San Lorenzo, California

San Lorenzo ( Spanish for "Saint Laurence") is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 29,581 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated community, located at the banks of San Lorenzo Creek. It was originally named ''Squattersville'' in 1851, but later renamed to San Lorenzo.

In 1944, under contract to the U.S. Navy, The David D. Bohannon Company began construction of San Lorenzo Village, which was one of the nation's first planned communities, with parcels designated for schools, churches, parks, and several retail centers. Bohannon's pioneering pre-cutting techniques, referred to as the "California method," were used in later developments, such as the more famous Levittown, Pennsylvania.

History

San Lorenzo is located on the route of El Camino Viejo on land of the former Rancho San Lorenzo, a Mexican land grant given to Guillermo Castro in 1841, and the former Rancho San Leandro, granted to José Joaquin Estudillo in 1842.

Early residents during the California Gold Rush era lived here as squatters along the border between Rancho San Lorenzo and Rancho San Leandro. The informal name given to the area was Squatterville.

The first post office opened in San Lorenzo in 1854.

Many of the early inhabitants are buried in San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery, including Moses Wicks, who brought oysters to San Leandro Bay from Patchogue, Long Island. The cemetery is maintained by the county and the Hayward Area Historical Society.

San Lorenzo was mostly farmland, a significant center of production of fruit and flowers, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century.

In 1944, under contract to the U.S. Navy, The David D. Bohannon Company began construction of San Lorenzo Village, a tract of two- and three-bedroom homes for workers in the East Bay's war industries. San Lorenzo Village was one of the nation's first planned communities, with parcels designated for schools, churches, parks, and several retail centers. Bohannon's pioneering pre-cutting techniques, referred to as the "California method," were used in later developments, such as the more famous Levittown, Pennsylvania. Home construction continued into the 1950s to accommodate the region's booming population.

San Lorenzo Village housing project launched as the largest privately financed housing project on the West Coast during WWII. San Lorenzo Shopping Center became one of the country's first planned community shopping centers and was home to the first Mervyn's Department Store.

Segregation

The original San Lorenzo Village homes were restricted to white owners, and re-sale of homes were limited to white owners through racially restrictive covenants on property deeds. "Sales brochures in the early to mid-1950s ..assured prospective buyers that the village was "a safe investment" because "farsighted protective restrictions ... permanently safeguard your investment."" These restrictions, among others around fencing and house colors, were enforced by the San Lorenzo Village Association.

Legal enforcement of such covenants was deemed to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by the Supreme Court in '' Shelley v. Kraemer'' (1948), meaning that while parties could choose to abide by the covenants, they could no longer be legally used to prevent non-white persons from buying properties with such restrictions. As a general note, without specific reference to San Lorenzo, after ''Shelley'', homeowners associations still would bar non-white owners by requiring membership in the association before buying property, and federal and state governments refused to enforce the ''Shelley'' decision. In San Lorenzo, the black population remained under one-half percent in the early 1970s.

The language of these restrictions, even if not enforceable, may still be on property deeds.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and 0.68% is water. San Lorenzo Creek runs along its northern border. It is located between the incorporated cities of San Leandro to the north and Hayward to the south.

Demographics

The 2020 United States Census reported that San Lorenzo had a population of 29,581. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Lorenzo was 24.9% White, 5.2% African American, 1.6% Native American, 28.2% Asian, 1.2% Pacific Islander, 24.9% from other races, and 14.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 42.2% of the population.

The Census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized.

There were 8,991 households, out of which 37.0% included children under the age of 18, 54.4% were married-couple households, 5.8% were cohabiting couple households, 24.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.1% of households were one person, and 9.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.26. There were 6,884 families (76.6% of all households).

The age distribution was 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% aged 18 to 24, 27.4% aged 25 to 44, 27.3% aged 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.4years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males.

There were 9,198 housing units at an average density of , of which 8,991 (97.7%) were occupied. Of these, 64.1% were owner-occupied, and 35.9% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 37.9% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 43.1% spoke only English at home, 29.9% spoke Spanish, 2.6% spoke other Indo-European languages, 23.4% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 82.3% were high school graduates and 25.4% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income was $110,495, and the per capita income was $41,279. About 4.0% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

Government

San Lorenzo is an unincorporated community and thus is governed directly by the County of Alameda. The area is policed by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. The San Lorenzo Village Homes Association, home to 5767 single-family homes, has been in place since 1945. The Homes Association Board is made up of five volunteer homeowners. The San Lorenzo Village Homes Association is the master association to four sub homeowners associations.

Public education

San Lorenzo is served by the San Lorenzo Unified School District, established in 1865.

References

External links

San Lorenzo Library

San Lorenzo Express (local news)

San Lorenzo Village Homes Association

Friends of San Lorenzo Creek

San Lorenzo Area History

Hayward Area Historical society

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Populated places established in 1944
Census-designated places in Alameda County, California
Census-designated places in California
Unincorporated communities in Alameda County, California
Unincorporated communities in California
1944 establishments in California