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Beaumont, California

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City of Beaumont
City
Location in Riverside County and the state of California
Location in Riverside County and the state of California
Country United States
State California
CountyRiverside
Incorporated (city)November 18, 1912
Area
[1]
 • Total30.926 sq mi (80.098 km2)
 • Land30.912 sq mi (80.062 km2)
 • Water0.014 sq mi (0.036 km2)  0.04%
Elevation
2,612 ft (796 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total36,877
 • Density1,200/sq mi (460/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
92223
Area code951
FIPS code06-04758
GNIS feature ID1660318
Websitewww.ci.beaumont.ca.us

Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States.

Now a growing, community planned city, the population was 36,877 at the 2010 census, and expected to be up to 125,000 projected by 2040, making Beaumont as California's next, newest fastest-growing city.[2]

Beaumont's neighbor cities include Banning to the east and Calimesa to the west, which faces the San Bernardino County line and the unincorporated community of Cherry Valley to the north.

History

During the early 1850s, many surveying parties passed through the vicinity of present-day Beaumont in search of a pass that would connect the east to the Pacific Ocean. The San Gorgonio Pass was discovered in 1853 by a surveying expedition under Lieutenant R.S. Williamson, who was sent by the United States government. Its discovery enthralled many who now saw that connecting to the ocean was a feasible measure and led to plans for connecting a railway from the Missouri River to the Pacific. By the early 1860s the Southern Pacific Railroad had laid tracks through the modern-day location of Beaumont. At the summit of the pass, a site was founded and named Edgar Station after a physician from one of the original expedition parties. Edgar Station served as a rest stop for railway travelers from the Mojave Desert on their way to the Los Angeles vicinity. Soon Edgar Station changed its name to San Gorgonio, named by a real estate development company, and it gradually attracted permanent residents.

The sleepy town of San Gorgonio became an incorporated California city on November 18, 1912, and adopted its current name of Beaumont (French for "beautiful mountain"). As of 1927, the town boasted a small population of 857 with five churches, The catholic church located on the corner of "B" Street and Elm was built and donated to the Catholic Archdiocese by Victor Dominguez a local resident who was rail road worker that came from mexico. The Dominguez Family was the first family of the Barrio, which is now known as the South Side of Beaumont's Historical Barrio Rail Road District. a public library, a bank, a high school, two local newspapers, several lumber yards, commercial packing houses, and a dehydrating plant. The city, one of Riverside County's largest apple growers, was dubbed "the land of the big red apple" by local residents in its early years. Apple orchards in and around the town expanded to a $200,000 industry by 1930. Beaumont saw a rise in visitors and residents as the little-known nearby city of Palm Springs to the east grew to become a highly popular resort spot in the 1930s and after; Beaumont followed suit and attempted to capitalize on the tourism by establishing guest ranches. According to an early 1930s/1940s postcard, the Highland Springs Guest Ranch of Beaumont offered its patrons horseback riding, tennis, archery, horseshoes, swimming, shuffle-board, ping pong, baseball, ballroom dancing, massage, basketball, as well as a place to spend the night.

A postcard of an early Beaumont luxury hotel sitting within local plant life typical of the area.

During the Cold War, a Lockheed rocket test site operated by Simi Valley-based Rocketdyne was established south of the town in Potrero Canyon. In late 2003, the majority of the Potrero Canyon site was sold to the State of California. Toxic chemicals used in rocket fuel and site test activities have been found in the soil and groundwater at the site, and planning is underway to begin cleanup sometime in the next few years. Plans are being developed by California Department of Fish and Game to allow public access. With the housing boom in the early decade, the urban sprawl reached the last remaining valleys of the Inland Empire.

Since 2000, with Beaumont's close proximity to Los Angeles, various Southern California residents flocked to the San Gorgonio Pass region for its low housing cost, causing a 20% jump in the city's population, making it the fastest growing city in the State.[3] This has concerned many local residents, who cite increasing student population in schools, rising demand on the water supply, and increasing traffic in and out of the city on Interstate 10 in both directions. A 2008 study by the Public Policy Institute of California noted that Beaumont and its surrounding communities in the San Jacinto Valley have registered the highest population growth throughout the sprawling Riverside County and the region is projected to increase by 4.5% a year to 310,000 by 2015.[4]

Beaumont is host to many new master-planned communities. The following communities are currently under construction or have been built: Oak Valley Greens, Three Rings Ranch, Solera by Del Webb later sold to Pulte Homes Inc., Sundance and Tournament Hills by Pardee Homes, and Fairway Canyon. These communities operate under HOAs and are similar to developments in Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga, and even Orange County suburbs. New big box stores have recently opened up in town, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a Home Depot Home Improvement Center, Staples, Best Buy, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Petco, Ross and two grocery stores Albertson's and Stater Bros. located across the street in the Sun Lakes Shopping Center (formerly K-Mart was the anchor store) in nearby Banning.

