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Ahwahnee, California

Coordinates: 37°21′56″N 119°43′35″W / 37.36556°N 119.72639°W / 37.36556; -119.72639
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This article is about the CDP. For other places in California, see Ahwahnee (disambiguation).

Ahwahnee, California
Census-designated place
Aerial view of Ahwahnee
Aerial view of Ahwahnee
Ahwahnee is located in California
Ahwahnee
Ahwahnee
Ahwahnee is located in the United States
Ahwahnee
Ahwahnee
Coordinates: 37°21′56″N 119°43′35″W / 37.36556°N 119.72639°W / 37.36556; -119.72639
Country United States
State California
CountyMadera
Area
[1]
 • Total
11.54 sq mi (29.90 km2)
 • Land11.54 sq mi (29.90 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0%
Elevation
[2]
2,326 ft (709 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total
2,296
 • Density198.91/sq mi (76.80/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code
93601
Area code559
GNIS feature IDs256142;[4]
2628702[5]
FIPS code06-00478

Ahwahnee is a census-designated place[6] in Madera County, California, United States.[2] It is located 5.25 miles (8.4 km) west of Yosemite Forks,[7] at an elevation of 2,326 feet (709 m).[2] The population was 2,296 at the 2020 census.[3]

Ahwahnee is hilly and located in the Sierra Nevada. The ZIP Code is 93601. The community is inside area code 559. It is part of the Madera–Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

[edit]

The Ahwahnee post office opened in 1893 to 1896.[7] The name, "Ahwahnee", is derived from the Southern Sierra Miwok word awwo, which in English means "mouth".[8] The Gertrude post office was transferred to and renamed "Ahwahnee" in 1900, closed in 1907, and re-opened in 1917.[7]

A massive wildfire in 1961, called the Harlow Fire, destroyed 50 of Ahwahnee's 60 buildings.[9] While the community as a whole recovered,[10] two Ahwahnee residents were killed in the fire when their car became stuck on an unpaved road as they fled.[11][12]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
20102,246—
20202,2962.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[13]
1850–1870[14][15] 1880-1890[16]
1900[17] 1910[18] 1920[19]
1930[20] 1940[21] 1950[22]
1960[23] 1970[24] 1980[25]
1990[26] 2000[27] 2010[28]

The 2020 United States census reported that Ahwahnee had a population of 2,296. The population density was 198.9 inhabitants per square mile (76.8/km2). The racial makeup of Ahwahnee was 82.4% White, 0.4% African American, 1.7% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 10.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.4% of the population.

The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households and 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.

There were 902 households, out of which 25.3% included children under the age of 18, 58.1% were married-couple households, 6.5% were cohabiting couple households, 20.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 21.6% of households were one person, and 15.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.53. There were 658 families (72.9% of all households).

The age distribution was 20.3% under the age of 18, 4.7% aged 18 to 24, 17.2% aged 25 to 44, 26.2% aged 45 to 64, and 31.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males.

There were 1,000 housing units at an average density of 86.6 units per square mile (33.4 units/km2), of which 902 (90.2%) were occupied. Of these, 80.3% were owner-occupied, and 19.7% were occupied by renters.[29][30]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: California". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ahwahnee, California
  3. ^ a b "P1. Race – Ahwanee CDP, California: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  4. ^ "Ahwahnee". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  5. ^ "Ahwahnee Census Designated Place". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  6. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ahwahnee, California
  7. ^ a b c Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 739. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  8. ^ William Bright; Erwin Gustav Gudde (November 30, 1998). 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning. University of California Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-520-21271-8. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  9. ^ "Sierra Fire Kills 2, Burns Ahwahnee, Nipinnawasee". The Fresno Bee. July 12, 1961. pp. 1-A, 6-A. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Anthony, H.M. (July 14, 1967). "Mountain Residents Remember Holocaust Of 1961 Harlow Fire". Madera Tribune. p. 3. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  11. ^ "20 Largest California Wildland Fires (By Structures Lost)". www.fire.ca.gov. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). 2001. Archived from the original on October 31, 2001.
  12. ^ "Services Set For Fire Victims". Madera Tribune. July 13, 1961. Archived from the original on April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  13. ^ "Decennial Census by Decade". United States Census Bureau.
  14. ^ "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  15. ^ "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  16. ^ "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  17. ^ "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  18. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  19. ^ "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  20. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  21. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  22. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  23. ^ "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  24. ^ "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  25. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  26. ^ "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  27. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  28. ^ "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  29. ^ "Ahwahnee CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  30. ^ "Ahwahnee CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
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