Stanislaus County, California

County of Stanislaus
—  County  —
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	San Joaquin Valley
Incorporated	1854
County seat	Modesto
Largest city	Modesto
Area
• Total	1,514.67 sq mi (3,923.0 km2)
• Land	1,493.79 sq mi (3,868.9 km2)
• Water	20.88 sq mi (54.1 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	514,453
• Density	Bad rounding here340/sq mi (Bad rounding here130/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area code(s)	209
Website	www.stancounty.com

Stanislaus County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 514,453 up from 446,997 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Modesto.

Stanislaus County is included in the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county is named for the Stanislaus River, first discovered by a European, Gabriel Moraga, in 1806, and later renamed Rio Estanislao in honor of Estanislao, a mission-educated renegade Native American chief who led a band of Indians in a series of battles against Mexican troops until finally being defeated by General Mariano Vallejo in 1826. Estanislao was his baptismal name, the Spanish version of Stanislaus, itself the Latin version of the name of an 11th century Polish Catholic Saint Stanislaus the Martyr.

Between 1843 and 1846 when California was a province of independent Mexico, five Mexican land grants of a total of 113,135 acres (457.8 km²), or over forty-four square miles were granted in Stanislaus County. Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas, Rancho Pescadero and Rancho Del Puerto were located on the west side of the San Joaquin River. Rancho Del Rio Estanislao and Rancho Thompson were on the north side of the Stanislaus River. Additionally in 1844, Salomon Pico received a Mexican land grant of 58,000 acres (230 km²) in the San Joaquin Valley, somewhere near the Stanislaus River and the San Joaquin River in what is now Stanislaus County. However the grant was never confirmed by the Land Commission.

Stanislaus County was formed from part of Tuolumne County in 1854.The first county seat was situated at Adamsville, then moved to Empire in November, then to La Grange in December, then to Knights Ferry in 1862, and definitely fixed at the present location in Modesto in 1871.

As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the relatively affordable housing.

Pronunciation of the county's name

^{[citation needed]}

There has been a somewhat lively local speculation on the pronunciation of the name Stanislaus. Some locals pronounce it STAN-ěs-läw, without a final S. This is undoubtedly influenced by the Spanish version Estanislao and further followed by the fact that the San Joaquin Valley was settled by immigrants from the southern states after the Civil War, and the southern dialect tends to soften all following consonants. Despite this, the silent final S has never been universal, and other ethnic and historical influences tend to argue over it. Several towns in Stanislaus and other counties along the Stanislaus River, including Turlock, Valley Home, and Ripon, were founded and settled by immigrants from Danish, Dutch, German-speaking areas where Stanislaus is a typical surname and masculine given name, and like Estanislao, a variation of Stanley. The German pronunciation, STAN-ĭs-lŏss, retains the trailing S and puts some emphasis on the second syllable. However, regardless of the name's exact local history, most non-locals and newcomers pronounce Stanislaus with the final S, which is arguably the more phonetically intuitive method, but both pronunciations are claimed to be official.

Geography and environment

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,514.67 square miles (3,923.0 km²), of which 1,493.79 square miles (3,868.9 km²) (or 98.62%) is land and 20.88 square miles (54.1 km²) (or 1.38%) is water. There are a number or rare and endangered species found in Stanislaus County. The Beaked Clarkia, (Clarkia rostrata), is listed as a candidate for the Federal Endangered Species List. It has only been found in blue oak-Digger Pine associations in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, a habitat which occurs at moderately high elevations. Colusa Grass, (Neostapfsia colusana) is listed as endangered by the State. It is restricted to vernal pools. (Torrey, 1989)

Stanislaus County has historically been divided socially and economically by the north-flowing San Joaquin River, which provided a natural barrier to trade and travel for much of the county's history. Isolated from the main rail corridors through the county and the irrigation projects that generated much of the region's economic prosperity, the part of Stanislaus County west of the river (known to locals as the "West Side" of the county) has largely remained rural and economically dependent on agricultural activities. Because of its proximity to Interstate 5 and the California Aqueduct some towns within this area, including Patterson and Newman, have experienced tremendous growth and are being transformed into bedroom communities for commuters from the nearby San Francisco Bay Area, while others (including Westley and Crows Landing) have been almost entirely overlooked by development and remain tiny farming communities.

