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Corcoran is a city in
Kings County, California Kings County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. The population was 152,486 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Hanford. Kings County comprises the Hanford- Corcoran, CA metropolitan statistical area, which is also inc ...
, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,339, down from 24,813 (2010 census). Corcoran is located south-southeast of
Hanford Hanford may refer to: Places *Hanford (constituency), a constituency in Tuen Mun, People's Republic of China *Hanford, Dorset, a village and parish in England *Hanford, Staffordshire, England *Hanford, California, United States *Hanford, Iowa, ...
, at an elevation of . Corcoran is most notable as the site of the
California State Prison, Corcoran California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California. It is also known as Corcoran State Prison, CSP-C, CSP-COR, CSP-Corcoran, and Corcoran I. The facility is just nor ...
. The
California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran (SATF) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California, specifically designed to house inmates who have substance use disorder. I ...
is a separate facility that is also located in the city. As of January 1, 2015, the two prisons held a combined total of 9,592 inmates. Inmates are counted as city residents by both the
United States Census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...
and the California Department of Finance. Thus, the incarcerated people in the two prisons comprise just over 43% of the total population of Corcoran.


History

Corcoran was founded by Hobart Johnstone Whitley, a prominent land developer from southern California, who took the lead in building Corcoran (the main street of the community is named in his honor). Liking what he saw during a visit to the area in 1905 (a blacksmith shop, small store, scattered homes and a lush, untapped vista with herds of grazing wild hogs, horses and steers) Whitley purchased to start development. Much like in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
(
Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...
and Canoga Park his "creations"), Whitley "leveraged" his holdings with the support of important Los Angeles businessmen. Whitley first intended the town be named "Otis", after Harrison Gray Otis of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', and streets as Otis, Sherman, Letts (the Broadway store) and Ross (after his son, Ross Whitley) show the connections. Whitley, it is claimed, purchased and platted some 150 towns over the American West—and Corcoran is one of his last. Whitley moved a member of his real estate firm, J. W. Guiberson, to the area. Guiberson became one of the many pioneers of the community, building the first home and business structure in Corcoran. His family also helped establish the first church in the community, an event which helped lead to the town's incorporation on August 14, 1914. The basis of Corcoran's economy then and now is agriculture. Initially, the most successful crops were grains, alfalfa and sugar beets. In 1933, more than 12,000 workers went on strike against cotton farmers, one of the largest California agricultural strikes of 1933. Strikers in Corcoran created a tent city that eventually held more than 3,000 people, more than double the town's population. Its lack of water or sewage systems created waves of illness. Streets were staked out in the tent city, and committees of workers governed the camp. The J. G. Boswell Company was established in Corcoran in 1921 and remains a major employer in the city. The first post office opened in 1901.


Geography

Corcoran is located at . According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land. The ground under Corcoran is subsiding due to withdrawal of groundwater by agricultural interests. There has been up to of subsidence over the past 14 years. Soils around Corcoran are somewhat poorly drained to poorly drained loam or fine sandy loam which is often saline as in the widespread Lakeside series. Other important soil series include the Armona, Gambogy, Grangeville, Kimberlina, and Lemoore. Corcoran is occasionally subject to areal flooding due to its position in a basin. Notable flood years include 1983 and 2023.


Climate


Demographics

Corcoran is part of the
Hanford Hanford may refer to: Places *Hanford (constituency), a constituency in Tuen Mun, People's Republic of China *Hanford, Dorset, a village and parish in England *Hanford, Staffordshire, England *Hanford, California, United States *Hanford, Iowa, ...
–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area.


2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Corcoran had a population of 22,339. The population density was . The racial makeup of Corcoran was 26.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 13.0%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.9% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 46.6% from other races, and 10.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 69.6% of the population. The census reported that 60.6% of the population lived in households and 39.4% were institutionalized. There were 4,033 households, out of which 49.4% included children under the age of 18, 44.4% were married-couple households, 9.1% were
cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...
couple households, 28.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.6% of households were one person, and 8.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.35. There were 3,104
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(77.0% of all households). The age distribution was 19.8% under the age of 18, 8.5% aged 18 to 24, 38.9% aged 25 to 44, 25.1% aged 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 35.6years. For every 100 females, there were 224.2 males. However, the statistics relating to the disparity between the male and female population in Corcoran is due to the prison's male only population. There were 4,249 housing units at an average density of , of which 4,033 (94.9%) were occupied. Of these, 51.4% were owner-occupied, and 48.6% were occupied by renters.


