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 ...
(CDP) in
Tulare County
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 Lake ...
,
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 ...
. Ponderosa sits at an elevation of . The 2020 United States census reported Ponderosa's population was 51. Ponderosa can be reached from Porterville by 43 curvy miles on a combination of
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 ...
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 0.8 square miles (2.1 km), 99.51% of its land and 0.49% of its water.
Demographics
The 2020 United States census reported that Ponderosa had a population of 51. The population density was . The racial makeup of Ponderosa was 42 (82%)
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%)
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 ...
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 ...
, 1 (2%) from other races, and 4 (8%) 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 6 persons (12%).
There were 25 households, and the average household size was 2.04.
The age distribution was 7 people (13.7%) under the age of 18, 0 people (0%) aged 18 to 24, 6 people (12%) aged 25 to 44, 17 people (33%) aged 45 to 64, and 21 people (41%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 62.5years. There were 34 males and 17 females.
There were 142 housing units at an average density of , of which 25 (18%) were occupied year round and 104 (73%) were used seasonally. Of the occupied housing units, 24 (96%) were owner-occupied, and 1 (4%) were occupied by renters.
History
Ponderosa started as sheep pasture covering more than 280 acres originally owned by Alex Kramer. Over the years, his heirs sold parts of the property. One-third of the land was eventually sold to Don Carter, a real estate developer. In 1963, he subdivided his portion of the land and officially opened Ponderosa. In September, 2020, Ponderosa 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 ...