Cities, CDPs and unincorporated communities

Incorporated cities

• Modesto (county seat)
• Ceres
• Hughson
• Newman
• Oakdale
• Patterson
• Riverbank
• Turlock
• Waterford

Census-designated places

• Airport
• Bret Harte
• Bystrom
• Cowan
• Crows Landing
• Del Rio
• Denair
• Diablo Grande
• East Oakdale
• Empire
• Grayson
• Hickman
• Keyes
• Monterey Park Tract
• Parklawn
• Riverdale Park
• Rouse
• Salida
• Shackelford
• Valley Home
• West Modesto
• Westley

Unincorporated communities

• Adela
• Claribel
• Claus
• Eugene
• Hills Ferry
• Knights Ferry
• La Grange
• Langworth
• McHenry
• Montpelier
• Mountain View
• Orestimba
• Oso
• Roberts Ferry

Adjacent counties

• Santa Clara County, California – southwest
• San Joaquin County, California – northwest
• Calaveras County, California – north
• Tuolumne County, California – northeast
• Merced County, California – south
• Mariposa County, California – southeast by a corner
• Alameda County, California – northwest by a corner

National protected area

• San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

• Interstate 5
• State Route 4
• State Route 33
• State Route 99
• State Route 108
• State Route 120
• State Route 132

Public transportation

• Stanislaus Regional Transit (StaRT) provides fixed route and dial-a-ride service throughout the county. StaRT also connects with Merced County Transit in Gustine and Turlock.
• Modesto Area Express (MAX) operates within Modesto, with limited service to Salida, Empire, and Ceres. MAX also runs special commuter routes connecting with the BART and Altamont Commuter Express rail systems.
• The cities of Ceres, Oakdale, Riverbank, and Turlock run small local bus systems.
• Both Greyhound and Amtrak have stops in Modesto and Turlock. Amtrak for Turlock actually stops in Denair.

Airports

Modesto City-County Airport has a number of scheduled passenger flights. Other (general aviation) airports around the county include Oakdale Airport, Patterson Airport, and Turlock Airpark.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Stanislaus County as the Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The United States Census Bureau ranked the Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 103rd most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.

The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as a component of the more extensive Modesto-Merced, CA Combined Statistical Area, the 62nd most populous combined statistical area and the 71st most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.

Demographics

2010

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	2,245		—
1870	6,499		189.5%
1880	8,751		34.7%
1890	10,040		14.7%
1900	9,550		−4.9%
1910	22,522		135.8%
1920	43,557		93.4%
1930	56,641		30.0%
1940	74,866		32.2%
1950	127,231		69.9%
1960	157,294		23.6%
1970	194,506		23.7%
1980	265,900		36.7%
1990	370,522		39.3%
2000	446,997		20.6%
2010	514,453		15.1%
Est. 2012	521,726		1.4%

The 2010 United States Census reported that Stanislaus County had a population of 514,453. The racial makeup of Stanislaus County was 337,342 (65.6%) White, 14,721 (2.9%) African American, 5,902 (1.1%) Native American, 26,090 (5.1%) Asian (1.5% Indian, 1.1% Filipino, 0.7% Cambodian, 0.5% Chinese, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.3% Laotian, 0.1% Japanese, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Cambodian), 3,401 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 99,210 (19.3%) from other races, and 27,787 (5.4%) from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino of any race were 215,658 persons (41.9%); 37.6% of Stanislaus County is Mexican, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.5% Salvadoran, 0.2% Nicaraguan, and 0.2% Guatemalan.

(Note - the US Census Bureau says "Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories", which means Hispanics are counted twice; once in whatever race they report, once as Hispanic. That in turn means the numbers will add up to be 215,658 (the number of Hispanics) higher than the 514,453 total population.)

