Ahwahnee, California Explained

Ahwahnee, California
Settlement Type:Census-designated place
Pushpin Map:California#USA
Pushpin Label:Ahwahnee
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Madera
Population Total:2296
Population As Of:2020
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Density Km2:76.80
Population Density Sq Mi:198.91
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[2]
Area Total Sq Mi:11.54
Area Land Sq Mi:11.54
Area Water Sq Mi:0.00
Area Total Km2:29.90
Area Land Km2:29.90
Area Water Km2:0.00
Area Water Percent:0
Timezone:Pacific (PST)
Utc Offset:-8
Timezone Dst:PDT
Utc Offset Dst:-7
Coordinates:37.3656°N -119.7264°W
Elevation M:709
Elevation Ft:2326
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:93601
Area Code:559
Blank Name:GNIS feature IDs
Blank Info:256142;
2628702
Blank1 Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Info:06-00478

Ahwahnee is a census-designated place in Madera County, California, United States. It is located 5.25miles west of Yosemite Forks, at an elevation of . The population was 2,296 at the 2020 census.

Ahwahnee is hilly and located in the Sierra Nevada. The ZIP Code is 93601. The community is inside area code 559. It is part of the Madera - Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The Ahwahnee post office opened in 1893 to 1896. The name, "Ahwahnee", is derived from the Southern Sierra Miwok word awwo, which in English means "mouth".[3] The Gertrude post office was transferred to and renamed "Ahwahnee" in 1900, closed in 1907, and re-opened in 1917.

A massive wildfire in 1961, called the Harlow Fire, destroyed 50 of Ahwahnee's 60 buildings.[4] While the community as a whole recovered,[5] two Ahwahnee residents were killed in the fire when their car became stuck on an unpaved road as they fled.[6] [7]

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Ahwahnee had a population of 2,246. The population density was 224.1sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of Ahwahnee was 2,064 (91.9%) White, 6 (0.3%) African American, 30 (1.3%) Native American, 16 (0.7%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 38 (1.7%) from other races, and 92 (4.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 196 people (8.7%).[8]

The census reported that 2,240 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and 6 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 898 households, 218 (24.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 541 (60.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 87 (9.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 46 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 45 (5.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 21 (2.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 170 households (18.9%) were one person and 105 (11.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49. There were 674 families (75.1% of households); the average family size was 2.81.

The age distribution was 421 people (18.7%) under the age of 18, 166 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 396 people (17.6%) aged 25 to 44, 705 people (31.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 558 people (24.8%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 49.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

There were 1,030 housing units at an average density of 102.8 per square mile, of the occupied units 711 (79.2%) were owner-occupied and 187 (20.8%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.9%. 1,737 people (77.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 503 people (22.4%) lived in rental housing units.

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: P1. Race – Ahwanee CDP, California: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) . June 24, 2022 . U.S. Census Bureau.
  2. Web site: 2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: California . June 24, 2022 . United States Census Bureau.
  3. Book: William Bright . 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning . Erwin Gustav Gudde . November 30, 1998 . University of California Press . 978-0-520-21271-8 . 11 . January 20, 2012.
  4. News: July 12, 1961 . Sierra Fire Kills 2, Burns Ahwahnee, Nipinnawasee . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240329155907/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fresno-bee-sierra-fire-kills-2-bur/144362615/ . March 29, 2024 . March 29, 2024 . . 1-A, 6-A . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: Anthony . H.M. . July 14, 1967 . Mountain Residents Remember Holocaust Of 1961 Harlow Fire . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240405155741/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19670714.2.22&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-------- . April 5, 2024 . April 15, 2024 . . 3 . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  6. Web site: 2001 . 20 Largest California Wildland Fires (By Structures Lost) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20011031164438/http://www.fire.ca.gov/FireEmergencyResponse/HistoricalStatistics/20largefiresstructures.asp . October 31, 2001 . www.fire.ca.gov . California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
  7. News: July 13, 1961 . Services Set For Fire Victims . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240402132843/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19610713.2.12&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-------- . April 2, 2024 . April 2, 2024 . . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  8. Web site: 2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Ahwahnee CDP . dead . https://archive.today/20140715023203/http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0600478 . July 15, 2014 . July 12, 2014 . U.S. Census Bureau.