Tupman is a

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

Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

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. Tupman is located west-southwest of

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 ...

, at an elevation of . The population was 177 at the 2020 census, up from 161 at the 2010 census.

Geography

According to the

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 has a total area of , all of it land. Tupman is located at the east end of the

Elk Hills The Elk Hills are a low mountain range in the Transverse Ranges, in western Kern County, California. They are near and east of the Elkhorn Hills in San Luis Obispo County, California San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of ...

, about northwest of

California State Route 119 State Route 119 (SR 119), named as the Taft Highway along its entire length, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs in an east–west direction from State Route 33 in Taft to State Route 99 in Bakersfield. SR 119 is ...

History

Hamer Irwin Tupman was the original owner of the oil lease in this area. In 1920,

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company was a corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. The ...

bought the land from H. I. Tupman and founded the town. The first post office at Tupman opened in 1921. Tupman Zoological Reserve, now

Tule Elk State Natural Reserve The Tule Elk State Natural Reserve, formerly the Tupman Zoological Reserve, is a protected area operated by California State Parks for the benefit of the general public and the at-risk tule elk subspecies of indigenous ''Elk, Cervus canadensis''. ...

, was established near Tupman in 1932.

Demographics

Tupman first appeared as a

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 ...

in the 2000 U.S. Census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Tupman had a population of 177. The population density was . The racial makeup of Tupman was 133 (75.1%)

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 ...

, 2 (1.1%)

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 ...

, 0 (0.0%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

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 ...

, 19 (10.7%) from other races, and 23 (13.0%) 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 24 persons (13.6%). The whole population lived in households. There were 54 households, out of which 24 (44.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 27 (50.0%) were married-couple households, 5 (9.3%) were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 13 (24.1%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 9 (16.7%) had a male householder with no partner present. 13 households (24.1%) were one person, and 5 (9.3%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.28. There were 40

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(74.1% of all households). The age distribution was 54 people (30.5%) under the age of 18, 12 people (6.8%) aged 18 to 24, 43 people (24.3%) aged 25 to 44, 46 people (26.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 22 people (12.4%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 33.8years. There were 92 males and 85 females. There were 62 housing units at an average density of , of which 54 (87.1%) were occupied. Of these, 24 (44.4%) were owner-occupied, and 30 (55.6%) were occupied by renters.

2010

At the 2010 census Tupman had a population of 161. The population density was . The racial makeup of Tupman was 149 (92.5%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 0 (0.0%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 2 (1.2%) from other races, and 10 (6.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12 people (7.5%). The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized. There were 55 households, 24 (43.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 26 (47.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 12 (21.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 4 (7.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3 (5.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 8 households (14.5%) were one person and 2 (3.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 42 families (76.4% of households); the average family size was 3.29. The age distribution was 45 people (28.0%) under the age of 18, 19 people (11.8%) aged 18 to 24, 34 people (21.1%) aged 25 to 44, 46 people (28.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 17 people (10.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 32.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.8 males. There were 73 housing units at an average density of 138.3 per square mile, of the occupied units 34 (61.8%) were owner-occupied and 21 (38.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.5%. 103 people (64.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 58 people (36.0%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census, the median household income was $27,500 and the median family income was $43,125. Males had a median income of $38,125 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $8,482. About 12.5% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 42.9% of those sixty five or over.

Notable people

Trice Harvey Trice Jeraine Harvey (July 14, 1936 – January 31, 2017) was an American politician in the state of California. Born in Paragould, Arkansas, Trice graduated from Taft Union High School in Taft, California. He served on the Kern Count ...

, former

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

member.

Photos of the area

Image:Tupman California guide sign and post office.jpg, Post Office and guide sign. Image:Tupman California California Aqueduct Mile 236.JPG,

California Aqueduct The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after California Gov ...

near Tupman. Image:Buttonwillow Tupman Tule Elk Reserve California ungulate guests.JPG, Tule Elk at the nearby reserve.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Kern County, California Populated places established in 1920 Census-designated places in California