Moraga, California

Moraga is a town in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the town is named in honor of Joaquín Moraga, member of the famed Californio family. As of 2020, Moraga had a total population of 16,870 people. Moraga is the home of Saint Mary's College of California.

History

The land now called Moraga was first inhabited by the Saklan people, who belonged to the Bay Miwok language group.

Joaquin Moraga was the grandson of José Joaquín Moraga, builder of the Presidio of San Francisco and founder of the pueblo that grew into the city of San Jose. Joaquin's father Gabriel Moraga was also a soldier, and an early explorer who named many of the state's rivers, including the Sacramento and San Joaquin.

Moraga is located on the 1835 Mexican Land Grant Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados given to Joaquin Moraga and his cousin, Juan Bernal. Part of that grant was the property today known as Moraga Ranch. The Moraga Adobe has been preserved and is located in neighboring Orinda. Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School, a middle school in Moraga, bears his name.

In the first half of the 20th century, the line of the Sacramento Northern Railroad ran through Moraga; much of the old right-of-way is now part of the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail.

Moraga's first post office opened in 1886, and was closed in 1887; it reopened in 1915. In 1955, Moraga built a new post office.
Saint Mary's College of California moved to Moraga in 1928.
Moraga incorporated in 1974, when the communities of ''Moraga Town'', ''Rheem'', and ''Rheem Valley'', united into one town.

In June 2017, Moraga declared a fiscal emergency, because a sinkhole in the downtown area and a failed bridge on Canyon Road were expected to cost $5 million to repair.

Geography

Moraga is located adjacent to the cities of Lafayette and Orinda, as well as the unincorporated community of Canyon. Other nearby cities include Walnut Creek, Oakland, San Francisco, Concord and Berkeley.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.09% is water. Moraga is in a valley, surrounded by rolling hills. Large sections of the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail pass through the town.

Climate

Moraga has a Mediterranean climate, with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. In the summer, morning fog is a common occurrence, but it usually burns off by the late morning or early afternoon, giving way to clear skies the rest of the day. Most of the annual rainfall comes during the winter; snow is very rare, but occasional light dustings have been seen. Over the course of a year, the town averages 26 days of or higher, 40 nights of or lower, and 59 days with rain. In 2014, the southwestern US was plagued by a serious drought. Moraga was badly burdened, with high fire warnings.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Moraga had a population of 16,870. The population density was . The racial makeup of Moraga was 64.5% White, 1.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 18.9% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 12.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population.

The census reported that 91.2% of the population lived in households, 8.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized.

There were 5,698 households, out of which 37.4% included children under the age of 18, 67.0% were married-couple households, 2.8% were cohabiting couple households, 20.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 10.2% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.6% of households were one person, and 11.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.7. There were 4,477 families (78.6% of all households).

The age distribution was 21.9% under the age of 18, 15.8% aged 18 to 24, 14.8% aged 25 to 44, 27.5% aged 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 42.9years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males.

There were 5,932 housing units at an average density of , of which 5,698 (96.1%) were occupied. Of these, 81.2% were owner-occupied, and 18.8% were occupied by renters.

Arts and culture

The Moraga Library of the Contra Costa County Library is located along Saint Marys Road in Moraga.

Government

As of February 10, 2019, Moraga has 11,024 voters with 4,737 (43%) registered Democrats, 2,766 (25.1%) registered Republicans and 3,105 (28.2%) independent voters.

Education

Moraga is home to the grade schools of Los Perales Elementary, Donald L. Rheem School, Camino Pablo School, and Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School; Campolindo High School; and Saint Mary's College of California, a private college. In 2011, Moraga was named a top city to live and learn in.

Primary and secondary schools

The majority of Moraga is in the Moraga School District. That district includes:
* Camino Pablo Elementary School, grades K–5
* Los Perales Elementary School, grades K–5
* Donald L. Rheem Elementary School, grades K–5
* Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School, grades 6–8

A small section of Moraga is in Orinda Union Elementary School District.

All of Moraga is in the Acalanes Union High School District. That district includes:
*Campolindo High School, grades 9–12

The Saklan School (formerly known as Saklan Valley School and The Carden School of Moraga), a private elementary school founded in 1954, is also located in Moraga. It is a co-educational school with around 155 students from preschool to 8th grade. The school is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (a member of the National Association of Independent Schools), and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It has a maximum class size of 16.

Moraga's only public high school is Campolindo High School, although some Moraga students choose to attend Miramonte High School, located just across the town border in Orinda. Both schools are part of the Acalanes Union High School District, which encompasses Moraga, Lafayette, Orinda, and parts of Walnut Creek.

Orion Academy is a private secondary school for students with conditions such as Asperger syndrome, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and nonverbal learning disorder.

Colleges and universities

Saint Mary's College of California is located just northeast of downtown Moraga; it is a Catholic university with 3,962 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the 2007–2008 school year. The college was originally located in San Francisco and then Oakland, but moved to Moraga in 1928.

Notable people

* Conrad Bassett-Bouchard, North American Scrabble champion
* Matt Biondi, Olympic gold medalist (swimming)
* Corbin Burnes, Major League Baseball pitcher; attended St. Mary's College
* Rajiv Chandrasekaran, journalist, author; was raised in Moraga
* Hans Florine, speed climber
* Will Forte, actor, comedian and writer
* Still Woozy, singer and songwriter
*George Harrison, 1960 Olympic gold medalist and world record holder (swimming)
* Erika Henningsen, lead performer in Tony Award nominated musical, ''Mean Girls''; voice of Charlie Morningstar in ''Hazbin Hotel'' on Amazon Prime Video
*Daniel Levitin, best-selling author, cognitive neuroscientist, and musician
* Andrew Mayne, best-selling author, artificial intelligence researcher, television personality
* Patty Mills, NBA player, San Antonio Spurs, attended St. Mary's College
* Aaron Poreda, Major League Baseball pitcher
* Stephen Robinson, astronaut and professor
* J.R. Rotem, Canadian-Israeli-American record producer
* Kim Vandenberg, Olympic silver medalist (swimming)
* Peter Varellas, Olympic silver medalist (water polo)
*Matt Vasgersian, sportscaster for MLB Network; was raised in Moraga

References

*

External links

*

Moraga Chamber of Commerce

{{Authority control

Incorporated cities and towns in California
Cities in Contra Costa County, California
Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area