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Stanislaus County	514,453	337,342	14,721	5,902	26,090	3,401	99,210	27,787	215,658
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Ceres	45,417	26,217	1,185	609	3,093	346	11,463	2,504	25,436
Hughson	6,640	5,125	55	74	97	13	982	294	2,871
Modesto	201,165	130,833	8,396	2,494	13,557	1,924	31,244	12,717	71,381
Newman	10,224	6,812	234	106	191	40	2,287	554	6,299
Oakdale	20,675	16,558	163	210	463	37	2,386	858	5,398
Patterson	20,413	10,117	1,291	221	1,069	280	6,235	1,200	11,971
Riverbank	22,678	14,951	480	269	770	88	4,949	1,171	11,822
Turlock	68,549	47,864	1,160	601	3,865	313	11,328	3,418	24,957
Waterford	8,456	6,003	77	110	129	11	1,740	386	3,579
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Airport	1,964	1,108	41	47	66	3	564	135	1,250
Bret Harte	5,152	2,441	52	50	40	45	2,327	197	4,272
Bystrom	4,008	2,006	79	62	91	18	1,580	172	3,053
Cowan	318	274	0	2	0	0	32	10	161
Crows Landing	355	162	5	1	0	0	182	5	248
Del Rio	1,270	1,027	25	5	143	1	27	42	107
Denair	4,404	3,425	25	55	42	4	699	154	1,423
Diablo Grande	826	510	77	3	70	6	77	83	254
East Oakdale	2,762	2,530	7	18	60	5	78	64	284
Empire	4,189	2,274	22	56	59	8	1,500	270	2,275
Grayson	952	455	17	4	3	0	417	56	819
Hickman	641	503	1	15	4	0	98	20	180
Keyes	5,601	3,109	71	60	200	32	1,919	210	3,233
Monterey Park Tract	133	77	17	0	0	0	38	1	112
Parklawn	1,337	673	24	22	7	0	541	70	1,090
Riverdale Park	1,128	575	6	25	29	0	414	79	700
Rouse	2,005	896	101	24	199	12	658	115	1,280
Salida	13,722	8,479	435	111	669	83	3,134	811	6,426
Shackelford	3,371	1,560	27	63	59	1	1,496	165	2,685
Valley Home	228	186	2	3	0	0	27	10	34
West Modesto	5,682	3,020	136	84	263	8	1,885	286	3,526
Westley	603	212	0	5	1	0	368	17	579
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	49,585	37,360	510	493	851	123	8,535	1,713	17,953

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 446,997 people, 145,146 households, and 109,585 families residing in the county. The population density was 299 people per square mile (116/km²). There were 150,807 housing units at an average density of 101 per square mile (39/km²). The racial/ethnic makeup of the county was 69.3% White, 2.6% Black, 4.2% Asian, 1.3% Native American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 16.8% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. 31.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.4% were of German, 6.3% English, 6.0% American, 5.5% Irish, and 5.1% Portuguese ancestry according to Census 2000. 67.8% spoke English, 23.7% Spanish, 1.5% Syriac, and 1.3% Portuguese as their first language.

There were 145,146 households out of which 41.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 19.4% 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 3.03 and the average family size was 3.47.

In the county the population was spread out with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,101, and the median income for a family was $44,703. Males had a median income of $36,969 versus $26,595 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,913. About 12.3% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Government

The Government of Stanislaus County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

The County government is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff-Coroner, District Attorney, Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector, and Clerk-Recorder, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the Chief Executive Officer. As of January 2013 the members of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors were:

• William O’Brien, District 1
• Vito Chiesa, District 2, Chairman
• Terry Withrow, District 3
• Dick Monteith, District 4
• Jim DeMartini, District 5, Vice-Chairman

