Kerman, California

Kerman (formerly Collis) is a city at the intersection of State Route 180 and State Route 145 in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 16,016 at the 2010 census. Kerman is located west of Fresno, at an elevation of .

History

Around 1891, the Southern Pacific Railroad constructed a new line between Tracy and Fresno. A watering tank and pump on that line was the beginning of Kerman, which was christened Collis in honor of the President of the railroad, Collis Potter Huntington. The first inhabitant, the caretaker of the pump and tank, kept the tank full of water for the thirsty engines with their long and lumbering trains. After some months, he resigned his job, not because of the work, he said, but because it was too lonesome and he was tired of being a hermit. He said he never saw anyone but the train crews and they were always in too big a hurry to carry on a conversation.

On August 3, 1892, the train bandits Chris Evans, John Sontag, and George Contant robbed a Southern Pacific train at Collis. Contant went to Folsom State Prison for the crime. Evans and John Sontag became fugitives for ten months before they were captured in 1893 in what is called the Battle of Stone Corral. John Sontag died of his wounds in custody, and Chris Evans was also sent to Folsom upon his conviction of the crime.

As a speculative venture, the old and very rich Bank of California purchased a huge tract of land in every County of California. The arid, barren land around Kerman seemed to be a good venture, so that happened to be the allotment for Fresno County.

After the death of its promoter, the bank became insolvent and its property was liquidated. The property here attracted the attention of two Los Angeles capitalists, William G. Kerckhoff and Jacob Mansar, who saw a chance to purchase a plentiful water supply from the newly constructed Enterprise Canal, which had its source in the Kings River. The men combined the first three letters of each of their names and christened the area "Kerman." They pitched the property to Scandinavians and Germans settled in the Midwest.

The Collis post office was opened in 1894, closed in 1899, re-established in 1904, and renamed Kerman in 1906. Kerman incorporated in 1946. The independent Kerman Telephone company retired its four-position manual telephone switchboard, described by a state telephone association as the last of its kind in California, in 1991.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Kerman had a population of 16,016. The population density was . The racial makeup of Kerman was 25.2% White, 0.6% African American, 2.4% Native American, 7.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 44.3% from other races, and 19.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 78.2% of the population.

The census reported that 99.95% of the population lived in households, and 8 people (0.05%) were institutionalized.

There were 4,418 households, out of which 56.1% included children under the age of 18, 55.9% were married-couple households, 8.1% were cohabiting couple households, 23.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 12.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 12.3% of households were one person, and 6.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.62. There were 3,686 families (83.4% of all households).

The age distribution was 31.7% under the age of 18, 10.7% aged 18 to 24, 27.7% aged 25 to 44, 19.5% aged 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 30.4years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males.

There were 4,512 housing units at an average density of , of which 4,418 (97.9%) were occupied. Of these, 58.9% were owner-occupied, and 41.1% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 27.0% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 30.9% spoke only English at home, 61.3% spoke Spanish, 4.5% spoke other Indo-European languages, 1.4% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.8% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 60.3% were high school graduates and 14.5% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income in 2023 was $57,556, and the per capita income was $24,817. About 23.8% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Kerman had a population of 13,544. The population density was . The racial makeup of Kerman was 6,860 (50.6%) White, 68 (0.5%) African American, 173 (1.3%) Native American, 1,091 (8.1%) Asian, 14 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 4,675 (34.5%) from other races, and 663 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9,711 persons (71.7%).

The census reported that 13,537 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 5 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 3,692 households, 2,160 (58.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,248 (60.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 615 (16.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 272 (7.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 285 (7.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 25 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 460 households (12.5%) were one person and 208 (5.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.67. There were 3,135 families (84.9% of households); the average family size was 3.97.

The age distribution was 4,648 people (34.3%) under the age of 18, 1,469 people (10.8%) aged 18 to 24, 3,870 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 2,580 people (19.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 977 people (7.2%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 28.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

There were 3,908 housing units at an average density of , of which 3,692 were occupied, 2,165 (58.6%) by the owners and 1,527 (41.4%) by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%. 8,215 people (60.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,322 people (39.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Education and Government

The Kerman Unified School District is the school district serving Kerman and the surrounding areas.

Public

*Kerman High School
*Kerman Middle School
*Enterprise High School (formerly Nova High School)
*Sun Empire Elementary School
*Kerman-Floyd Elementary School
*Goldenrod Elementary School
*Liberty Elementary School
*Harvest Elementary School

Private

* Kerman Christian School (on Kerman Covenant Church campus)
Government

In the United States House of Representatives, Lathrop is in California's 13th congressional district, represented by Democrat Adam Gray as of January 2025.

Points of interest

* M. Young Botanic Garden

Sister city relations

* Kannami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan - since October 12, 1985

References

External links

*
*Kerman Photo Histor
Kermanphotos

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Incorporated cities and towns in California
Cities in Fresno County, California
Populated places established in 1891
1891 establishments in California