Celebrating its centennial throughout 2012, Beaumont will host many events and continue to highlight important eras of its history. Some of the likely highlights will include information about high profile persons like Albert Einstein, Elvis Presley, Wyatt Earp, Gorgeous George, and Guy Bogart which have visited and played key roles in shaping this small town.[5]

Future

The city of Beaumont will expand its city boundary and population with additional 25,000 new residential units being planned and built for the next 10-25 years.[6] The Preserve, an approved, upcoming 3,412 homes community, will be the largest, although Sundance, an in-progress 4,716 homes community by Pardee Homes, will be the city's largest. Over to the right from Sundance is Butterfield, an upcoming 5,400 homes community in the city of Banning, which will be California's largest residential community ever. Right now in the western part of Beaumont, several new, major roads are being built, including Potrero Blvd. to improve traffic congestion. Construction on the new Potrero Blvd. is in work right now. New, improved freeway intersections are on the way for expansion. With these many new homes being developed in the near future, Beaumont is easily predicted to be California's next fastest growing city with population in excess of 125,000 total, making it the largest master-planned community in the Greater Los Angeles area after Valencia, CA in the Santa Clarita Valley north of Los Angeles.

Geography

Beaumont is located at 33°55′27″N 116°58′25″W / 33.92417°N 116.97361°W / 33.92417; -116.97361 (33.924093, -116.973734).Template:GR

Its neighboring city to the east is Banning and Calimesa to the west.

With an elevation of 2,500-3,000 feet above sea level, Beaumont is at the peak on the San Gorgonio Pass between San Bernardino, CA and Palm Springs, CA neighboring the California Interstate 10 and California State Route 60 freeways. If driving east to Banning or west to Calimesa, drivers can feel a gradual downward slope.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.9 square miles (80 km2), of which, 99.96% of it is land and 0.04% is water.

Climate

Beaumont reaches an average of up to 95 degrees high Fahrenheit during the summer and 52 degrees low Fahrenheit during the winter. Due to its higher elevation, it is usually 5-10 Fahrenheit degrees cooler than its neighboring lower-elevation cities, such as Riverside, San Bernardino, Hemet/Perris/San Jacinto, and the Palm Springs desert area. Snow is rare.

Beaumont's slightly cooler temperatures and less smoggy air, compared to its neighboring lower-elevation cities, makes it an attractive, desirable area for development in the Los Angeles Inland Empire (California) region. However, it is one of the windiest cities in Southern California.

Annual precipitation is approximately 17" (http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate.php?location=USCA0075)

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census[7] reported that Beaumont had a population of 36,877. The population density was 1,192.4 people per square mile (460.4/km²). The racial makeup of Beaumont was 23,163 (62.8%) White, 2,276 (6.2%) African American, 544 (1.5%) Native American, 2,845 (7.7%) Asian, 83 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 6,058 (16.4%) from other races, and 1,908 (5.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14,864 persons (40.3%).

The Census reported that 36,403 people (98.7% of the population) lived in households, 263 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 211 (0.6%) were institutionalized.

There were 11,801 households, out of which 5,341 (45.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,152 (60.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,452 (12.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 708 (6.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 767 (6.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 106 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,906 households (16.2%) were made up of individuals and 695 (5.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08. There were 9,312 families (78.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.44.

The population was spread out with 11,121 people (30.2%) under the age of 18, 2,904 people (7.9%) aged 18 to 24, 11,058 people (30.0%) aged 25 to 44, 7,905 people (21.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,889 people (10.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.5 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

There were 12,908 housing units at an average density of 417.4 per square mile (161.2/km²), of which 8,846 (75.0%) were owner-occupied, and 2,955 (25.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.9%. 26,871 people (72.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,532 people (25.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 11,384 people, 3,881 households, and 2,782 families residing in the city. The population density was 418.9 people per square mile (161.8/km²). There were 4,258 housing units at an average density of 156.7 per square mile (60.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.1% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 2.3% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 20.3% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.2% of the population.

