Hilmar is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Merced County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. It is located west-southwest of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, spanning and at an elevation of above sea level. For census purposes, Hilmar is aggregated with a nearby community into the Hilmar-Irwin

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 ...

, which had 5,164 residents as of the 2020 census. Hilmar began as a colony of Swedish immigrants as early as 1906. The first post office opened in 1920. It is the home of the Hilmar Cheese Company which was founded in 1984 and began production in 1985. Hilmar has five schools within its district: Elim Elementary, Merquin Elementary, Hilmar Middle School, Hilmar High School, and Irwin Continuation School. Residents refer to the agricultural area as "Country Living at Its Best", and for people living outside the community, it is referred to as "100 Miles to Anywhere". Hilmar has the 10th largest community of Portuguese-American people, by percentage of population. In support of the Portuguese population, there is a Portuguese bakery and fish market, and the high school has a Portuguese club, S.E.C.A., and teaches the Portuguese language. Hilmar was the southernmost station of the

Tidewater Southern Railway The Tidewater Southern Railway was a short line railroad in Central California in the United States. For most of its history, it was a subsidiary of the Western Pacific Railroad. It was originally built as an interurban system, connecting to the ...

. The line terminating in the town was considered the main line of the railroad and was projected to continue south toward

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

until the mid-1930s. The line into Hilmar was abandoned in the late 1950s. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Hilmar is in

California's 13th congressional district California's 13th congressional district is a California's congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Adam Gray, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, has represented this district since January 20 ...

, represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Adam Gray Adam Channing Gray (born September 23, 1977) is an American politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from after defeating Republican incumbent John Duarte in the 2024 election. A Democrat, he previously served ...

as of January 2025.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Merced County, California Swedish-American culture in California Unincorporated communities in California 1906 establishments in California Populated places established in 1906