2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Corcoran had a population of 24,813. The population density was . The racial makeup of Corcoran was 8,940 (36.0%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 3,725 (15.0%)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 349 (1.4%) Native American, 193 (0.8%) Asian, 17 (0.1%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 10,979 (44.2%) from other races, and 610 (2.5%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 15,545 people (62.6%). The Census reported that 12,573 people (50.7% of the population) lived in households, 116 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 12,124 (48.9%) were institutionalized. There were 3,594 households, out of which 1,981 (55.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,737 (48.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 781 (21.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 376 (10.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 384 (10.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 19 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 556 households (15.5%) were made up of individuals, and 214 (6.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.50. There were 2,894
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(80.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.84. The population was spread out, with 4,434 people (17.9%) under the age of 18, 2,695 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 10,203 people (41.1%) aged 25 to 44, 6,163 people (24.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,318 people (5.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 294.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 398.0 males. There were 3,958 dwelling units at an average density of , of which 1,851 (51.5%) were owner-occupied, and 1,743 (48.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.8%. 6,607 people (26.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,966 people (24.0%) lived in rental housing units.


Economy

At the time of the 2000 census, the median
income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
for a household in the city was $30,783, and the median income for a family was $32,852. Males had a median income of $30,787 versus $21,792 for females. The per capita income for the city was only $13,458. It is noteworthy that about 23.4% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 36.4% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over. Many local residents are employed in agriculture. However, the community has been affected by the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
as well as the decline of the cotton industry, the California drought and restrictions on pumping from the
Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...
delta to protect endangered species. In November 2016, the unemployment rate was 11.1%. The largest employers in Corcoran include the
California State Prison, Corcoran California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California. It is also known as Corcoran State Prison, CSP-C, CSP-COR, CSP-Corcoran, and Corcoran I. The facility is just nor ...
, the
California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran (SATF) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California, specifically designed to house inmates who have substance use disorder. I ...
, the Corcoran Unified School District, and the J. G. Boswell Company.


Government

Corcoran employs 21 full time personnel including 15 uniformed officers, two detectives, one evidence technician, one community service officer, five clerk-dispatchers, two reserve officers, and Animal Control Services. Kings County Fire Department provides firemen who provide services with the assistance of volunteers. Industrial sites—There are approximately 320 acres in the city limits zones for light and heavy industry with two industrial parks included in this total.


Politics

Corcoran is located within California's 22nd congressional district, and is represented by Republican David G. Valadao. In the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Corcoran is located within: * 14th California State Senate District, which is represented by Democrat Melissa Hurtado * 32nd California State Assembly District, represented by Democrat Rudy Salas. Corcoran is represented on the Kings County Board of Supervisors by Richard Valle of Corcoran.


Education

Corcoran Unified School District is the public organization responsible for education in the town of Corcoran. The school district has seven schools. * Bret Harte * John C. Fremont * Mark Twain * John Muir Middle School * Corcoran High School * Corcoran Academy * Kings Lake Educational Center


Infrastructure


Railroads

Corcoran is served by the
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
, which is the successor to the
Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...
. The mainline track through Corcoran was part of a route connecting the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
to
Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...
. The track was constructed by the
San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway The San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad was a California rail line between Stockton, California, Stockton and Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield constructed in the late 1890s and very shortly thereafter purchased by the Atchison, Tope ...
about 1898. Corcoran was the southern terminus of the Visalia District, a branch line running to Calwa via Tulare, Visalia, and Reedley. This line was abandoned and the rails pulled up in the 1990s. Only the wye and a short section of track remain to serve a lineside industry. Today, Amtrak California's San Joaquin stops at Corcoran station. From 1910 to 1934, the Kings Lake Shore Railroad operated a line that ran southwest from Corcoran to what is the now-extinct
Tulare Lake Tulare Lake () or Tache Lake ( Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'', ''Pah-áh-sē'') is a freshwater lake in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. Historically, Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi R ...
. On December 2, 2010, the
California High-Speed Rail Authority The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is a California state agency established in 1996 pursuant to the California High-Speed Rail Act to develop and implement high-speed intercity rail service, namely the California High-Speed Rail pro ...
Board voted to start construction of the first part of the
California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...
line at Borden near Madera and continue it to Corcoran. Construction began in 2012. accessed 12-4-10


See also

* Corcoran Prisoner of War Branch Camp


References


Further reading

*


External links


City of Corcoran


January 2024; Phys. {{authority control Cities in Kings County, California San Joaquin Valley 1914 establishments in California Populated places established in 1914 Incorporated cities and towns in California