Corcoran, California City Information

 CORCORAN:

Corcoran is a city in Kings County, in the Hanford-Corcoran metro area. The community was named for a railroad engineer. The latitude of Corcoran is 36.098N. The longitude is -119.559W. It is in the Pacific Standard time zone. Elevation is 207 feet. The population, at the time of the 2000 census, was 14,458. Corcoran is in the San Joaquin Valley. Charles Manson has been incarcerated here at the state prison, which opened in 1988. The facility was built on what was once Tulare Lake, home of the Tachi Indians.

As of the censusof 2000, there were 14,458 people, 2,769 households, and 2,229 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,260.2 people per square mile (872.2/km²). There were 3,016 housing units at an average density of 471.5/sq mi (182.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 34.08% White, 14.21% Black or African American, 1.42% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 46.42% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. 59.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,769 households out of which 49.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.44 and the average family size was 3.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 42.0% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 207.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 264.9 males. However, the statistics relating to the disparity between the male and female population in Corcoran is due to the prison’s male only population.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,783, and the median income for a family was $32,852. Males had a median income of $30,787 versus $21,792 for females. The per capita income for the city was only $13,458. It is noteworthy that about 23.4% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.4% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

CORCORAN HISTORY:

Corcoran was founded by Hobart Johnstone Whitley a prominent land developer from southern California, took the lead in building Corcoran (the main street of the community is named in his honor). Liking what he saw during a visit to the area in 1905 (a blacksmith shop, small store, scattered homes and a lush, untapped vista with herds of grazing wild hogs, horses and steers) Whitley purchased 32,000 acres to start development and moved a member of his real estate firm, J. W. Guiberson, to the area. Guiberson became one of the many pioneers of the community, building the first home and business structure in Corcoran. His family also helped establish the first church in the community, an event which helped lead to the town’s incorporation on August 14, 1914. The basis of Corcoran’s economy then and now is agriculture. Initially, the most successful crops were grains, alfalfa and sugar beets.

The first post office opened in 1901.

 

CORCORAN POLITICS:

In the state legislature Corcoran is located in the 16th Senate District, represented by Democrat Dean Florez, and in the 30th Assembly District, represented by Republican Danny Gilmore. Federally, Corcoran is located in California’s 20th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +5 and is represented by Democrat Jim Costa.

Corcoran is represented on the Kings County Board of Supervisors by Richard Valle of Corcoran.

 

CORCORAN EDUCATION:

Corcoran Unified School District is the public organization responsible for education in the town of Corcoran. The school district has seven schools.

1. Bret Harte
2. John C. Fremont
3. Mark Twain
4. John Muir Middle School
5. Corcoran High School
6. Corcoran Academy
7. Kings Lake Educational Center

CORCORAN ROAD TRAFFIC:

The average commute time for Corcoran workers is 18 minutes, compared with 26 minutes nationwide. A total of 3 fatal motor vehicle accidents occurred in Corcoran between 2001 and 2003, according to reports gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is a rate of 2.1 fatal crashes per 10,000 population, which was lower than the national norm.

CORCORAN WEATHER:

• Corcoran, CA (93212) Weather Facts
• On average, the warmest month is July.
• The highest recorded temperature was 115°F in 1960.
• December is the average coolest month.
• The lowest recorded temperature was 14°F in 1960.
• The maximum average precipitation occurs in February.

Current Weather

CORCORAN RAILROAD:

Corcoran is served by the BNSF Railway, which is the successor to the Santa Fe Railway. The mainline track through Corcoran was part of a route connecting the San Francisco Bay Area to Bakersfield, California. The track was constructed by the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway about 1898.

Today, Amtrak California’s San Joaquin stops at Corcoran station.

From 1910-1934, the Kings Lake Shore Railroad operated a line that ran southwest from Corcoran to what is the now-extinct Tulare Lake.