Pixley 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, suc ...

(CDP) in Tulare County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. The population was 3,310 at the 2010 census, up from 2,586 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Pixley is located at (35.970405, -119.290729). 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 th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Pixley has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

History

The town began as a real-estate-speculation in 1884. The investors Darwin C. Allen, and William B. Bradbury knew their project would succeed only if the town was connected to the mainline of the Southern Pacific. They contacted Frank Pixley; a man whom they knew was a friend of

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Sen ...

. In 1886, Pixley joined with the original investors as a partner in the Pixley Townsite Company. The company purchased additional land in the vicinity. When The Southern Pacific extended its tracks to the Townsite, the town prospered. The terms of sale for the land was 25% down, the rest to be carried back for three years by the owners at 8 percent interest. The partners made a handsome profit. Special railroad fares were offered to people in other areas of California and as far away as

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in order to bring potential customers to see the new lands and the investment possibilities near Pixley. The first house built in Pixley was for Emma, William Pixley's widow, the late brother of Frank Pixley. Her three sons and daughter lived in the home. Emma bought a quarter section of an adjoining piece of land where she farmed until they moved back to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. Frank Pixley advertised the town named after him in his biweekly journal ''

The Argonaut ''The Argonaut'' was a newspaper based in San Francisco, California from 1878 to 1956. It was founded by Frank Somers, and soon taken over by Frank M. Pixley, who built it into a highly regarded publication. Under Pixley's stewardship it was c ...

''. In the early 1890s, Chris Evans and

John Sontag John Sontag (May 27, 1861 – July 3, 1893) was an outlaw of the American West known for train robberies. Background John Sontag was the oldest son of Maria (Bohn) and Jacob Contant of Mankato, Minnesota. After the death of his father in 1867, hi ...

robbed a

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 ...

train at Pixley. In 1933, Pixley was one of the towns in California involved in the

San Joaquin cotton strike The California agricultural strikes of 1933 were a series of strikes by mostly Mexican and Filipino agricultural workers throughout the San Joaquin Valley. More than 47,500 workers were involved in the wave of approximately 30 strikes from 1931-19 ...

, a labor action by agricultural workers seeking higher wages. A violent clash between strikers and growers left two workers dead and eight wounded. Five thousand workers gathered in Tulare for the dead strikers' funerals, one of the largest agricultural demonstrations in California's history. Eight cotton growers were indicted in the violence against the workers, but were later acquitted.''Endangered Dreams'',

Kevin Starr Kevin Owen Starr (September 3, 1940 – January 14, 2017) was an American historian and California's state librarian, best known for his multi-volume series on the history of California, collectively called "Americans and the California Dream." ...

, Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 74-83

Demographics

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 serving ...

reported that Pixley had a population of 3,310. The population density was . The racial makeup of Pixley was 1,473 (44.5%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 90 (2.7%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 28 (0.8%) Native American, 16 (0.5%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1,587 (47.9%) from other races, and 116 (3.5%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2,675 persons (80.8%). The Census reported that 3,310 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 798 households, out of which 498 (62.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 482 (60.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 116 (14.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 91 (11.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 85 (10.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 5 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 81 households (10.2%) were made up of individuals, and 38 (4.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.15. There were 689 families (86.3% of all households); the average family size was 4.34. The population was spread out, with 1,267 people (38.3%) under the age of 18, 404 people (12.2%) aged 18 to 24, 869 people (26.3%) aged 25 to 44, 562 people (17.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 208 people (6.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.9 males. There were 875 housing units at an average density of , of which 433 (54.3%) were owner-occupied, and 365 (45.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. 1,691 people (51.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,619 people (48.9%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 2,586 people, 651 households, and 557 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 723 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 32.87%

, 4.22%

, 1.74% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.08%

, 56.34% from other races, and 4.56% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 68.17% of the population. There were 651 households, out of which 54.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% 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 ...

living together, 18.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.3% were non-families. 11.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.96 and the average family size was 4.21. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 39.9% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 14.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $23,304, and the median income for a family was $23,750. Males had a median income of $25,855 versus $20,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $8,674. About 42.7% of families and 43.2% 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 53.0% of those under age 18 and 32.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Pixley is located in the 16th

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District, represented by Democrat

Dean Florez Dean Raymond Florez (born April 5, 1963 in Shafter, California) is a former California State Senator from the 16th Senate District, who served from 2002 until the end of his second term in November 2010. He was first elected to the California ...

, and in the 30th Assembly District, represented by Republican Danny Gilmore. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Pixley is in

Notable residents

* Roy W. Harmon, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. * Roy Buchanan, guitarist. *

Neil Hamburger Neil Hamburger is a fictional standup comedian and singer created by Australian-American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and ...

, America's Funnyman, alter-ego of

Gregg Turkington Gregg Turkington (born November 25, 1967) is an Australian-born American entertainer, actor, musician and writer. He is known for his performances as Neil Hamburger, a stand-up comedian persona he developed in the 1990s. Alongside Tim Heidecker, ...

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Tulare County, California Census-designated places in California Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in California