Mojave, CA
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Mojave (formerly Mohave) is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of
Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
, and north of Los Angeles, at an elevation of . The town is located in the western region of the Mojave Desert, below and east of Oak Creek Pass and the Tehachapi Mountains. Mojave is on the Pacific Crest Trail. The population was 4,238 at the 2010 census, up from 3,836 at the 2000 census. Telephone numbers in Mojave follow the format (661) 824-xxxx and the area includes three postal ZIP Codes.


History

The town of Mojave began in 1876 as a construction camp on the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
. From 1884 to 1889, the town was the western terminus of the ,
twenty-mule team Twenty-mule teams were teams of eighteen mules and two horses attached to large wagons that transported borax out of Death Valley from 1883 to 1889. They traveled from mining, mines across the Mojave Desert to the nearest Rail transport, railroad ...
at
Harmony Borax Works The Harmony Borax Works is located in Death Valley at Furnace Creek Springs, then called Greenland. It is now located within Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Origin and tw ...
in Death Valley. It later served as headquarters for construction of the
Los Angeles Aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...
.


Mojave Airport: aviation and military use

Located near
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
,
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Installat ...
, and Palmdale Regional Airport, Mojave has a rich aerospace history. Besides being a general-use public airport, Mojave has three main areas of activity: flight testing, space industry development, and aircraft heavy maintenance and storage. The closest airfield to the city, formerly known as the Mojave Airport, is now part of the Mojave Air and Space Port. In 1935, Kern County established the Mojave Airport east of town to serve the gold and silver mining industry in the area. The airport consisted of two dirt runways, one of which was oiled, but it lacked any fueling or servicing facilities. In 1941, the Civil Aeronautics Board began improvements to the airport for national defense purposes that included two asphalt runways and adjacent taxiway. Kern County agreed the airport could be taken over by the military in the event of war. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the
U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
took over the airport and expanded it into Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station (MCAAS) Mojave. The two existing runways were extended and a third one added. Barracks were constructed to house 2,734 male and 376 female military personnel. Civilian employment at the base would peak at 176. The Marines would eventually spend more than $7 million on the base, which totaled . Many of the Corps' World War II aces received their gunnery training at Mojave. During World War II, Mojave hosted 29 aircraft squadrons, four Carrier Aircraft Service Detachments, and three Air Warning Squadrons. At its peak, the air station had 145 training and other aircraft. Mojave also had a swimming pool that was used to train aviators in emergency water egress and for recreation. The base's 900-seat auditorium hosted several USO shows that featured Bob Hope, Frances Langford and Marilyn Maxwell. With the end of WWII, MCAAS was dis-established on February 7, 1946; a U.S. Navy Air Station was established the same day. The Navy used the airport for drone operations for less than a year, closing it on January 1, 1947. The base remained closed for four years until the outbreak of the Korean War. Mojave was reactivated as an auxiliary landing field to
MCAS El Toro Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro, near Irvine, California. Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Aviation on the West Coast ...
. The airport was recommissioned as a MCAAS on December 31, 1953. Squadrons used Mojave for ordnance training when El Toro had bad weather. Marine Corps reserve units were temporarily deployed to Mojave for two week periods. MCAAS Mojave personnel peaked at 400 military and 200 civilians during this period. In 1961, after the USMC transferred operations to MCAS El Centro, Kern County obtained title to the airport. In February 1972, the East Kern Airport District (EKAD) was formed to administer the airport; EKAD maintains the airport to this day. To a great extent EKAD was the brainchild of Dan Sabovich who heavily lobbied the state for the airport district's creation and ran EKAD until 2002. During the 1970s, Mojave Airport was served by commuter air carrier Golden West Airlines with scheduled passenger flights operated with
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
turboprops direct to Los Angeles (
LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
).


Mojave Air and Space Port

On November 20, 2012, the EKAD Board of Directors voted to change the name of the district to the Mojave Air and Space Port. Officials said that the spaceport name is well known around the world, but EKAD is not. The change took effect on January 1, 2013. The airport is now the home of various aerospace companies and institutions such as Scaled Composites and the civilian National Test Pilot School. The town was home to the Rutan Voyager, the first aircraft to fly around the world nonstop and unrefueled. The airport is also the first inland spaceport in the United States, and was the location of the first private spaceflight, the launch of SpaceShipOne on June 21, 2004. Mojave also has a Mojave Transportation Museum.


Geography

Mojave is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , over 99% of it land.


Climate

Mojave has a desert climate ( Köppen:
BWk The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
), ''cold desert'' for using an isotherm of mean annual temperature of less than or ''hot desert'' (BWh) for using an isotherm of less than for the mean temperature of the coldest month. It has hot summers and cool winters. Average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . Average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 98 days with highs of and an average of 45.7 days with lows of . The record high temperature was on August 5, 1914. The record low temperature was on December 23, 1990. Average annual rainfall is . There are an average of 22 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1942 with . The most rainfall in one month was in February 1998. The most rainfall in 24 hours was on January 30, 1915. Snow is relatively rare in Mojave, averaging . The most snowfall in one month was in February 1911.


Demographics

For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Mojave as a census-designated place (CDP).


2010

The
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that Mojave had a population of 4,238. The population density was . The racial makeup of Mojave was 2,381 (56.2%) White, 638 (15.1%) African American, 54 (1.3%) Native American, 53 (1.3%)
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 19 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 867 (20.5%) from other races, and 226 (5.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 1,592 persons (37.6%). The 2010 Census reported that 4,238 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 1,525 households, out of which 614 (40.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 597 (39.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 305 (20.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 111 (7.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 161 (10.6%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...
, and 9 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 417 households (27.3%) were made up of individuals, and 128 (8.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78. There were 1,013 families (66.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.37. The population was spread out, with 1,298 people (30.6%) under the age of 18, 509 people (12.0%) aged 18 to 24, 938 people (22.1%) aged 25 to 44, 1,052 people (24.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 441 people (10.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. There were 1,817 housing units at an average density of , of which 719 (47.1%) were owner-occupied, and 806 (52.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 13.7%. 1,907 people (45.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,331 people (55.0%) lived in rental housing units.


2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,836 people, 1,408 households, and 940 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,806 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 67.54% White, 5.58% Black or African American, 1.33% Native American, 2.01%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 18.12% from other races, and 5.29% from two or more races. 28.31% of the population were Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race. There were 1,408 households, out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.31. In the town 32.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,761, and the median income for a family was $28,496. Males had a median income of $35,476 versus $19,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,477. About 31.7% of families and 36.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.


In popular culture

In the fictional universe of ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'', Mojave in the future has become a bustling metropolis, surrounded by 50 miles of parkland on all sides. It is the home city of Starfleet captain Christopher Pike.


References


Further reading

* Bailey, Richard C., ''Kern County Place Names'', (Bakersfield, California: Merchant's Printing and Lithography Co., 1967). * Beck, Warren A. and Ynez D. Haase, "92: Borax Mines and Roads of the Late 1800s," ''Historical Atlas of California'', (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1974).


External links


Official website
{{authority control Census-designated places in Kern County, California Populated places in the Mojave Desert Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in California Census-designated places in California