Dos Palos (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "Two Timbers") is a city in

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Dos Palos is located south-southwest of

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, at an elevation of . The population was 5,798 at the 2020 census, up from 4,950 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Dos Palos is located in southern Merced County at . It is southeast of Los Banos and by road west of Madera. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city covers an area of , all of it land.

History

In one of his expeditions during the 1820s along the west side of the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

, explorer

Gabriel Moraga Gabriel Moraga (1765 – June 14, 1823) was a Sonoran-born Californio explorer and army officer. He was the son of the expeditionary José Joaquín Moraga who helped lead the de Anza Expedition to California in 1774, Like his father, Moraga is on ...

reported the location of two large isolated poplar trees, which he called "Dos Palos". In 19th-century Spanish usage, ''palos'' was used to describe tall pole-like trees or "timbers". 21st-century usage often translates it as "sticks". The " Rancho Sanjon de Santa Rita" Mexican land grant cites "Los Dos Palos" or "The Two Trees" as a boundary marker. In 1891, former school superintendent Bernhard Marks convinced cattle ranch king

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

to develop a small town nearby. They gave it the name "Dos Palos Colony" but pronounced it with their ethnic accents (Marks a Polish Jew and Miller an Alsatian German) as "Dahce Palace". This pronunciation remained for over one hundred years until a recent Spanish pronunciation revival. Marks brought forty pioneer families west from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

to establish the community. In 1892, unable to find good water, many of the settlers left. Marks convinced Miller to establish another town two miles away on land unsuitable for farming and ranching due to swamps and unsettling soils. Some of the settlers relocated. This new town was named "Colony Center". In 1906, Dos Palos Colony was renamed South Dos Palos and Colony Center was renamed Dos Palos. The Post Office was briefly misspelled as one word, "Dospalos" but this was changed within a year. About a dozen of the colony's original families still reside locally. Through the years, people from many other locations joined the community. Dos Palos incorporated in 1935. On January 1, 2008, surrounding the community of Dos Palos were transferred from

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Dos Palos had a population of 4,950. The population density was . The racial makeup of Dos Palos was 3,377 (68.2%) White, 167 (3.4%) African American, 62 (1.3%) Native American, 37 (0.7%) Asian, 4 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,075 (21.7%) from other races, and 228 (4.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,075 persons (62.1%). The census reported that 4,922 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and 28 (0.6%) were institutionalized. There were 1,501 households, 731 (48.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 816 (54.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 232 (15.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 130 (8.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 119 (7.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 261 households (17.4%) were one person and 116 (7.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.28. There were 1,178 families (78.5% of households); the average family size was 3.69. The age distribution was 1,571 people (31.7%) under the age of 18, 532 people (10.7%) aged 18 to 24, 1,199 people (24.2%) aged 25 to 44, 1,114 people (22.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 534 people (10.8%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 31.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. There were 1,700 housing units at an average density of 1,259.5 per square mile, of the occupied units 929 (61.9%) were owner-occupied and 572 (38.1%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.9%. 2,955 people (59.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,967 people (39.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 4,581 people in 1,424 households, including 1,116 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 1,491 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 39.80% White, 4.15% Black or African American, 1.38% Native American, 0.61% Asian.54.18% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 1,424 households 45.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 18.7% of households were one person and 8.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.63. The age distribution was 34.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. 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. For ...

for a household in the city was $29,147, and the median family income was $35,906. Males had a median income of $30,568 versus $20,960 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,163. About 19.1% of families and 22.8% 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 t ...

, including 31.9% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those aged 65 and over.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Dos Palos is in , and . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Dos Palos is in . Members of the Dos Palos City Council serve four year terms. The 92nd and current panel consists of: * Mayor April Hogue, term ends November 20, 2024 * Mayor Pro Tem Debbie Orlando, term ends November 15, 2022 * Councilmember Armando Bravo, term ends November 20, 2024 * Councilmember Thomas Pigg, term ends November 15, 2022 * Councilmember Marcus Porter, term ends November 20, 2024.

Notable people

* Ana Isabel de Alba, lawyer and judge * Myron Joseph Cotta, bishop, Diocese of Stockton * Malcolm "Ike" Frankian, NFL football player with New York Giants, coach of Los Angeles Bulldogs, coach at Dos Palos High School *

Dave Henderson David Lee Henderson (July 21, 1958 – December 27, 2015), nicknamed "Hendu", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletic ...

, MLB baseball outfielder for Oakland A's and four other teams *

Shawn Hillegas Shawn Patrick Hillegas (born August 21, 1964) is a former professional right-handed pitcher. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). Biog ...

, MLB baseball pitcher for Oakland A's and four other teams * Cody Martin, MLB pitcher for the Oakland A's and two other teams

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Merced County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California 1935 establishments in California