Fellows is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

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. Fellows is located west-northwest of Taft, at an elevation of . The population was 106 at the 2010 census, down from 153 at the 2000 census. Fellows is surrounded on all sides by the enormous

Midway-Sunset Oil Field The Midway-Sunset Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California in the United States. It is the largest known oilfield in California and the third largest in the United States. The field was discovered in 1894, ...

, the third-largest oil field in the United States, and the oil and gas industry accounts for much of the area's economic activity.

Geography

Fellows is located at . 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 CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

History

Fellows developed as an oil boomtown after the 1909 discovery of the Midway Gusher. The first post office at Fellows opened in 1910. The name Fellows honors Charles A. Fellows, a Sunset Western Railroad contractor. Perhaps Fellows' greatest claim to fame was as the location of a fictional event. The 1969 educational film

The Lottery ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, based on the famous short story by

Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...

, was shot at Fellows. It featured a small town much like thousands of others across America holding an apparently ordinary, mundane civic event that had a cold-blooded, horrifying ending to an unfortunate victim come from out-of-nowhere. The film was ranked as one of the two bestselling educational films ever and has been widely shown in educational settings across America as an indictment against unthinking adherence to tradition and general inhumanity.

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Fellows had a population of 106. The population density was . The racial makeup of Fellows was 94 (88.7%) White, 1 (0.9%) African American, 5 (4.7%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 2 (1.9%) from other races, and 4 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11 people (10.4%). The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized. There were 37 households, 17 (45.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 25 (67.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6 (16.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1 (2.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1 (2.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4 households (10.8%) were one person and 1 (2.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.86. There were 32 families (86.5% of households); the average family size was 3.06. The age distribution was 29 people (27.4%) under the age of 18, 8 people (7.5%) aged 18 to 24, 19 people (17.9%) aged 25 to 44, 38 people (35.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 12 people (11.3%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males. There were 40 housing units at an average density of 60.9 per square mile, of the occupied units 33 (89.2%) were owner-occupied and 4 (10.8%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 0%. 91 people (85.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 15 people (14.2%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 153 people, 56 households, and 39 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 58 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 CDP was 88.89% White, 1.96% Native American, 1.31% Asian, 0.65% Pacific Islander, 6.54% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. 14.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 56 households 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 19.6% of households were one person and 7.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.10. The age distribution was 28.1% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. The median household income was $30,417 and the median family income was $30,000. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $20,781 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,636. About 17.5% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.7% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.

References