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Camp Nelson is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...
in
Tulare County, California Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great La ...
. Camp Nelson is east of Springville. Camp Nelson has a
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
with ZIP code 93208. The population was 109 at the 2020 census, up from 97 at the 2010 census. Camp Nelson can be reached from Porterville by 33 curvy miles on
California State Route 190 State Route 190 (SR 190) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that is split into two parts by the Sierra Nevada. The western portion begins at Tipton at a junction with State Route 99 and heads east towards Porterville before end ...
with an elevation gain of 4,439 feet.


Geography

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 CDP covers an area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km), all of it land.


Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Camp Nelson has a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.


Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Camp Nelson had a population of 106. The population density was . The racial makeup of Camp Nelson was 92 (86.8%)
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 ...
, 0 (0.0%)
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 ...
, 6 (5.7%) Native American, 3 (2.8%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)
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 ...
, 3 (2.8%) from other races, and 2 (1.9%) from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...
of any race were 3 persons (2.8%). The whole population lived in households. There were 69 households, out of which 11 (15.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 31 (44.9%) were married-couple households, 5 (7.2%) 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, 18 (26.1%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 15 (21.7%) had a male householder with no partner present. 23 households (33.3%) were one person, and 13 (18.8%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.54. There were 42
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 ...
(60.9% of all households). The age distribution was 4 people (3.8%) under the age of 18, 1 people (0.9%) aged 18 to 24, 14 people (13.2%) aged 25 to 44, 39 people (36.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 48 people (45.3%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 63.3years. There were 46 males and 60 females. There were 361 housing units at an average density of , of which 69 (19.1%) were occupied year round, all by homeowners, and 292 (80.9%) were used seasonally. Annually, the town hosts the summer Mountain Festival in the Camp Nelson Meadow, which was established through th
John M. Nelson conservancy
Apart from the annual festival, visitors come to Camp Nelson to see th

near Belknap campground. A smal
tungsten mine
operated in the area until the 1950s.


History

In 1886, John Nelson began to homestead land above Porterville that became Nelson’s Camp. This became a popular stopover spot for cattlemen, sheepmen, hunters, and fishermen. Nelson soon enlarged his house and remodeled it into a two-story hotel. Afterwards, a few cabins were added and the spot became known as Nelson’s Camp. John Nelson died August 3, 1909, aged 79. With his death, his daughter, Emma, and her husband took over the operation. In 1922, a road suitable for automobiles was completed to the camp. The camp was sold in 1937 and operated by different families over the years. Electricity reached Camp Nelson in 1951 and in the mid-1960’s, the road was upgraded to all year access. From 1976 to 1979, the Civil War Re-Enactment Society held Civil War skirmishes in Nelson Meadow with a "Blue and Grey" ball later at the Lodge. After some complicated financial dealings, the property and business were sold to Jim and Bonnie Hood in June 1987. In a case that attracted national attention, Bonnie Hood was murdered August 19, 1990 as she slept at the lodge. Bruce Beauchamp, an employee of Jim Hood, was acquitted of her murder on March 29, 1991. Jim Hood later shot Beauchamp to death and he was convicted of that murder in a second trial. Later, Jim Hood deeded the Lodge to his attorney, Philip Bourdette. Ron Peterson, who held the mortgage on the Lodge, foreclosed and won the proceedings. Ron Peterson sold the Lodge to Steven Huth and Mike Quatacker. The Lodge and motel were later sold to Len Aten. Aten held a few conferences and special events in the Lodge, but it was never open to the general public. The John M Nelson Conservancy (a California non-profit public benefit corporation) was created in 1985 due to the breakup of the Camp Nelson Resort properties. The primary aim of the Conservancy was to acquire the six and a half acre Camp Nelson meadow. After raising $85,000 in public donations, the Conservancy acquired the meadow in December, 1997. Special events are held in the meadow from time to time. In September, 2020, Camp Nelson was spared the destruction of other small communities in the area by the naturally sparked Sequoia Complex Fire (
SQF Complex The SQF Complex fire—also called the SQF Lightning Complex—was a wildfire complex that burned in Tulare County in Central California in 2020. Comprising the Castle and Shotgun fires, it affected Sequoia National Forest and adjacent areas. B ...
)


References


External links


John M Nelson Conservancy
{{authority control Census-designated places in Tulare County, California Census-designated places in California