Politics

Stanislaus County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2012	47.4% 73,459	50.2% 77,724	2.4% 3,462
2008	48.2% 77,497	49.9% 80,279	2.3% 3,736
2004	58.7% 85,407	40.4% 58,829	1.0% 1,388
2000	52.4% 67,188	44.0% 56,448	3.6% 4,631
1996	44.8% 52,403	45.9% 53,738	9.3% 10,866
1992	36.9% 47,275	41.0% 52,415	22.1% 28,315
1988	53.1% 51,648	45.9% 44,685	1.0% 982
1984	59.2% 55,665	39.9% 37,459	0.9% 861
1980	49.4% 41,595	40.0% 33,683	10.6% 8,908
1976	44.8% 32,937	52.3% 38,448	2.8% 2,080
1972	51.4% 39,521	45.5% 35,005	3.1% 2,341
1968	45.5% 29,573	48.1% 31,316	6.4% 4,174
1964	33.7% 21,973	66.1% 43,078	0.1% 77
1960	49.6% 30,213	49.8% 30,302	0.6% 375
1956	48.6% 26,695	51.1% 28,040	0.4% 192
1952	55.6% 29,270	43.4% 22,837	1.1% 570
1948	48.4% 18,564	47.8% 18,350	3.8% 1,457
1944	47.2% 14,297	51.3% 15,537	1.4% 437
1940	46.6% 14,803	52.0% 16,494	1.4% 449
1936	35.4% 8,613	63.1% 15,341	1.4% 348
1932	36.2% 7,614	58.6% 12,336	5.2% 1,092
1928	67.1% 10,753	31.6% 5,063	1.3% 203
1924	56.9% 7,569	9.6% 1,274	33.6% 4,469
1920	61.6% 7,038	26.7% 3,055	11.6% 1,330

Stanislaus is a generally Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. In 2012, however, Barack Obama won the county with 50.2 percent of the vote. Prior to Obama's victory, the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976, although Barack Obama won a plurality in 2008, as did Bill Clinton in both 1992 and 1996. Just like the neighbouring Merced County, Stanislaus is considered a bellwether county. It has voted for the winning candidate for president in every election since 1972.

Stanislaus is part of California's 18th and 19th congressional districts, which are held respectively by Democrat Dennis Cardoza and Republican Jeff Denham. In the State Assembly Stanislaus is in the 17th, 25th, and 26th districts, which are held by Democrat Cathleen Galgiani and Republicans Kristin Olsen and Bill Berryhill respectively. In the State Senate, Stanislaus is part of the 12th and 14th Senate districts, which are held by Republicans Anthony Cannella and Tom Berryhill, respectively.

On November 4, 2008 Stanislaus County voted 67.9% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

Economy

Agriculture is Stanislaus County's number two industry, with wine grapes being the primary agricultural product.

Education

The California State University, Stanislaus is a campus in the California State University located in Turlock.

The Yosemite Community College District covers a 4,500 square mile area and serves a population over 550,000 encompassing all of two counties (Stanislaus and Tuolumne) and parts of 4 others (Calaveras, Merced, San Joaquin and Santa Clara). It is composed of 2 colleges: Modesto Junior College in Modesto and Columbia College in Sonora in Tuolumne County to the northeast.

There is also a Kaplan College campus in Modesto, an ITT Technical Institute campus in Lathrop in San Joaquin County to the northeast, and a San Joaquin Valley College campus in Modesto.

Media

• The Modesto Press is the local online news site for Modesto and the surrounding areas of the Central Valley.
• The Modesto Bee is a Modesto-based daily newspaper.

See also

• List of museums in the San Joaquin Valley
• List of school districts in Stanislaus County, California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Stanislaus County, California

Further reading

• John T. Bramhall, The Story of Stanislaus. Modesto, CA: Modesto Herald, 1914.
• Sol P. Elias, Stories of Stanislaus: A Collection of Stories on the History and Achievement of Stanislaus County. Modesto, CA: Sol P. Elias, 1924.
• John Torrey, Paul Awosika et al., Expanded initial study, Boulder Creek subdivision, Stanislaus County, Earth Metrics, Report 7999: California State Clearinghouse, Sacramento, November, 1989.
• A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Merced, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa, California. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1892.

External links

• Stanislaus County official website
• Connecting Stanislaus
• Visit Stanislaus
• Stanislaus County Fair
• California State University Stanislaus
• Modesto Junior College
• Stanislaus County official website
• Stanislaus PRIDE Center
• Stanislaus County Farm Bureau
• Stanislaus County Free Library
• Stanislaus County Law Library