There were 3,881 households, 42.6% of them with children under the age of 18; 47.3% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. Single individuals made up 22.3% of all households, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.9 persons and the average family size was 3.4.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.0% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,295 in 2007. Males had a median income of $30,829 versus $20,613 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,141. About 17.8% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.9% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the state legislature Beaumont is located in the 37th Senate District, represented by Republican Bill Emmerson, and in the 65th Assembly District, represented by Republican Paul Cook. Federally, Beaumont is located in California's 41st congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +9[8] and is represented by Republican Jerry Lewis.

Public services

Public safety

The California Highway Patrol has a regional office on the Beaumont side of Highland Springs Avenue (its jurisdiction goes from Calimesa to the west to Desert Hot Springs to the east, as well as Hemet and San Jacinto to the south).

Beaumont has its own police department and contracts for fire services with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with Cal Fire.

Education

The Beaumont Unified School District has 9 schools in its city and 3 others in unincorporated Cherry Valley.

  • High schools: Beaumont, Glen View (continuation)
  • Middle schools: Mountain View and San Gorgonio
  • Elementary schools: Anna Hause, Brookside, Highland Springs, Palm Avenue, Sundance, Three Rings Ranch and Tournament Hills

Cemeteries

Mountain View Cemetery[9] (also known as the Beaumont Cemetery) was established as the Beaumont Public Cemetery District in 1927.[10] It began as a family cemetery for the Osburn family in 1843 and is now operated by the Summit Cemetery District.[11] The district also operates the Stewart Sunnyslope Cemetery[12][13] which was developed from land donated to the city in 1888.[14]

Miscellaneous

The 1995 movie How to Make an American Quilt filmed many of its driving scenes through Beaumont. Local wildlife in the surrounding vicinity include quail, coyotes, and foxes. Today the town is home to many antique store establishments dating back several decades, including the Nettie and Alice Museum of Hobbies and the modern-day Beaumont Antique Mall.

Although raised in Pomona and Arcadia, California, current NASA Astronaut and STS-118 crew member Tracy E. Caldwell graduated from Beaumont High School in 1987.[15] Former actor Brion James also used to reside in Beaumont.

Profesional Wrestler George Wagner, known as "Gorgeous George" had a 195-acre (0.79 km2) turkey ranch in Beaumont, CA in the late 1950s to early 1960s.[16]

A few episodes of the TV show "My Name is Earl" were filmed in Beaumont, as well as many of the show's opening scenes; the liquor store where he buys the winning lotto ticket, the car wash, and the scene where Earl gets hit by a car were all filmed near the intersection of 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.[17]

Media

References

  1. ^ U.S. Census
  2. ^ Hoffman Land | http://www.hoffmanland.com/land_docs/116.pdf | page 11 |
  3. ^ Woolseey, Matt (2007-07-16). "America's Fastest-Growing Suburbs". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  4. ^ Kelly, David (2008-04-10). "Inland Empire's growth to continue". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  5. ^ http://www.beaumont-banning.discoverthepass.com
  6. ^ Hoffman Land | http://www.hoffmanland.com/land_docs/116.pdf | page 11 |
  7. ^ Template:USCensus-2010CA
  8. ^ "Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?". Campaign Legal Center Blog. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ 33°56′37″N 116°58′51″W / 33.9436270°N 116.9808594°W / 33.9436270; -116.9808594 USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
  10. ^ Mountain View Cemetery (aka Beaumont Cemetery) Find A Grave
  11. ^ Summit Cemetery District
  12. ^ 33°56′46″N 116°52′43″W / 33.9461263°N 116.8786326°W / 33.9461263; -116.8786326 USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) [duplicate GNIS listings] 33°55′10″N 116°57′54″W / 33.9194608°N 116.9650252°W / 33.9194608; -116.9650252 USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
  13. ^ Stewart Sunnyslope Cemetery Find A Grave
  14. ^ Summit Cemetery District -- Stewart Sunnyslope Cemetery
  15. ^ DeCarlo, Paul (2006-08-10). "Beaumont High graduate gears up for shuttle flight". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  16. ^ url=http://www.trivia-library.com/b/biography-of-famous-wrestler-gorgeous-george-part-2.htm
  17. ^ url=http://www.boxxet.com/My_Name_Is_Earl/news:beaumont-s-everywhereness-lures-hit-tv-show/
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