La Grange, California

Unincorporated community in California, United States

Place in California, United States

La Grange

French Bar

Unincorporated community
Census-designated place

Stage stop in La Grange Historic District.

Coordinates: 37°39′49″N 120°27′49″W﻿ / ﻿37.66361°N 120.46361°W﻿ / 37.66361; -120.46361
Country| United States
State| California
County| Stanislaus County
Area

[1]

• Total

| 0.093 sq mi (0.24 km2)
• Land| 0.093 sq mi (0.24 km2)
• Water| 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation

[2]

| 259 ft (79 m)
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 166
• Density| 1,800/sq mi (690/km2)
Time zone| UTC-8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)| UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code|

95329

Area code(s)| 209/350
GNIS feature ID| 226726[2]

California Historical Landmark

Reference no.| 414
The "old" Schoolhouse in the La Grange Historic District. The St. Louis Roman Catholic Church and cemetery.

La Grange is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in rural Stanislaus County, California. Its altitude is 259 feet (76 m). As of 2020 it has a population of 166. It is located along the Tuolumne River, and is near the La Grange Dam and the New Don Pedro Dam.

## History

[edit]

The name is French and means "the barn" or "the farm". The community and a French settlement nearby were also called "French Bar". The community was founded in 1852 around the same time French miners struck gold on a bar in the Tuolumne River. By 1854, there were over 100 buildings in La Grange.[3][4]

La Grange became the county seat of Stanislaus County in 1856. Aside from its French population, the community included a significant Chinatown in its early years. At its height, the community had thousands of residents, but it was a largely lawless town. It was in decline by the time that Knights Ferry became the county seat, as the gold mines were in decline. By 1880, mining had ceased.[4] The La Grange area also included many gold dredgers that operated until the early 1950s.[5]

On June 3, 1869, John Muir departed Legrange (French Bar) with a sheep herder and a flock of sheep and headed for the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers. Muir writes famously of this in his book “My First Summer in the Sierra”. In chapter one, Muir describes leaving French Bar and moving with the flock into the hills near Coulterville. He writes, “This morning provisions, camp-kettles, blankets, plant-press, etc., were packed on two horses, the flock headed for the tawny foothills, and away we sauntered in a cloud of dust: Mr. Delaney, bony and tall, with sharply hacked profile like Don Quixote, leading the pack-horses, Billy, the proud shepherd, a Chinaman and a Digger Indian to assist in driving for the first few days in the brushy foothills, and myself with notebook tied to my belt. The home ranch from which we set out is on the south side of the Tuolumne River near French Bar, where the foothills of metamorphic gold-bearing slates dip below the stratified deposits of the Central Valley”. In many ways, this experience moves him so much that he writes eloquently of the Yosemite area. His books are read by Americans including President Theodore Roosevelt. Muir becomes the face of a new conservation movement to save Yosemite and create Yosemite National Park.[6]

### Historic district

[edit]

La Grange is now a registered California Historical Landmark historic district.[7] Today, a post office, a supermarket, an elementary school (as of fall, 2015, after a brief stint as a charter school, the public school was closed), and a high school (Don Pedro High School) still operate in La Grange. Also functioning is the oldest church in Stanislaus County, St. Louis Roman Catholic Church, with a cemetery containing tombstones dating to the mid-1800s.[8][9]

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

2020| 166| | —
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1850–1870[11][12] 1880-1890[13]
1900[14] 1910[15] 1920[16]
1930[17] 1940[18] 1950[19]
1960[20] 1970[21] 1980[22]
1990[23] 2000[24] 2010[25]
2020[26]

La Grange first appeared as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. Census.[27]

### 2020 Census

[edit]

La Grange CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2020[26] | % 2020

|
|

White alone (NH)  | 90  | 54.22%
Black or African American alone (NH)  | 1  | 0.60%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)  | 11  | 6.63%
Asian alone (NH)  | 3  | 1.81%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)  | 0  | 0.00%
Other race alone (NH)  | 0  | 0.00%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)  | 10  | 6.02%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)  | 51  | 30.72%
Total | 166 | 100.00%

## See also

[edit]

* California Historical Landmarks in Stanislaus County, California
* Modesto metropolitan area

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files - California". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
2. ^ a b "La Grange". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
3. ^ Santos, Robert LeRoy. Chronology of Stanislaus County History Through 1912 Archived 2006-06-23 at the Wayback Machine. 2002. Accessed 2009-05-02.
4. ^ a b Koeppel, Elliot H.The California Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited. Accessed 2009-05-02.
5. ^ "Gold Fields to Grazing Fields", by Franklin Beards, 1988
6. ^ “My First Summer In The Sierra”, by John Muir - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 1917
7. ^ "La Grange". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: La Grange Post Office
9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: La Grange Elementary School
10. ^ "Decennial Census by Decade". US Census Bureau.
11. ^ "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
12. ^ "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
13. ^ "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
14. ^ "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
15. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
16. ^ "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
17. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
18. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
19. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
20. ^ "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
21. ^ "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
22. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
23. ^ "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
24. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
25. ^ "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
26. ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – La Grange CDP, California". United States Census Bureau.
27. ^ "2020 Geography Changes". United States Census Bureau.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to La Grange, California.

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Municipalities and communities of Stanislaus County, California, United States

County seat: Modesto

Cities|

* Ceres
* Hughson
* Modesto
* Newman
* Oakdale
* Patterson
* Riverbank
* Turlock
* Waterford

Stanislaus County map

CDPs|

* Airport
* Bret Harte
* Bystrom
* Cowan
* Crows Landing
* Del Rio
* Denair
* Diablo Grande
* East Oakdale
* Empire
* Grayson
* Hickman
* Keyes
* Knights Ferry
* La Grange
* Monterey Park Tract
* Orange Blossom
* Parklawn
* Riverdale Park
* Rouse
* Salida
* Shackelford
* Valley Home
* West Modesto
* Westley

Unincorporated
communities|

* Hills Ferry
* Langworth
* Roberts Ferry
* Timba
* Tuolumne
* Wood Colony

Ghost towns|

* Empire City
* Tuolumne City

* California portal
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Authority control databases |

* Yale LUX

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