgomery, first...
, actor who played Teddy Montgomery from CW-Networks hit series 90210 - John BacharJohn BacharJohn Bachar was an American rock climber noted for his skill at free soloing. A fitness fanatic, he is the father of the climbing training device known as the Bachar ladder.- Biography :...
, deceased 2009, professional rock climber known for free soloing